by Renee Israel
Grosvenor Casinos may introduce smart cameras to prevent cheating at
roulette tables in their UK casinos.
Roulette cheating may be a thing of the past if Grosvenor Casinos decide to
adopt the new smart camera security measures.
The large UK gambling chain is currently assessing the security camera
software from London based Ipsotek technology group, with the hope of picking up
two popular forms of cheating among roulette players.
One form of cheating is placing bets on the table after the croupier has
announced 'last bets'. Naturally, if a bet is placed after this call, it has an
unfair advantage over other players since the wheel has already begun to slow
and it is easier to predict where the ball will land.
The new software will essentially alert the croupier if a hand enters the
betting table after the 'last bets' call was made, after analyzing video feeds
off software that is installed on existing CCTV cameras in UK casinos.
The new smart security cameras are also smart enough to pick up incidences of
'top hatting', where the player makes a bet after the ball has landed. The new
software by Ipsotek will be able to spot incidents of top hatting by checking
out which chip colours were placed during the betting round of the game.
And if the new cameras prove to be a success at Grosvenor Casinos, there is a
strong likelihood that smart security cameras at other UK casinos will become
widespread.
New Smart Camera Software Highly Lauded
The new software has been highly lauded, including by a researcher of
automated surveillance systems from the University of Reading, James Ferryman,
who said that even though cameras have been utilised in UK casinos for some
time, they have been unable to reach such a high level of surveillance.
"You're trying to pick up anomalies, or something that is unusual in the
context," he said.
The Head of Technology at Ipostek, Boghos Boghossian, explained the features of
the new smart camera technology and explained why it would make a significant
difference to the way cheats operate in UK casinos.
He said that the software is only designed to pick up cheating at roulette
tables at the moment, although if the trials go well, the surveillance features
will extend to baccarat and blackjack tables in the future.
Grosvenor Casinos are currently test driving the new software and will make
their final decision, based on statistics and experience, in January next year.
The director of security for Rank Group, which owns Grosvenor Casinos, Sean
Cunningham, said about the levels of cheating: "When you have 10 people around a
table all trying to place bets as late as possible, it can be difficult to see
these things."
