The mere fact that gambling in a casino on-site or in an online casino is restricted by an age limit already makes it necessary to make legitimization in the form of an ID card or other proof of age mandatory. Normally, players must show their ID at the entrance to the casino in order to gain access. In the online casino, other forms of legitimization must be carried out, as although ID verification is possible, it is often cumbersome and does not appear to be one hundred percent forgery-proof.
Biometrics can represent a new type of legitimization for the casino industry. Here, physical body data is used to securely identify a person and then allow them to play.
What exactly is biometrics?
Biometrics is the measurement of physical characteristics. This has been done throughout history for centuries before biometric data was used to identify people for the first time at the end of the 20th century with fingerprints. Work on facial recognition was already underway in the 1960s, although it was still dependent on too many factors to provide truly reliable information. However, it was already clear to see where biometrics was heading.
The ability to create 3D renderings of biometric data or to determine distinctive features such as the distance between the eyes and the distance between the two nostrils more and more precisely on a computer basis has brought facial recognition to a great level, with a real recognition rate of 97.25%. The DNA method is still more reliable, but it is very impractical in most everyday situations. No casino wants to take blood samples and commission a laboratory to check them before admitting a player. Facial recognition with biometric data is a more effective solution.
Biometrics can play a role in online casinos as well, quickly recognizing a player and linking them to personalized settings. Nowadays online casinos offer opportunities to play using cryptocurrency, for example you can play blackjack with btc or other casino games.
After facial recognition, the online casino can immediately assign the player an account, bonus offers, and other personalized data. By the way, there are low-cost offers online that allow you to play casino games for real winnings with a deposit of just 1 USD.
Identification with passwords has failed
It is quite clear that people cannot guarantee a particularly high level of security for accounts or other accesses with passwords. We simply don’t remember complicated passwords and tend to use very simple combinations that are ultimately very easy for clever hackers to figure out.
As this happens again and again on the Internet, it is hardly possible to speak of absolute security when it comes to personal data. As a result, legitimization cannot really be carried out.
Biometrics is breaking new ground here. The measurements of exact physical characteristics are just much more difficult to falsify and it takes outstanding criminal energy to gain unjustified access. This is why biometrics is also valued in casinos, as it can provide considerably more certainty about who you are really dealing with.
For example, if players are unwanted in the casino, which can happen for a variety of reasons, they are recognized in good time, even before a particularly large number of actions have taken place that make it considerably more difficult to remove the player.
More than access control through biometrics
However, the possibilities of using biometric data in casinos are not limited to pure access control. In Macao, for example, facial recognition methods are already being used to identify players from whom casinos expect to make large profits.
There are also chips already implemented in the gaming chips that can track exactly which paths a player takes in the casino, where they stay longer, and which games they play successfully and less successfully. Here too, information is key. Those who know the most about their players have the best chance of effectively creating the best possible casino experience for these players and at the same time earning money from them.
Dangers of using biometric data
In principle, biometric data is therefore harmless if it is only used for direct legitimization. The history of collecting biometric data is also older than you might think at first glance. Even the old driving license collected biometric data such as age and height, which, although only very basic, was also collected in a file and used to identify people. It seems that nobody has any objections to this type of biometrics.
However, the story with the data does not end after this one-off identification. The data collections remain available and can be evaluated again and again in order to be used for corresponding honorable or dishonorable undertakings.
There is a great deal of uncertainty here when it comes to biometric data, because our technology can quickly be used against us and we can suddenly be locked out where we should actually have access. These dangers must be eliminated in advance, otherwise, it will be difficult to get many people enthusiastic about biometric facial recognition across the board.
Implementation of biometric facial recognition in the casino
If facial recognition is to be implemented in a casino, operators must pay greater attention to ensuring that all persons who are to be recognized must first undergo a facial scan. Only then can facial recognition function and do its job. All people who are then entered into the system can subsequently be identified by facial recognition.
It is therefore important to choose software that performs facial recognition very effectively and reliably, but is also easy for employees to use. On top of this, the software should not offer too many options and should be very well developed, especially in the area of data protection.
The aim of the software must be to be able to carry out reliable identification while maintaining a high level of personal data protection. Only in this way will these new technologies be able to maintain the trust of casino customers. However, this trust is essential when it comes to changing the legitimization processes.
Conclusion on biometrics in casinos
Biometric identification using facial recognition or fingerprints is no longer a dream of the future. Many casinos are considering making customer identification simple and, above all, more secure in this way. Facial recognition appears to be an alternative that could become established if customers develop a willingness to have their face scanned.
