Modern-day casino surveillance systems provide surveillance teams with panoramic views and unmatched picture quality – perfect for the lively casino floor.
Henry Ford once said: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”. Although a little outdated, his famous quote still clearly illustrates what happens when you rely on existing technologies and do not look to the future. Ignoring progress or not actively updating knowledge on a regular basis is a “comfort trap” that many casino surveillance managers find themselves in today.
FROM BRAWLS TO REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS
Surveillance managers in casino operations have to make the impossible possible on a daily basis. They are responsible for preventing and resolving a wide variety of events and incidents on gaming floors, from accidents to organized cheating and even brawls. On top of that, they have to meet ever-increasing regulatory and occupational health and safety requirements.
EVERY SECOND COUNTS FOURFOLD
Even though there is of course no clear mathematical correlation, with every passing second a perpetrator has more time to disappear, and the probability of them being caught decreases exponentially. Surveillance managers must therefore solve incidents as quickly as possible. For this, one thing is particularly important in the lively casino business: an optically high-resolution overall view, which at the same time enables the details of an incident to be traced precisely.
PAN-TILT-ZOOM (PTZ) TECHNOLOGY IS “SO 90s”
Many surveillance managers still swear by “PTZ” systems in their casino. But these have two serious disadvantages: first, they reduce the observed (and also the recorded) events to the section selected by the operator. Contexts become increasingly unclear the higher the zoom factor, and everything outside the “PTZ zoom” escapes the recording and is therefore not available for exploitation in court. Excellent- resolution 180° and 360° camera systems are available as a solution to this dilemma.
“THE 360°” – HOW TO FIND THE GUY IN 3 MINUTES INSTEAD OF 20
When people talk about 360° panoramic views in video technology, many think of the distorted images of classic “fisheye cameras”. This has long been a thing of the past with some modern systems such as the Panomera W series from Dallmeier. These combine the images of several lenses into one camera system and offer the operator a digitally rectified overview image of a very large area on just one screen. Casino operators who use such systems report that they regularly reduce the time needed from the detection of an incident to the resolution – such as catching an offender – by a factor of up to ten or more. This is being achieved by the unique combination of one large 360° overview and unlimited “virtual PTZs” at a mouse click.
KEEP YOUR TABLES UP AND RUNNING
One of the most important missions of surveillance in the casino is to ensure smooth gaming operations. This primarily involves three things: meeting regulatory requirements and the occupational safety requirements that have recently changed for many casinos, reacting quickly to changes on gaming floor layouts, and minimizing disruption during installation and adjustment of the video cameras. Here, too, a great deal has changed: the combination of the aforementioned latest-generation 360-degree cameras with single-sensor cameras significantly reduces the total number of systems required. Modern techniques for remote adjustment and adaptation further reduce downtimes and improve work safety and efficiency.
WHY THE SURVEILLANCE MANAGER´S JOB IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT
If the surveillance manager in the casino is aware of the possibilities of modern video technology, this opens up many opportunities for cross-departmental synergies that contribute significantly to more efficient casino operations. Examples include the optimization of food and beverage and hotel operations through supporting video analytics and real-time visual information about particularly large crowds, cost reduction for IT through a smaller number of systems and, most importantly, higher customer satisfaction through better service, safety and security. So getting up to date with the latest in video technology might be a good idea for everyone in casino surveillance!
