Will Casino Slot Machine Technology Move Towards Facial Recognition?
The gaming industry is always looking for innovative ways to enhance the gameplay experience. Many of these new features for all types of slot machines are geared towards the games themselves. This could include higher multipliers on free spin wins to exciting game features with immersive qualities. The bottom line is that the top gaming companies are always looking to raise the bar.
Along those same lines, LasVegasSun just posted an article about new slot machine technology. This innovation has more to do with the player’s experience. In the near future, casino gaming cards may be a thing of the past. Technology that incorporates facial recognition would take their place.
When Will Casino Slot Machine Technology Move Towards Facial Recognition?
A slot machine would be able to look back at a player. This in turn, would recognize who is who pulling the reels or pushing the buttons. The use of facial-recognition is already past the experimental phase. How soon it would come to market is still tough to say.
Earlier in October, facial recognition was put to the test. Konami Gaming debuted slot machines with facial recognition at the recent Global Gaming Expo. It was held in Las Vegas at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. Based in Las Vegas, Konami picked the perfect venue for this debut. The technology uses a system that connects to existing slot machines. The only noticeable addition is a forward-looking camera.
The prototype is not ready for market just yet. However, company officials believe it will only be a matter of time. Tom Soukup is the chief systems product officer and senior vice president at Konami Gaming. He believes that facial recognition will find its way onto the casino floor. He stated that:
“Your face is basically your QR code. A lot of times, a player might forget to put their card in when they start playing and later wish they would have gotten their points. This is usability that will be frictionless for the players.”
Demonstrations at the gaming expo for detecting players at table games
There was also a demonstration at the gaming expo for detecting players at table games. The gaming industry has had mixed feelings on the issue. While the overall reception has been warm, there is still some hesitation to move forward. Customer acceptance would be needed to really advance the cause. If the public is not keen on facial recognition while gambling, this would cause an issue.
Jay Fennel is the vice president of gaming for Golden Entertainment. This company owns and operates the Strat and eight other casino properties in Nevada . While intrigued with the technology, he voiced some concern. Casinos would “need to understand what we can and can’t do with this and what the public perception would be.”
He went on to add:
“Certainly, I think it opens up some convenience factors. I’m not afraid to try out new technology, so I’d say we’ll likely be an early adopter. But this, I think, is a ways off from being ready to bring to market.”
Customer choice would need to be a feature. This would let players opt out and still use their card. There needs to be other benefits to sell the entire program.
• Source: Technology has slot machines staring back at players From Vegasinc.lasvegassun.com On October 22, 2019.
