Staff Writer
A report by Bloomberg quoting individuals in the know, states that Macau’s 6 gaming operators have been warned by its regulator, to avoid using artificial intelligence (AI) equipment to spy on their highest spending gamblers.
Casinos have been prohibited from setting up any kind of digitized observatory paraphernalia such as face recognition kits or cameras without the approval of the regulatory entity as per a ruling by the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau signed on 30 July.
The order was implemented on 1st August, as told to Bloomberg by people who asked to remain anonymous, going by the confidentiality of the paper. However, a comment on the rumored decree has so far not come from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.
Following the disclosure of the poor total gaming returns for July by Macau’s gaming regulator, the news about the ban on the utilization of digital survey apparatus at the 40 gambling sites of Macau, materialized.
Growth in revenue for two successive months was shattered by the 3.5% fall in profit the previous month at Macau’s casinos to MOP 24.5 billion or $3 billion approximately. The fourth month to see a slip in revenue this year was July.
In July there was a comprehensive report by Bloomberg in connection with the installation of digitized poker chips, facial identification tools, baccarat tables and hidden cameras by the owners of Macau’s casinos to spy on their gamblers, following which the new rules came into being.
To detect those gamblers, among their thousands of regulars who are prone to lose large amounts on bets, casino operators set up the different spy trappings. Macau, the biggest casino betting center in the world and the only Chinese city where gambling is legalized, will be the biggest gainer in terms of gambling losses.
The 6 gambling sites operators throughout Macau have also been warned to adhere to the personal information requirements, by the city’s casino regulator. The companies that run the particular properties are supposed to keep all the data or videos procured from the casinos’ spy apparatus, in their custody.
Algorithms are used in the new artificial intelligence know-how installed at Macau’s casinos to identify and record the behavioral patterns of gamblers in keeping with their hunger for taking chances.
Gamblers prone to losing are the ones with a higher craving to take risks. And the casinos, of course will benefit from this. It is predicted the gambling sites could profit by ten times increase with the new AI technology.
Six companies that are the subsidiaries of Las Vegas gambling giants like Galaxy Entertainment, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, MGM Resorts International, SJM Holdings, Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands are right now holding licenses to operate in Macau.
The government of Macau has not yet disclosed whether it would renew the licenses of all the 6 companies, that are bound to expire in June of 2022, or the local markets will be opened to fresh government license holders.
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