Don’t Gamble on your Casino Security
Kostas Mellos
Casinos – lavish, lively and filled with excited gamblers all looking for that big win. When we think of casinos, we bring to mind images of glamour, money and energy, a buzzing environment filled with people, which to the average person may seem great, but to security officials, it can be more than a little bit challenging. Casino security staff face myriad threats and issues on an almost hourly basis, and I don’t mean Ocean’s 11 style mega heists – it’s the day-to-day responsibility of safeguarding the business, guests and assets, alongside adhering to the many strict regulations the industry requires.
If you have ever been to a casino, you will know that the buildings are typically large, wide-open buildings often covering thousands of square feet, with many entrances and exits. Add this together with huge numbers of people either gathered around tables or constantly moving and entering and exiting the building, then it becomes incredibly difficult to monitor activity.
The main security risks for casinos are unsurprisingly theft and fraud (cheating!), large amounts of money held on the premises which change hands at a rapid pace: casinos can be no less than a paradise for thieves and cheats. This means that security officials need to be able to monitor activity both in real time and retrospectively to respond quickly and investigate any incidents effectively, meaning they need eyes everywhere.
So, how can security teams see everything they need to? They implement surveillance technology that leverages, amongst other things, both 180 and 360-degree capabilities. By combining both technologies security personnel can obtain a complete view of the entire area without blind spots, zoom in on areas of interest and even track people and objects all at the same time – card counters beware!
Designed for wall-mount applications, 180-degree cameras can provide wide coverage with high-resolution panoramic images in casino hallways or corridors, where traffic flow is often congested. Add to this, 360-degree devices which give clear images of wide areas, then potential cases of fraud and theft are reduced and investigations are supported with retrospective data. Single sensor, high resolution, high frame rate 360-degree cameras also have the capability to cover larger areas, while significantly reducing installations and maintenance costs by utilizing single POE cable to power the cameras, single VMS licenses while covering large areas that would most likely require multiple fixed cameras.
In my opinion, Oncam’s C-Series is a perfect match for casino security. With its capability to provide both 180 and 360-degree views and cutting-edge technology such as Multi-Mode, security personnel can stream up to 4 different views simultaneously from a single camera – allowing them to watch and analyze specific variances and nuances in behavior as well as tracking the movements of persons of interest. With all this technology anticipating threats and becomes infinitely easier. As previously mentioned by a security director at a leading Las Vegas casino 360 cameras are a great forensic tool and easily become an integral part of the casino's security systems.
The casino industry is always going to face threats but by adopting a security surveillance system that incorporates the very best of 180 and 360-degree camera technology, security officials can feel assured that their gaming floor is being monitored in the very best way. Keep the gambling for the guests and not your security system.