By Jan-Bart Mul

There is hardly a country in the developed world that does not have casinos.  Since the fall of communism, even Eastern Europe has a growing gambling industry, with countries like Russia, Poland, Hungary and Romania hosting a surprising number of attractive and successful casinos.  All casinos share the same threats of theft, embezzlement and damage and require effective surveillance.  The primary task of Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance in a casino is to protect its visitors, employees and assets; most establishments spare no expense in installing the most sophisticated CCTV systems available.  This article reviews the specialized surveillance requirements of casinos.

MAIN ISSUES

Compared with other buildings and complexes, casinos have unique security requirements.  The combination of large crowds, huge amounts of cash on site and the threat of cheating and theft leads to a potentially volatile environment.  Whether to prevent petty cheating, theft or organized crime by visitors or staff, the need for thorough and effective surveillance is a primary requirement.  Surveillance acts first as a deterrent and secondly as a means of detection, apprehension and, ultimately, prosecution.  Security staff have an important dual role here -- a visible presence in the gaming areas and behind the scenes observing live and recorded video content to identify any suspicious activity.  In addition, security personnel must be alert to the danger of fire, accidents, assault and the presence of underage visitors.  In other words, they have a high level of responsibility, often in very crowded, smoky warm areas that means tiring work.  Without CCTV surveillance, their task would be almost impossible.

Casinos range greatly in size -- from relatively small facilities in a single, compact building right up to massive complexes that include shops, hotels with thousands of rooms, restaurants and vast entertainment arenas.  The world’s largest gaming location is, of course, Las Vegas, the U.S.  Attracting more than 34 million visitors annually to its 75+ casinos, the millions spent in Las Vegas on gambling and hotel accommodation is more than matched by the colossal investments made in them by owners and operators.  In the U.K. a recent report by KPMG shows that spending on gambling will be more than EUR 3.75 billion by 2009.  It’s clear then, why casino owners are willing to spend substantial amounts of money to protect their investments with state-of-the-art CCTV surveillance.

Casino owners are willing to spend substantial amounts of money to protect their investments with state-of-the-art CCTV surveillance.  (Photo by Bosch Security Systems)

DETECTION

The CCTV chain begins with the camera.  Numerous types of camera are available today with many impressive features.  For example, Bosch offers a range of fixed, dome and Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) models suitable for casinos.  Especially applicable for low-light conditions often found in a casino, Bosch’s DinionXF cameras feature XF-Dynamic, which uses 15-bit Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology to capture the entire dynamic range of a scene.  This means that activities in areas of bright lights or in dark shadows are captured effectively.  Other features, many enabled by digital technology, further enhance basic camera functionality such as miniaturization, motion detection, day/night operation, backlight compensation, dynamic noise reduction plus remote and automatic lens control.  A wide range of accessories provides mounting choices, resistance to tampering, impact and hazardous substances.

RECORDING AND PLAYBACK

Some countries, including the U.S., have mandatory regulations on recording speed of video content in casinos.  In the U.S., the minimum required recording speed of a surveillance system is 20 frames per second (fps).  Only digital technology can enable recording at this speed with the Digital Video Recorder (DVR), which also allows connection of multiple cameras.  There can be thousands of cameras in a large casino and the key word, therefore, is capacity.