The roll-out of radio frequency identification (RFID) tables, or so-called smart gaming tables, is not intended to lead to staffing cuts – according to executive vice chairman of Sands China Wilfred Wong.
Speaking after the opening ceremony of the Global Gaming Expo Asia at the Venetian Macao on Tuesday, Wong said that smart tables would “not reduce the number of employees” at Sands – noting that their purpose was solely to “increase the company’s security and stability,” industry website Inside Asia Gaming reported.
Each of Macao’s six gaming concessionaires has either already installed, or is in the process of installing, smart tables in their casinos. The technology, which has been around since 2014, is used by operators to track individual players and improve efficiency.
[See more: RFID tables could give Macao authorities vast amounts of data]
Sands will be using smart tables from Japan-headquartered Angel Group, while the other five concessionaires have opted for those made by the US company Walker Digital Table Systems.
In March, Macao’s finance secretary, Lei Wai Nong, confirmed that the government had encouraged concessionaires to use smart gaming tables to better calculate foreigner betting turnover and revenue.
Smart tables should also help reduce criminal activity. Last month, five gamblers were caught using fake chips at a Macao casino – defrauding the house by HK$1.8 million. This would have been far more difficult with RFID-enabled technology, Inside Asian Gaming says.
