S P O N S O RE D E D I TO RI A L SCIENTIFIC GAMES
Amazon Web Services to develop custom versions of Amazon’s computer vision technology for the gaming industry. The first product of this collaboration is SG Vision. This puts cameras in gaming machines, lottery terminals and games tables that will help identify players – albeit anonymously. This can be used to verify players’ ages but perhaps more excitingly, it could also be used in conjunction with APAS. SG Vision can generate a unique ID for every player that can be used across different locations and different companies. This means a player that has self-excluded or been warned about irresponsible behaviour cannot just leave William Hill and pop into Ladbrokes and carry on gambling. GIQ Q4 REVIEW
SG Vision and APAS together can potentially provide the silver bullet that skewers many anti-gambling campaigners’ arguments against machine gaming in the UK. And it could, of course, be used in any jurisdiction. “The UK Gambling Commission loved it,” says Bucher. “We are in trials and working very closely with all regulators.” The third prong of Scientific Games’ responsible gambling innovations is PlayMyWay, which is a card-based tool that has been around for a bit longer than APAS and SG Vision. It was first adopted in Australia and New Zealand, and has
“If you suppress the entertainment, you might make gaming responsible but you will also defeat the industry” Tim Bucher, Scientific Games
since been used in the US and elsewhere. The technology allows players to set limits, view responsible gaming information and potentially self-exclude from games. It is a voluntary cardbased tool linked to Scientific Games’ CMS and potentially, to a lottery’s central system. “We are working on a digital integration of this technology,” says Bucher. “We believe PlayMyWay technology should be everywhere.” Together, the three products comprise a responsible gaming portfolio that should help keep gaming entertaining and safe. In an environment where media, politicians and regulators are increasingly demanding, Scientific Games is generating new technology that could provide a dream scenario of products that are fun to play and safe to play. “It is our responsibility to work in conjunction with regulators to keep the entertainment content entertaining and also to underpin it with technology that protects players,” concludes Bucher. “I believe that if we do that, gaming has a bright, bright future.” n 23