Gallagher’s Regional Manager for South East Asia, David Thean, shares how casinos can harness the power of access control and contactless technologies to achieve business continuity, simplify operations, and keep staff and customers safe.
Like many industries, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a profound impact on the global casino industry. For most hospitality and entertainment venues, distancing procedures can be immediately applied to reduce the risk of transmission and keep physical contact at a minimum. Casinos on the other hand, face a unique set of challenges to protect the safety of their customers and staff, with factors such as the exchanging of money, use of slot machines and passing of chips all making it difficult to operate as a contactless environment.
Casinos across Asia are now taking a range of precautionary measures, including operating at reduced capacity, routine staff testing, and employing stringent health, safety and hygiene procedures to meet government regulations.
Access control and contactless security technologies can play a key role in helping casinos keep their doors open and ensure their staff, customers, and guests are safe and secure.
Creating a secure, contactless environment
For casinos and gaming facilities, there are a number of moving parts when it comes to security – from managing multiple points of entry and deterring theft, to reducing fraud and complying with regulations. Navigating the challenges brought on by a global pandemic has only heightened these security responsibilities further. However, by harnessing the power of contactless technologies, casinos can continue to provide high levels of security, while protecting the health and safety of their guests.
“By making the switch to contactless access control systems, casinos can minimize the risk of spreading contagious diseases among their staff and guests,” explains Thean. “Utilizing biometric technology, such as the IDEMIA Morphowave biometric reader, staff can sign in to verify their access, while limiting physical touchpoints.”
Solutions such as the Invixium IXM TITAN, which is integrated with Gallagher’s Command Centre software, offers touchless biometric access control that delivers mask detection, facial recognition, and temperature screening. This integration is ideal for casinos who need to detect whether someone is wearing a mask or has an elevated temperature before being granted access to the casino floor. Not only does this keep staff and customers safe, but it also helps to certify compliance with government regulations.
Utilize mobile credentials
To help minimize contact and support a streamlined process for staff access, mobile credentials are a practical and cost-effective solution for casinos.
Gallagher’s Mobile Connect solution removes the cost and contact risk of issuing physical cards for access control credentials. Harnessing Bluetooth wireless technology, Digital ID’s provide a digital, on-phone alternative, that can be issued remotely and securely. ID information can be updated in real time with multiple IDs across sites being able to be stored on the one app.
“Because mobile credentials are often simpler and quicker to administer in comparison to traditional access cards, they not only reduce contact, but also offer significant cost savings,” says Thean. “By deploying mobile credentials to an employee’s phone, there’s no need to purchase plastic cards, pay for printing, or worry about replacement costs for lost or stolen cards.”
Enforce social distancing
The sheer volume of people sitting around tables or walking between game rooms within casinos, especially during peak hours, makes it difficult to monitor people movement and enforce room capacity limits. To keep track of how many people are in any one area, casinos can utilize Zone Counting technology that integrates with their security management platform. Zone Counting functionality allows a site to set an alert when the number of people in a physical area has been exceeded and deny access if the zone has reached capacity.
“Social distancing remains an important component for creating a safe environment in public spaces, and for high foot traffic areas like the casino floor, the need is even greater. Putting occupation limits on the different areas within casinos can ensure distancing guidelines are followed,” says Thean.
Furthermore, Tag Boards are also a great way to see at a glance, the number of people on site and who they are. Casinos implementing policies to reduce occupancy may find these tools useful for monitoring compliance.
Contact trace staff
Contact tracing has become a vital method for slowing the spread of contagious diseases and for many casinos across Asia it has become a legal requirement. Some gaming operators are now required by law to have a system in place to reliably capture contact tracing information before they are allowed to operate.
“Because casinos are dealing with multiple access points and large numbers of staff, contact tracing can be a difficult task,” explains Thean. “By utilizing the data from their access control system, reports can quickly be pulled, identifying staff arrival and departure times and which doors they accessed during their shift.”
Gallagher’s six-time award-winning Proximity and Contact Tracing Report provide organizations with a way to quickly identify areas where a specified cardholder has been on site through fast and effective contact tracing. Its smart functionality helps organizations to act rapidly and inform those affected of the risk of infection, allowing them to take action and seek testing.
An integrated approach
With complex security needs and changing operational requirements, casinos need to look at alternative ways to keep their doors open and the dice rolling. Clever integrations and contactless technologies have provided new and different ways to keep these spaces safe and secure.
“A truly integrated approach to security is the way forward,” says Thean. “The way sites are now using access control for reporting and operations has really changed how individuals view their security system. Intelligent access control delivers so much more than just locking and unlocking doors, and the entertainment industry is just one of those which are embracing new technologies in the wake of COVID-19.”
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