On Feb. 16, AST NSW FT issued proposal re gambling exclusions.
AST NSW FT issuedFacial recognition technology in hotels and clubs - consultation paper, to seek views on guidelines and requirements for mandatory facial recognition technology in hotels and registered clubs with gaming machines, to support exclusions.
Follows AST NSW FT Feb. 2025 proposal re gambling in hotels, clubs, see #243912.
Proposal
In 2023, NSW Government committed to mandating the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) in hotels and clubs with gaming machines to support exclusions by making it easier to identify excluded customers via automatic detection via FRT.
This technology will aid in implementation of a statewide exclusion register and third-party exclusion scheme; FRT provides a more reliable method than manual detection.
Namely, especially in crowded venues, by automatically identifying excluded individuals as they enter a venue/gaming room; feedback will inform ongoing work of NSW Government, will assist in determining best way to implement mandatory FRT.
NSW Government is building strict parameters into reforms to protect people’s privacy.
Specifically, in order to ensure hotels and clubs can only use facial recognition for the purpose of identifying excluded patrons; AST NSW FT said venues will be prohibited from using the technology for customer tracking, surveillance and marketing purposes.
Effectiveness
The comment period for this consultation closes on Mar. 14, 2025.
