We celebrate Halloween with scary gambling news from Harrah’s casino in Illinois! Plus, Facebook considers legal action over “brainwashing” casino customers! We also have a new game review, an update on sports betting in Washington, DC, and interview a homicidal clown!
Hello friends! Happy Halloween! and welcome to This Week in Gambling, where we have spooky news from Harrah’s, and scary news from Facebook! Plus, any other contrived holiday cliche I can manage to fit into the program.
Several weeks ago I shared a story with you about how one game manufacturer was adding facial recognition to some of their games in order to prevent underage gambling. This week’s big story finds that same technology back in the news, only this time this time not everyone’s happy about it.
Harrah’s in Illinois is making gambling news by using facial recognition in their casino to help identify and stop cheaters… the only problem is they didn’t tell their customers they were doing this… and that, my friends, is a violation of state law. Apparently, Biometrica Systems uses security cameras at Harrah’s Casino in Illinois and all across the country to scan and collect our data… our faces… then they compare that information with the national database of known casino cheaters to see if there’s a match. This has brought a lawsuit in the state of Illinois.
The Biometric Information Privacy Act is a state law which requires that customers be informed, in writing, about this sort of activity and how their data is being used… but that didn’t happen here. Thus the lawsuit. What I really want to know is how you guys feel about this? Is it an invasion of privacy? Or are casinos within their rights to scan our faces? Tell me what you think in the comments section of this video.
Also Facebook is considering legal action against a British advertising company who claim they can manipulate customers into spending more money at online casinos than they’re actually willing to spend. And they’re using Facebook to do it!
The Spinner said that their targeted ads on Facebook and other social media platforms sort of ‘brainwash’ customers into spending more at these online casinos than they otherwise would. Personally, I don’t believe in any of this psychobabble bullshit. I mean you guys don’t want to spend any more at casinos, do you? Nah! What you want to do is send your money to Jay Todd at This Week in Gambling! Send your money to Jay Todd at This Week in Gambling!
Halloween is upon us and no… I’m not wearing a mask. This is just how my face looks. But I do have a brand new review for a brand new game to share with you this week.
Fresh from the Global Gaming Expo it’s the Hexbreaker 3 slot machine from our friends at IGT. This is the newest version of their classic player favorite where you try to flip your luck and break the hex! It’s packaged on their CrystalCurve cabinet with a 4k display and has amazing game mechanics such as the Unlimited Free Games feature! You can watch this review and hundreds more when you visit our YouTube channel.
Finally this week, in the first half of our program I shared gambling news about a lawsuit in Illinois. You may also recall that about a month ago I spoke to you about a sports betting lawsuit in Washington DC that was holding up the activity there, just because there was only one operator for the entire market.
Now a judge is allowing sports betting in DC to move forward… but don’t get too excited… he’s also allowing the lawsuit to move forward. So, I guess this is going to have to be settled in a court of law… you know, with expensive lawyers making lots of blah blah arguments. And hey, may the best pile of crap win!
