Agreement increases OpenBet’s foothold in Michigan, Indiana and wider tribal casino community

OpenBet, a leading content, technology and services provider to the sports betting industry, has been selected by Four Winds Casinos to supply its player protection technology, powered by Neccton.

Four Winds Casinos, which is owned and operated by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, will benefit from Neccton’s unrivalled responsible gaming and anti-money laundering (AML) software at its premier gaming resorts across the Midwestern United States.

Neccton is part of OpenBet’s growing regulatory tech vertical and demonstrates the provider’s ongoing commitment to building a secure and sustainable industry. With academic research at its foundation, the software is renowned for its evidence-based interventions, including personalized pop-up messaging, limit setting functionality and valuable behavioral insights.

Advertisement

Four Winds Casinos becomes the latest operator to join OpenBet’s ever-increasing global customer base, which grew by more than 40% during the first half of 2024. The deal also reaffirms OpenBet’s strategic efforts to support the U.S. tribal casino community. The company currently delivers its compelling modular product suite to 14 tribes, and earlier this year invested in Player Account Management (PAM) platform provider Strive Gaming to increase opportunities within newly operating tribal markets.

Dr Michael Auer, Managing Director at OpenBet’s Neccton said, “Four Winds Casinos is an institution in Michigan and Indiana’s gaming landscape, whose commitment to player protection aligns with our goals and objectives. OpenBet has continually invested in strengthening its Protect pillar and with our Neccton technology always evolving with the latest data insights, Four Winds Casinos can be sure they are at the forefront of player protection.”

Konami Gaming Inc. and Xailient announced that SYNK Vision, the world’s only player facial recognition solution for Electronic Game Machines (EGM), has been expanded to provide instant recognition of casino players at table games. Konami will be demonstrating the solution at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas from October 8-10, 2024.

In 2023, the launch of SYNK Vision revolutionized player tracking and harm minimization by offering instant login capabilities for both carded (known) and optionally anonymous (unknown) players — eliminating the need for player loyalty cards, or other method of logging onto the player tracking system. Leveraging privacy-safe facial recognition technology from Xailient, Konami’s SYNK Vision addresses challenges such as identity fraud, duplicate player records, and gaps in player tracking data, even for anonymous users. By employing proprietary, secure facial recognition methods, SYNK Vision enables de-identified tracking of all players—whether carded or anonymous — closing loopholes in anti-money laundering procedures since all players are tracked and facilitating anonymous bonusing. Importantly, SYNK Vision is not limited to gaming environments; it can also recognize and reward players in non-gaming areas, offering a comprehensive solution that enhances the overall guest experience across various settings.

With the addition of SYNK Vision table games support, casinos can benefit from seamless player tracking at table games (both carded and refused name), for a consistent player experience across the property. SYNK Vision for tables uses smart cameras to detect players seated at the tables, integrating with the player ratings system to streamline operations and ensure accurate data entry. Artificial intelligence (AI) helps the casino staff by automating the tasks of player identification and player identity verification, removing opportunity for human error and speeding up the player experience from sit-down to buy-in.

“Table games staffs’ jobs keep getting harder, SYNK Vision returns the staff to their core role in customer service and entertainment faster. Staff enjoy interacting with players, but sometimes find the role of policing IDs, tracking AML an impediment to building rapport. This table game extension of SYNK Vision helps keep the fun,” said Tom Soukup, senior vice president & chief systems product officer at Konami Gaming Inc.

Advertisement

Smart cameras process AI inside the camera itself, instead of transmitting video for processing in servers or the cloud, and can easily be installed into EGM or on tables. This decentralized approach processing, known as “Edge AI”, dramatically reduces the costs associated with AI systems because existing networks and servers do not need to be upgraded. This approach also improves security and privacy.

Lars Oleson, chief executive officer of Xailient, said: “Edge AI is a game changer. Casinos can roll out this technology without major infrastructure upgrades, reducing cost, risk, and hassle. The bottom line is we can affordably deliver enhanced customer experience without sacrificing customer privacy. Together, we are setting the stage for the next generation of gaming experiences.”

SYNK Vision emphasizes secure identity management and harm minimization, ensuring a safer, more responsible, and personalized casino experience.

“In the Asia Pacific market, and Australia, under new regulatory constraints in particular, players’ secure and unique identity becomes key to good operational governance of casinos. Whether to ensure identity linked to AML transactions or identity of players redeeming promotional activity, SYNK Vision exclusively provides casinos with best practice technological solutions,” said Gerard Crosby, senior vice president & chief games product officer at Konami Gaming and director of Konami Australia Pty Ltd.

Jay Bertch, senior vice president & chief commercial officer at Konami Gaming, said: “Cards have known friction points, but the anonymous (or unknown player) is likely far larger than we can measure. Consider the situation that a player left their card in their room and are meeting friends for dinner. Will they play while they wait? Or, since they aren’t earning points, do they distract themselves with their phone? SYNK Vision removes that impediment to customer experience by enabling the player to ‘card-in’ via facial recognition.”

Advertisement

SYNK Vision is revolutionizing casino industry standards for harm minimization, secure identity management, and responsible gaming—realized through close strategic partnership between Konami Gaming and Xailient. SYNK Vision is testament to shared industry dedication to innovation and enhancing the overall casino experience.

G2E attendees are encouraged to visit booth #1256 at The Venetian Expo on October 8-10, 2024 to explore SYNK Vision and more Konami releases.