Casinos must stay vigilant against document fraud

Jan 9, 2007 3:42 PM

From a personal safety standpoint, the casino environment is arguably the most protected among all entertainment venues what with the omnipresence of security personnel and video surveillance of virtually every inch of the property.

But in a business enterprise dominated by transactions not only involving currency but also paper and plastic instruments which have cash value, casino owners must be on constant vigil against forgery and fraud.

Peter Ettinger, president of Document Security Systems Inc. (DSS), a company that specializes in protection against counterfeiting, tells the Chicago Sun-Times that his company's technology can help alleviate the problem.

"Counterfeit losses are estimated worldwide at $250 billion across multiple industries, including gaming. If your basic paper or plastic product is not secure, then no other part of that product is as secure as it should be," Ettinger says.

The expansion of gaming both nationally and internationally has created new business horizons for companies which specialize in protecting against fraud, not only as it applies to paper but also plastic such as room keys and players club cards.

"When you look at the gaming industry, you see paper being passed throughout the casino, everything from currency to coupons and vouchers," Ettinger said. "The tools of the counterfeiter are typically the copier, the scanner, the home computer and the ability to do digital imaging."

The gambling industry will even begin deploying advanced document security measures that are commonplace in financial circles and other cash-driven enterprises.

Players cards, plastic room keys, and even gaming chips should be protected, Ettinger says. The technology involves optical variable technology (OVT) which reveals a ghosted message discernable to the naked eye when tilted at a certain angle to assure authenticity.

Rapid verification of documents and plastic cards to confirm authenticity quickly and easily as it applies to bar code data collection, cashless card systems and player and slot tracking systems is a priority of gaming and will soon be the industry standard, Ettinger predicts.

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