NSW mandates facial recognition in gaming reform package
New South Wales has introduced a gaming reform package that requires facial recognition technology to be used in gambling venues. The mandate appears aimed at harm reduction or compliance enforcement within the state's gaming industry.
Why this matters: Facial recognition in a casino or pub is not a small thing. Every person who walks through the door gets scanned, whether they have done anything wrong or not. That is a biometric database built from ordinary nights out. The policy goal may be reasonable — problem gambling is real — but the tool collects far more than it needs, from far more people than it targets. Once that infrastructure exists, the question is always what else it gets used for, and who controls the data.
Who should care: Privacy officers · Cybersecurity · General readers · Policy
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