The Canadian gaming industry is taking leaps forward when it comes to integrating technology and gaming. But, as the gaming experience moves with the times, security, surveillance, and casino optimization are in danger of being left behind.

Montreal-based company HookMotion are making it their mission to avoid that from happening and bring casino monitoring up to speed with industry developments. The computer vision company’s Table Motion solution provides table-tracking technology that monitors casino table games with a key focus on reducing fraud, reducing errors, limiting losses, and increasing revenue for operators.

Noting that casinos have been estimated to be losing tens of thousands of dollars monthly on tables due to human error, co-founders Matthieu Clas, Dominic Morin-Proulx, and Samy Zarour identified the need for modernization when it comes to security and surveillance.

“Stereotypically, we believe what we see in the movies: that security systems in casinos are really high-tech,” notes Clas. “In reality, we learned attempted fraud detection is often still just people watching hours of video and taking notes. We knew there had to be a better way.”

That’s when the trio decided to build their vision. HookMotion’s computer vision software connects to a casino’s existing camera infrastructure to automatically track table games. Casinos tend to have extensive camera systems above table games; the disconnect is with what happens to the footage, how it’s analyzed and utilized.

“It’s very important to us that we don’t bring in any extra hardware or cameras to these table games,” says Clas, noting the cost and time-consumption factors that would entail. Instead, HookMotion’s technology simply connects to the existing cameras and automatically detects the positions of cards and chips on the table, how many people are playing, who’s winning or losing. The software is able to run completely in-house, meaning no information ever needs to leave the casino and thus ensuring maximum data security.

The results of the system are wide-ranging. There are clear error detection and prevention benefits, like the ability to notify security or floor staff if there is human error on the table or if someone isn’t playing by the rules.

It’s not just security, though. The technology allows for the tracking of gameplay, yielding key insights like how many people are playing at any given time, win/loss ratios, hands per hour, player rating and dealer rating systems, and increasing operational efficiency with automated alerts.

In turn, this allows casinos more insights into when to lower or raise minimum bets, open or close tables, and other movements. “Because we have a good understanding of the table, we can extract any information that the casino might find relevant,” says Clas.

Part of HookMotion’s rationale in looking to avoid the need to add extra cameras or systems is that Canadian and U.S. casino markets have been noted as lagging behind other jurisdictions like much of South-East Asia when it comes to hardware on tables. Instead, their mission statement is to offer an easy and simple installation. HookMotion’s offerings allow operators to bypass the need for numerous single-objective technologies with the added benefit of allowing for the gathering of more data than if multiple hardware was being added to tables.

The company has already carried out proof-of-concept testing in Canada on single casino tables and is now doing wider trials in multiple countries including the U.S. The ultimate aim is full deployment on multiple tables in numerous jurisdictions, with the technology running full-time to assist casinos and operators.

“Our main objective is to make cameras smarter, reduce losses by catching fraud and keeping money on the table, and increase revenue by giving better data so casinos can optimize their games,” says Clas. After all, knowing your casino’s most popular games and harnessing player information has never been more important than in the pandemic era of changing habits and slimmer margins.

As casinos continue to open up and welcome back players across the country, HookMotion has the answer to your security, surveillance, and operational needs. It’s time to bet on data.

Find out more at HookMotion.com.