US casino gets sued over facial recognition tech

A casino in Illinois has been sued over the use of facial recognition technology with their video security cameras without the proper policy.

US.- Facial recognition technology is growing its presence in the gambling industry. However, a US casino has been sued over its use. The venue, Harrah’s Casino in downtown Joliet uses it “without creating and following a written policy, made available to the public.”

“Defendants use facial recognition technology with their video security cameras at their Illinois casinos,” the suit explains. “Defendants’ facial recognition technology identifies a person by scanning the geometry of a person’s facial features. They compare that scan against databases of stored facial geometry templates.”

“Unlike other companies in Illinois, defendants failed to take notice and follow the requirements of the Biometric Information Privacy Act. That, even though the law was enacted in 2008 and numerous articles and court filings were published about the law’s requirement before defendants committed the violations alleged in this complaint,” the plaintiffs argue.

Gambling expansion in Illinois

The gambling expansion in Illinois will see the industry substantially grow in the short-term. That’s why Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is pushing the development of a casino there.

Mayor Lightfoot is driving forward two options for a venue. The first vows for a mixed ownership: shared by the city and the state. The other one would just be a privately-owned development.

Despite Mayor’s push for a Chicago casino, she asked the Legislature to favour its arrival. Most noteworthy, she wants them to approve lower taxes than the ones that the expanded gambling legislation set.