There is a significant increase in the number of conversations among operators in the industry around Smart or Intelligent Tables. 

Do I need them? Can I afford them? Who should I purchase from? RFID or Video? What are the benefits? 

Furthermore, the number of vendors developing solutions and entering the market is also on-the-rise over the last few years, which doesn’t make it any easier when considering Smart Tables. 

This blog post outlines some deciding factors for those considering Smart Tables.

Do I need Smart Tables?

As a casino operator, consider your answers to the following questions:

• Do I want to reward the right customers with the appropriate value? 
• Is Marketing willing to change how customers currently get rewarded? 
• Am I concerned about revenue leakage?
• Do I want to improve my table games optimization strategy?
• Do I believe staff can better utilize their time (rather than manually collecting data)?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, Smart Tables should be part of your strategic planning and budgeting.

Consider the benefits:

1. Revenue Leakage

Many factors and actions can contribute to revenue loss each year that are difficult to monitor. These include chip theft by employees, overpayment of winning wagers; not taking losing wagers; past posting; and so on.

Most revenue leakage may not be detected by security surveillance due to a shortage of manpower and technology constraints. Thus, Smart Tables are your best bet to reduce or eliminate leakage.

2. Customer Experience

The single biggest complaint from customers (apart from not winning) is not getting rated accurately.

How do we best determine what to give back to our customers?

Smart Tables provide the opportunity to reward the right customers based on the true measurement of their play and to execute the property’s marketing strategy more accurately. 

3. Operational Data & Efficiency

A significant number of operational decisions are based on data that is being entered manually by floor staff. How many players are playing on the table? What is the average wager? What is the breakdown of the wager between the primary bet and the side bet?

Based on these inputs, operators will decide the number of tables to open, the type, the price, and what side bets to offer. 

Improving the data quality of your table games optimization strategy from Smart Tables will certainly improve the quality of the results. 

This will also help with efficiency and the guest experience. Freeing up staff’s time from collecting data can allow them to focus on improving customer service. 

4. Know Your Customer

This has been a hot topic in the gaming world recently and, as a by-product of having accurate data on customers' play, we can make more informed decisions as they relate to Responsible Gaming and Anti Money laundering requirements.

The Options

So now we have established the range of benefits associated with Smart Table appropriation, but there are a few different options to consider:

RFID – Utilizes RFID technology embedded in the table, float, and chips to track gameplay and patron activity.

VIDEO – Utilizes cameras (including in some instances facial and body recognition) to track gameplay and patron activity.

HYBRID – Utilizes a blend of RFID combined with video analytics to track gameplay and patron activity.

Each approach and vendor has its pros and cons and, as is frequently the case, the decision comes down to the cost vs benefits. Here are some points to consider when evaluating the various options: 

Operators must fully understand the benefits and strengths of each option as well as the supplier they’ll be working with to ensure it meets their requirements.

Conclusion

Smart Table technology has developed rapidly during the last few years with the improvement in RFID, camera technology, video analytics, and associated software and hardware.

While not yet 100% accurate across all games, there are sufficient tangible improvement gains for operators to confidently explore Smart Tables for their property.

Purchasing and installing Smart Tables is a significant undertaking by any operator both from a time and resource commitment. As such, due diligence should be taken by all proponents to ensure that the expectations are being met and that it is deriving measurable value.

If implemented properly, Smart Tables will provide many benefits to casinos in pursuing the holy grail in table game optimization.