An unfortunate fact of life is that every time we institute a new program designed to help the truly afflicted, fraudsters come out of the woodwork to exploit the program.
Problem gamblers' registries are humane tools designed to minimize the social cost of gambling by allowing problem gamblers to exclude themselves from facilities where gambling takes place.
If a self-excluded gambler is served by a casino, any losses are unenforceable and the money must be returned to the person who should not have been served.
This created an irresistible opportunity for some to commit fraud. Simply enroll in the problem gambler database and if you can sneak into a casino, you can't lose. If you win, you leave; if you lose, you get your money back.
Enter Face-Rec.
Problem gamblers beware. The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. — which critics say hasn't done enough to keep you out — plans to be up to the challenge this spring.
OLG is set to unveil a new facial recognition program at all 27 of its gambling facilities in Ontario. It's being praised as a high roller in the privacy protection game.
“It's the most privacy-protected system using biometric encryption in the world,” said Ann Cavoukian, Ontario's privacy commissioner, who approved the new system.
Those who think society should take a more active role in creating the structures to help the vulnerable should be open-minded about reducing the opportunities for fraud that social programs invite. High-tech identity management techniques are a piece of the puzzle and they can be implemented in ways that are consistent with individual privacy.
Earlier post on the subject here.
