Although the live demo at the conference was a bit of a disaster, Meta’s announcement in September of the upcoming Ray-Ban Display glasses. Paired with a revolutionary Meta Neural Band wrist controller, this new category of AI eyewear is bringing the digital world into your physical reality. But, this poses a serious problem for casinos.
A sophisticated threat to casino integrity
The built-in camera and full-color, in-lens display means that casino players could receive real-time assistance without any obvious signs of foul play. From the outside, you cannot see much, if any, digital display. This means that people could be communicating with you, while seeing a live stream of your POV, or “worse”, the AI could be talking, telling you what to do.
For a game like blackjack, the AI could easily see the user’s cards and the dealer’s, and put together a simple calculation of the perfect strategy. Now, the perfect strategy doesn’t guarantee anything, and it’s something players can learn anyway, so it will be interesting to know if that’s seen as foul play.
Perhaps more concerning could be AI eventually using facial recognition to detect lies by analysing micro-expressions – something that online best casino in the UK won’t have to worry about.
To take it a step further, the potential for collusion increases, because you could be seeing a livestream of another player’s hand at the poker table. This is a definite, clear breach of the rules.
The inevitability of a ban
This isn’t the first time casinos have faced the challenge of wearable technology. A decade ago, the release of Google Glass prompted similar fears, and it led to a widespread ban in casinos around the world. Regulators and casino operators alike recognized the existential threat these devices, so they’re most certainly banned, and so too will the new Meta glasses. Of course, whether the casinos can spot them is another matter (especially lesser known Chinese alternatives), and this poses an existential threat to all sunglasses, which are popular among poker players. Casinos may soon not be able to manually check every pair, or even detect electronics if they do, so a blanket ban could spoil the part for all the fashionistas and old school players too.
Implications for at-home gaming
These glasses will not be detectable by players using them at home, of course. While online casinos try to actively detect bots and software, they stand no chance against these glasses. Of course, less scope for collusion exists with them, but they nevertheless could provide players with real-time strategy, live probabilities, and so on.
This could be seen in a positive light, though, as it may help newcomers learn the rules and basic strategy. Or, the casino games could be playable on the glasses themselves once an app store is released – VR is booming, after all. This is the ultimate discrete gaming on public transport, where you can play on the holographic HUD display.
The arrival of Meta’s new AI glasses is both a threat and an opportunity for casinos. Land-based casinos see this as a huge threat, and it could spiral into a blanket ban on all sunglasses. But for online casinos, it could not only be an opportunity for new players to learn strategy, it could be a business opportunity for a new medium of gaming.
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