According to the report, the gambler was being hosted in one of Crown’s high-roller suites. Apparently during the play, an unauthorised person was given remote access to the casino’s surveillance systems and was able to relay information about opponents’ hands to the gambler.
One imaginable possibility is that a member of the gamblers’ own entourage was allowed to monitor scenes using security cameras that were then used to watch other players but this seems highly irregular and is likely to fly in the face of tight official procedure.
Victorian Law Reform Commission report states that Crown Casino has “one of the most advanced, complex and comprehensive video surveillance systems currently in use in Victoria”.
In the wake of the scam a gambling expert Barron Stringfellow told ABC Melbourne that hacking a casino’s security system isn’t as hard as one would imagine. “It’s very easy to intercept a signal from many casinos that don’t take precautions.”
However, Robert D. Grossman, a US security consultant who works extensively with casinos, is reported to be surprised by the scam as it’s unusual to obtain unauthorised access to a gaming surveillance system.
It’s hard not to speculate that if a third party was given access to cameras it must have been under very unusual circumstances. Standard casino surveillance procedures are strict, modern digital cameras generally live on secure subnets with little or no remote access, gaming cameras are separated from security cameras and gaming CCTV teams are strictly vetted.
Meanwhile, a Crown spokesman said the casino was investigating the rort.
“Crown’s surveillance department recently reported concerns over a sophisticated betting scam,” he said. “A Crown investigation is under way and is ongoing.”
