亚洲实体赌场为何不采用大数据？ – 点击这里阅读中文/Read in Chinese
Big Data has become more and more visible in the media in recent years, with references in TV programmes and hundreds of articles in newspapers, magazines, and the like. And it’s having a serious impact on business, as well: the financial industry, for instance, has been effectively controlled by this magic term for the past decade or so, and the usage of this term ranges from business strategy, customer services, and compliance control to internal audit sampling and data wrangling. In short, the whole world seems to have fallen in love with Big Data, and with the idea that revolutionary insights are there for the taking if one sifts the data properly. Except, that is, for the land-based casino industry. The question is why?Land-based casinos are highly regulated. It is common sense (and required by law) from Las Vegas to Macau. Every slot machine, the programming behind the machines, the tables, the roulettes, the cage, you name it: all are highly regulated, examined, and vetted before a single dollar can be earned from visitors.Nevertheless, there is no data connection between tables. No data is shared between slot machines. The roulette wheels do not talk to each other in terms of betting amounts, or the number of players in each game, the baccarat tables don’t note and share the gender of the players surrounding the table, the blackjack tables don’t note the frequency of blackjack, etc. Therefore, no matter whether you want to use Big Data to develop your marketing and business strategy, or you want to strengthen the so-called second line and third line of defence in a land-based casino, you are, in reality, basically talking about mission impossible, at least currently.So here comes two core questions for management:
- Why do we need to be fans of Big Data?
- How can Big Data benefit the casinos we run?
If you are nodding your head because you are already thinking about the two questions above, or if you’ve been meaning to start digging into Big Data but haven’t yet, then you need to understand how much more money you could be earning by utilizing Big Data. In fact, Big Data is not something astonishing or terrifically complicated. Rather, it is something that is very common.As I mentioned above, it is the information we collect from our customers, our staff and our facilities. If you visit any land-based casino in Macau, you will find that table games, for example, are entirely operated in a virtual environment. There is no physical staff dealing cards to the players; the whole set-up is virtual and runs in silo. In other words, the data of a particular game or games may be recorded, but in practice not many things are connected. Therefore, the concept of Big Data is virtually non-existent in a sample land-based casino in Asia. We may be able to possess and analyse some Small Data, but definitely it is not something Big. At least not yet.What we need to understand about the Asian markets is detail: about the population we serve, the groups of tourists and players we tout, and the hidden pitfalls and dangers that we face every day: syndicated fraud, money laundering activities and any other casino-related crimes you can think of. In other words, we need a way to connect the tables, the machines and, most importantly, the data from players, employees and anyone appearing in the gaming area. Why? So that we can refine our marketing and business strategy to be more timely and responsive.We can improve the players’ gaming experience, remove irrelevant or obsolete games, and assist our internal auditors in detecting irregularities in order to reduce loss from fraud and other crimes. This is the direction Asian land-based casinos should head. One bonus point: our regulators will be happy to see we are adding cutting edge technology and are making ourselves parallel to other regulated industries. That is what I call the true Win.SL is a senior executive of a reputable international consulting firm, focusing on regulatory compliance in the financial sector and gaming industry. He can be reached at sl@cdcgamingreports.com
Chinese version
近年来，「大数据」一词经常出现在电视节目、报纸、杂志等媒体。以金融业为例，人们都沉醉于这神奇的术语中，不论在业务战略、客户服务、合规控制，甚至到内部审计抽样，各色各样的范围均在使用这术语。整个世界都爱上了这个新潮的术语。然而，除了实体赌场外，为什么与这术语拉不上？由拉斯韦加斯到澳门，实体赌场均受着严格监管。例如，每台角子老虎机、机器编程、赌枱、轮盘、账房以及任何与赌场有关的事物，每分从博彩者口袋里赚取的一美元均会受到高度监管、检查和审查。尽管如此，赌枱间没有任何网络连接，每台角子老虎机之间没有共享数据，并且就实体赌场接收的投注、每个博彩中的玩家数量、百家乐的玩家性别、21点的频率等而言，赌局间不会彼此「交谈」。因此，无论您是想制定营销和商业策略，或是有意在实体赌场加强所谓的二线和三线防线，基本上都是不可能的任务。由此衍生出两个与管理层相关的核心问题，一）为什么我需要成为大数据的粉丝？二）大数据如何使我们运营的赌场受益？如果您正因为这两个问题而伤脑筋，那么您先要了解没有大数据您可能少赚多少钱。事实上，大数据并非惊奇之物。相反，它非常常见。如上所述，这是我们从客户、员工和设施中收集的信息。如果您正到访澳门的任何实体赌场，您会发现赌枱完全在虚拟环境中运行，这里没有为玩家提供扑克牌的实体工作人员，而是在筒仓中运行的视频设置。换句话说，它可以记录特定的博彩数据，但实际上并没有。因此，大数据的概念在亚洲实体赌场中几乎不存在。我们可能持有一些小数据，但绝不是大数据。我们需要了解亚洲市场中接受我们服务的对象，我们接待的游客和博彩者群体，以及我们每天面临的隐藏「场景」，例如银团欺诈、洗钱活动以及您可以想到的任何与赌场相关犯罪活动。换言之，连接每张赌枱和机器，获得来自博彩者，员工及出现在博彩区域内的任何人的数据，未必会扩大赌场盈利，但相信可避免损失。因为我们可以及时完善营销和业务策略，改善人们的博彩体验。我们可以淘汰不受欢迎的博彩，我们甚至可以帮助内部审计员发现违规行为，以减少欺诈和其他犯罪行为导致的损失。这应该是亚洲实体赌场的发展方向。当然，要完全成功杜绝一切犯罪行为不能单单依靠大数据，甚至可能要严密监管每场赌局和每张赌枱。然而，当全世界的相关技术正在提升时，我们大可与监管机构仔细研究其可行性，让亚洲赌业紧贴世界潮流趋势。除此之外，监管机构将很高兴看到我们拥有尖端技术并与其他相关受监管行业，如银行业和金融业，一同看齐，达至多方共赢。SL 是一家全球领先的国际咨询公司的高级行政人员, 专注于金融行业和博彩业的监管合规。他亦与亚洲博彩业紧密合作, 协助业界建立及提升其规管及整体风险管理标准。在成为一名顾问之前，SL在金融领域担任重要职位10年 ，在进入金融领域之前，SL先生曾在香港担任執法人員及協助刑事检控工作。 可以通过 sl@cdcgamingreports.com 与他联系。Nic W.为一资深注册社工，具多年家庭及青少年工作经验。因为长期接触不同背景的家庭及青少年，Nic W.期望能为亚洲博彩业提供独到的分析。Nic W.现在于欧洲研究院攻读表达艺术治疗的硕士课程。可以通过 nicw@cdcgamingreports.com 与他联系。
