World Game Protection Conference Will Expose Digital Attacks

As technology evolves, so too do the threats, which means it is becoming increasingly crucial to be aware of digital threats and how to counter them. The World Game Protection Conference will focus on digital threats and outright scams targeting the retail casino and iGaming industries.

Boot Camp for Casino Operators

The World Game Protection Conference (WGPC) is in its 20th year, and for the first time, it will be off the Strip corridor and instead be held at the South Point Hotel Casino from March 3rd through the 5th.

The WGPC encompasses a wide range of topics, including surveillance techniques, theft, crisis management, and more. But some of the most recent threats posed to major casinos come in the form of cyber attacks and scams that are designed to separate the casino from its money.

The conference will discuss various security threats, but cyber vulnerabilities are being constantly exploited by bad actors, and the conference is predicated on arming casino employees and executives with the tools to defend themselves in the digital realm.

Conference Evolution

The conference has evolved from a roomful of DVDs used to share concerns from casinos throughout the world to a much more sophisticated and immersive experience that utilizes experts in their respective fields.

“I think because criminals can use illegal gambling and online gambling as training fields, they are going to bring these same techniques to brick-and-mortar casinos,” Allison said. “They already have. You will find digital cheating equipment for table games all over the place.”

And although there will be an emphasis on digital threats and the newest scams being perpetrated, the conference will also have a three-hour seminar on the optimum way to run a casino.

This seminar will be conducted by Debi Nutton, who is the first casino executive who has been inducted into the American Gaming Association Gaming Hall of Fame.

When the House Isn’t the Only One Watching

Last year, a poker scandal rocked the industry when a player used an undetectable earpiece while his accomplice viewed the cards dealt in the game through a camera hidden in the side of the player’s phone, which was placed on the poker table to communicate with him.

“This has been going on for a long time,” Allison said. “They’re positioning cameras on the table that have better views than casino surveillance to see the cards being dealt. The dealers have to lift them out of the shuffle machine to place them, and in a poker game, that allows people to make decisions on how to play the hand.”