Provided that it leads to a better standard in the home or workplace, innovation is a great thing. On the other hand, if the technological improvement causes adverse effects, like illness, then it may not be so wanted. After gaming dealers in Macau began to declare that new “smart tables” are the reason of their illnesses, one local lawmaker wants to find the cause of the issue and is urging that gaming technology to be studied deeply.
Smart tables feature what is known as Casino Chip Attribution Systems, or CCAS. They’re also called radiation tables to croupiers and some in the gaming industry, due to the heat which is emitted from the system. Some dealers claim CCAS is causing health issues and some employees have even attempted to get the system removed, stating that they have been exposed to “unknown electrical technology use.”
As reported by calvinayre.com, manufacturers, operators and regulators have given assurances that CCAS is totally safe. However, Lawmaker and Federation of Trade Unions executive Ella Lei is not satisfied and wants them to put it in writing.
She told the Macau Daily Times, “If the government or casino operators have data assuring the safety of new technologies, I believe it should be disclosed to ease laborers’ worries.”
Nearly 20 years ago, the use of radio-frequency identification (RFID) in casino chips was first introduced in Las Vegas and have been found in casinos around the globe since then. They let chips to be tracked more easily and harder to fake, and CCAS takes the concept to a new level. It includes a reader in the table which can accurately track all of the chips in action, those that are in each player’s stack and how much is being betted. Also, it gives pit bosses a clue of what’s on the tables and when to offer a player a reload if the stack is getting small.
But RFID technology has also had opposers, with some claiming that it is responsible for numerous health issues. Attempts at eradicating these concerns often fail, and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Macau’s gaming regulator, has tried to comfort employees, saying earlier this month, “Apart from assisting the relevant government departments in conducting regular checks on workplace safety compliance, the bureau also requires casino operators to submit independent, third-party test reports of the gaming facilities when approving such installations.”
The World Health Organization as well, has supported the global concern over RFID technology and the related electromagnetic fields (EMF) generated by the readers. But it has also stated that there is no proof to support the idea that they cause health issues, adding that “EMF exposure below the limits recommended in internationally adopted guidelines has not revealed any known negative health effects.”
