Surveillance teams again named eConnect.AI the most used facial recognition platform in gaming.
Surveillance leaders answer this survey anonymously. The report identifies no individual and no property. Asked which facial recognition system they run, they named eConnect more often than any other provider, again.
Facial technology systems used
37%
eConnect
19%
next named provider
2026 International Casino Surveillance Survey, report page 69. Bars are scaled to the eConnect share.
59%
of surveyed casino properties run facial recognition today
37%
of properties running facial recognition named eConnect, ahead of every other named provider
82%
of properties using facial recognition report a fairly large or a huge impact on detection
58%
of properties without facial recognition plan to invest in it
Facial recognition is now the majority position.
In 2021 one surveyed property in four ran facial recognition. In 2026 the figure reached 59 percent. Adoption rose in every year the survey has published, and the line has yet to flatten.
The biggest floors moved first. Among casinos with more than 100,000 square feet of gaming space, 80 percent run it today. The figure is 56 percent between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet, and 53 percent below 50,000. Keeping bad guys out is the most common use, named by 40 percent. Detecting suspicious individuals follows at 31 percent.
Casinos using a facial recognition system, 2021 to 2026
Percent of casinos answering yes, as printed on report page 68.
Facial technology systems used
Properties running facial recognition named the system they use.
eConnect
37%
Other
26%
Anyvision/Oosto
19%
Briefcam
11%
SAFR Visionlabs
4%
Clearview
4%
Corsight
0%
Named more often than any other provider, again.
The survey puts the question to the properties themselves. Every casino running facial recognition names the system it uses, and the answers are counted. eConnect drew 37 percent. The nearest named provider drew 19 percent.
An answer option labelled Other drew 26 percent. Other is not a provider, and the report holds the text answers behind it in a separate addendum. Every comparison on this page is therefore drawn against the next named provider.
More than eight in ten say it changed what they catch.
Adoption on its own proves very little. So the survey asks the properties running facial recognition what changed afterward. Eighty two percent report a fairly large or a huge impact on detecting criminal activity and undesirable individuals.
This figure belongs to the category, not to any one vendor. It covers every property running facial recognition, whatever platform sits behind it.
Impact of facial recognition technology use on detecting crimes and undesirable activity
Reported impact on detecting criminal activity and undesirable individuals.
Fairly large impact
49%
Huge impact
33%
Small increase
7%
We do not use facial recognition technology
4%
No increase at all
4%
Neutral
2%
Not sure
2%
Plans to invest in facial recognition technology by casinos that do not have it
Only casinos without facial recognition technology answered this question.
Yes
58%
Not sure
24%
No
11%
The properties without it are already shopping.
Among casinos that do not run facial recognition today, 58 percent plan to invest in it. Eleven percent rule it out. Twenty four percent are not sure. Whatever the pace of buying turns out to be, the direction of the market is settled.
What surveillance is up against, and where it goes for answers.
Internal theft and fraud tops the threat list at 92 percent, well clear of everything else. Advantage play follows at 53 percent, with cheating at 50 percent and cyber threats at 49 percent. Surveillance teams work those cases against shared databases and intelligence systems, and they name more than one.
Top threats in 2026
Surveillance leaders named the threats their department treats as a top concern.
Internal theft and fraud
92%
Advantage play
53%
Cheating
50%
Cyber threats
49%
Legal issues and litigation
32%
Civil unrest and violence
15%
Other
5%
Databases and intelligence systems used by surveillance
Multiple responses permitted, so the answers overlap.
Oregon Surveillance Network
63%
eConnect
58%
BJ Survey
27%
Other
26%
Biometrica
21%
Griffin
15%
Not sure
5%
Who runs this survey, and who pays for it.
Debra Hilgeman, Ph.D., Senior Research Partner at Raving Consulting Company, designed and administered the survey. It ran online from June 23 through July 24, 2026. Invitations went to members of the International Association of Certified Surveillance Professionals and to clients of eConnect and Raving Consulting Company. Every response is anonymous, and the report identifies no individual and no property.
The survey is co sponsored by the International Association of Certified Surveillance Professionals, eConnect, and Tribal Gaming and Hospitality Magazine, a division of Raving Consulting Company. We put that on the page because a reader is entitled to weigh it.
Participating properties came from 26 states in the United States, and 16 percent were located outside it. The split was 60 percent commercial casinos and 40 percent Tribal casinos. The report describes the sample as self selected, so the figures describe the properties that took part rather than the whole industry.
Every figure here comes from the published 2026 report and carries the report page it was read from. Percentages appear as the report prints them. The survey also measured staffing, wages, budgets, training, cheating, advantage play and internal theft. Surveillance professionals who want to take part in the 2027 study can contact the International Association of Certified Surveillance Professionals.
Read the survey report in full.
Sixth Annual International 2026 Casino Surveillance Survey Report, by Debra Hilgeman, Ph.D., Raving Consulting Company. Every chart on this page is in it, alongside the staffing, wages, budget, cheating, advantage play and internal theft findings this page does not cover.
See what the survey is measuring.
Facial recognition, license plate reading, transaction intelligence and contextual analytics, on one platform. Book a walkthrough with our team.
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