I remember watching the movie Casino for the first time, where there’s an intricate scene involving card cheats who are trying to pull a fast one over the casino by way of some kind of electronic signals sent with the tap of a finger. “Wow!” I thought. “That’s so high-tech! Good thing Ace (Robert De Niro’s character) is so wily!” Now just imagine those guys had Google Glass — Ace would not be pleased. As such, New Jersey regulators (and other lawmakers around the country) are preparing against a potential for Glass gadgetry to enhance gambling.

Obviously, casinos don’t want gamblers to have any edge over the house, because that could mean putting a big hole in their profits. Someone could invent a card-counting app, or simply record the habits of dealers and formulate a sneaky plan to game the system.

Casinos also say that just the presence of the eyewear might make others feel like there’s something shifty going on that they’re not a part of, and lose confidence in the whole set-up. Bad for morale, all that.

Regulators in the Garden State have granted Atlantic City’s casinos the power to ban Google Glass from the gambling floor to ward against those scenarios, reports pressofAtlanticCity.com.

Those itty bitty Web cameras and wireless computers could even allow cheaters to peek at someone else’s hand during a poker game, says the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement.

“For example, if these eyeglasses were worn during a poker game, they could be used to broadcast a patron’s hand to a confederate or otherwise be used in a collusive manner,” the division warned in a newly issued advisory to the casino industry.

A spokesman for Caesar’s has already banned Glass from gambling floors and showrooms at its casinos nationwide, which is huge as the company is the largest of its kind in the world.

“We’ve taken the action because gaming regulations across the nation ban the use of computers or recording devices while gambling,” he said. “In some states, in fact, such usage is considered a crime and subjects the user to arrest.”

One casino security expert says he thinks New Jersey is the first jurisdiction in the nation to implement a formal action against the eyewear, but Google aficionados will likely find their computer eyewear isn’t welcome elsewhere: Pennsylvania’s state regulators have a plan to advise its 11 casinos that an existing prohibition against gamblers armed (or eyed?) with electronic devices at table games also apply to Google Glass, while Mohegan Sun in Connecticut also bans such devices on the casino floor.

In addition to Caesars Entertainment properties, MGM Resorts in Las Vegas has told security workers to ask patrons to take off the specs before they start to gamble.

Previously: It Only Took A Few Hours After Sexytime App Debuts For Google To Ban Porn On Google Glass 

Regulators say Atlantic City casinos can ban Google glasses with cameras [thepressofAtlanticCity.com]
Casinos ban gamblers from using Google Glass [Associated Press]

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