Product/Version
NOVOCARD-Ampelsystem
Function as provided in March 2011
Cert. No.
DE-110025
Validity
04/05/2011 – 31/05/2013
Monitoring
01/2012
(O.K.)
09/2012
(O.K.)
Public Report
Manufacturer/Provider
Austrian Gaming Industries GmbH (AGI)
Wiener Straße 158
2352 Gumpoldskirchen
Austria
BEST
NOVOCARD-Ampelsystem adheres to the principle of data minimisation: The processed data are necessary to identify a visitor, to monitor his gaming habits and to keep track of bans on entering AGI casinos. Only cumulative sums of the number of days and durations of attendances are recorded, stored and analysed, but not exact dates, times and entertainment casino locations.
ATTENTION:
The NOVOCARD is a contactless smart card that is issued by AGI to visitors of its gambling casinos. It cannot be excluded completely that a card’s ID is read out abusively and that a card is cloned by unauthorised persons with the aid of the intercepted ID. AGI offers protective covers preventing the interception of IDs to visitors of its gambling casinos at cost price. Visitors are advised to purchase and use such a protective cover.
Summary
AGI runs gambling casinos in several locations of Lower Austria (a federal state of the Republic of Austria). It has developed and implemented the NOVOCARD-Ampelsystem which is an IT-based access control system. By means of this system, frequency and duration of a visitors presence in AGI’s casinos are monitored. This serves the purpose to comply with provisions of the Austrian Federal Gambling Act (“Glücksspielgesetz 2010”) and of the Lower Austrian Gaming Machine Act (“NÖ Spielautomatengesetz 2006”). These regulations address the issue of prevention of gaming addiction.
Details
From a visitor’s point of view, the operation of the NOVOCARD-Ampelsystem may be roughly divided into two phases: (1) registration of visitors and (2) monitoring and analysis of frequeny and duration of a visitor’s presence in AGI’s gambling casinos.
(1) Registration
When a visitor enters an AGI gambling casino for the very first time, he must identify himself by use of an official photo identification card or passport. The respective ID card or passport is scanned and the digital scan is inserted into a registration form. Another element of this form is a declaration of consent to the processing of personal data for the purpose of prevention of gaming addiction. The printed registration form is to be signed by the visitor while the digital scan (including the photo) is stored in a central database. This central database enables AGI to monitor frequency and duration of a visitor’s presence across different casino locations. Furthermore, an information leaflet containing basic information about the functionality of the NOVOCARD-Ampelsystem is handed to the visitor. Finally, the NOVOCARD, a contactless smart card, is issued to the visitor. The only information that is stored on this card is an ID that is assigned to the respective visitor. With the aid of the card, the visitor may pass the turnstiles that are located in front of the gaming area of each gambling casino.
(2) Monitoring/analysis of attendance times
The NOVOCARD-Ampelsystem does not only serve the purpose of access control, but also the purpose of monitoring and analysing the frequency and duration of a visitor’s presence in AGI’s gambling casinos. Each time a visitor enters or leaves an AGI casino, this circumstance is registered by the system. It is important to note that only totalised values of frequency and duration, but no further information such as time, date and the (location of the) respective casino are stored in the database. Frequency and duration are monitored for a period of 180 days. Relevant cutoff dates are January 1 and July 1. The NOVOCARD-Ampelsystem analyses a visitor’s attendance times during the recently expired period and decides whether his gaming history suggests the existence of pathological gambling. In this instance, the visitor is given a letter informing him about the fact that his gaming habits are deemed to be problematic and about the risks of existence-threatening gambling. Moreover, the visitor’s NOVOCARD is blocked and he is banned on entering casinos operated by AGI. The more often a visitor is banned, the longer becomes the duration of a ban.
Technical and Legal Evaluator
Hans-Jürgen Pollirer
c/o Secur-Data BetriebsberatungsgesmbH
Fischerstiege 9
1010 Wien
Austria
Formerly Certified Versions
n.a.