Melco Crown is a gaming operator in Macau who recently announced efforts to step up security measures to try and thwart individuals who are banned from their properties from entering. City of Dreams and Studio City will implement the new technology which will mark the very first time an operator in Macau will be installing specialized facial recognition technology created by Cognitec for security measures.

The new system, titled FaceVACS-VideoScan, will detect the faces of individuals in live time with a video stream and then compare the faces found to features in photos of banned individuals, which are stored in data bases. If a match is found, the system will alert the security staff in real time. This extended security measure’s goal is to prevent losses on site as well as stop criminal activities quickly.

According to the software’s creator, Cognitec, the system has several capabilities including marking frequent visitors, people movement in regards to time and space, behavior of customers as well as demographical information. Stephen Meltz is the Cognitec managing director for the Asia-Pacific division, who stated that the system is the first of its kind to be used in casino setting.

Crime has been an issue in Macau, causing casinos to see less visitors than ever before. In 2015, crimes related to gaming increased by 38%. There were over 1,500 crimes related to gaming recorded in Macau last year and casinos are taking steps to try and cut down on such crimes as loan-sharking and illegal imprisonment, both of which took place inside casino venues.