Nevada gaming board probes fraud in casino players programs

Nevada gaming board probes fraud in casino players programs

Casino companies may not be the only ones keeping track of how many points you have on your player card.

The cards represent a growing number of fraud cases in Las Vegas, as hackers target the popular programs and casinos’ customer databases in an effort to gain access to customers’ personal information or steal points, gaming regulators and security analysts said.

“We are investigating several cases at the moment,” said Jerry Markling, chief of the enforcement division of the Nevada Gaming Control Board in Carson City. “We’ve been seeing a lot of cases involving players club programs and the stealing of points.” Markling declined to comment on specific cases or give further details.

The problem has become serious enough that regulators sent a letter in December reminding casino companies of their obligations to protect customer information and periodically review their database security.

“Nevada has some very strict laws in place regarding customer confidentiality,” said Rob Meyne, vice president of corporate communications with Boyd Gaming Corp. “In addition, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has recently reminded licensees that they are responsible for maintaining security of customer databases.”

Meyne stressed that his company takes the issue of customer privacy “very seriously” and provides safeguards for its customers. Other casino companies declined to comment on the issue.