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Photos In A Casino – Are The No Photo Signs Enforceable? /

Photos In A Casino – Are The No Photo Signs Enforceable?

If you go to the major gambling cities around the world, whether Macau, Las Vegas, or Monaco, you'll find many casinos that are literally heaving with tourists. They are making a special trip and have been saving for this opportunity. So it's only natural that they would want to record their endeavors at the gambling tables, the slots, and around the mega-resort luxury casinos. Having a smartphone with a high-definition camera makes this even easier. But casinos may take a dim view of this.

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Is It Illegal To Take Photos In A Casino?

If you take a walk around any land-based casino, whether in Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, or Macau, you’ll see those signs which depict a camera with a red or black slash through it. These signs are there to warn you against taking photos in the casino. Keep in mind that it’s not actually illegal to take photos in a casino. On the other hand, it could be said that the casino is private property. So they can set whatever rules they wish. In the same way, the casino discourages you from counting cards at the blackjack table, drinking too much, from wearing flip-flops, and not wearing a shirt, taking pictures falls under the same general rules.

Despite what casinos would like you to believe, taking a photo inside a casino is not and has never been illegal. Though it is true that casinos want to discourage photography on their premises. Having said that, there are plenty of casinos that have areas where you are encouraged to take a selfie. But the heavy-handed banning of taking photos is a bit of a myth. Yet it’s freely encouraged by the casinos themselves and they continually perpetuate this lie.

Photos In A Casino: Maintaining Privacy

It’s as if they want players and guests to be unsure about whether they are allowed to take pictures or not. But in reality, it revolves around the idea of protecting the privacy of other players. In some ways, there could be some truth in this. After all, not all people visiting a casino might want others to know about gambling activities. Maybe you’ll take a picture that accidentally includes a person playing craps in the background. Someone who happens to be a public official or a policeman. Maybe by posting this photo on Instagram, you can inadvertently be responsible for someone losing their job. Another situation could be a man gambling with a woman at his side. Someone who is neither his wife nor girlfriend. Maybe this could cause problems in his home life if the picture were to appear in public on social media.

With virtually all smartphones possessing a camera that can take great quality photos in a casino, even under low lighting conditions such as found in the interior of a casino, then it’s understandable why the establishments would prefer that you kept your phone firmly in your pocket. If you’re playing to win the jackpot online, then because the games are streamed over the internet, you can take a snapshot on either your phone or PC at any time. This is true of all online casinos like 22Bet Casino.

Myth Understanding

The former Las Vegas review journal of an investigative reporter, A.D. Hopkins has said that the myth is being able to take photographs inside a casino goes back to the early days of Las Vegas. Back then, gambling had negative religious overtones. Many of those taking part did not wish their townsfolk back home to see them gambling at the gaming tables of a casino.

“I would often be told we could not take photos in a casino because it was illegal,” said Hopkins, who first began reporting on Las Vegas casinos in the 1970s. “Then I did a story on (future South Point owner) Mike Gaughan. He said, ‘That’s just bull****!’ He not only allowed me to take his picture in his casino but insisted that I do. Mike figured that some security chiefs decided it was easier to tell newspaper photographers, untruthfully, that it was illegal than it was to make sure they had the consent of everyone in the picture.”

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Dueling Priorities

What’s interesting is that the standard rule of no photos in a casino is that a rather dated policy is now facing a rapidly changing world. As previously mentioned, virtually every guest and player at the casino will have a high-definition camera attached to their phone. In the age of social media, everybody likes to document their successes, exciting events, and rites of passage. So playing an exciting evening at a luxury casino resort is the perfect activity for social media posts. It could be said that from the casino’s perspective, having photos of their clients having a good time can only be a positive thing. Even better, it’s a form of advertising that cost the casino nothing.

The Bigger Picture

In truth, there’s nothing the casino can do to stop you from taking a selfie picture. Because selfies are so ubiquitous, you’ll find that the attitudes of casinos towards photography are slowly changing and relaxing. Today though, you’re still fine to many casinos with the “No Photo” sign placed around the premises. But take note that there are some who are becoming more tolerant towards customers taking pictures. A good example of this is the Sahara Casino and Caesars Palace. Today their attitude towards people taking photos within their premises is much more relaxed.

All Publicity Is Good Publicity

Pushing things along even further, the Strat Casino actively encourages gamblers to take selfies, as well as placing relevant hashtags next to them, including blackjack, baccarat, and craps tables. Both the Four Queens and the Rampart Casinos also have no problems with players taking photos at a casino, including selfies, and publishing them on social media. In between these two attitudes, you’ll find casinos such as Pink MGM, which has a dedicated zone on the gaming floor that’s actually away from the tables and jackpot slots. It has been set up to allow clients to take their selfies without having other players appear unknowingly.

On the whole, new casinos are relaxing policies toward photography. But you should keep in mind the type of photography involved. They are many options within the casino’s photography policies that you should consider carefully. If you ask, you’ll discover that some types of photography will be more permissible than others. In reality, the casino’s “No Photos” signs are primarily there so the casino can enforce action against less permissible types of photography.

Photos In A Casino: What’s OK and What’s Not

On the whole, you won’t have any problems if you snap one or two selfies. To a degree, this can be virtually anywhere on a casino floor. This could be in the bar, in the restaurant, by the slot machines, or at the games table (provided there’s no game in progress). In fact, when you enter a casino, you will see many tourists. And they are all holding their phones over their heads to take selfies. One thing to watch out for is that casinos take a dim view of photos in a casino at an active gaming table. This holds true even if they’re only in the background of your selfie.

This is down to two reasons. The first one is understandable. It’s that the casino wishes to guard the privacy of its patrons. However, the second reason is slightly more interesting. It’s that the casinos are concerned you are using photography to perpetuate a cheating scam. Of course, such things are not possible if you’re gambling online at the best online casinos with jackpots. Our favourite is 22Bet Casino, as it offers a massive selection of jackpot games, as well as a huge welcome bonus for all new players.

Cashier’s Cage Photos In A Casino

If you’re feeling brave, you can perform a small experiment to gauge how the casino security responds to your photography. For example, if you try and take a picture of the cashier’s cage, you will find security grabbing your phone out of your hands, and marching you promptly out the front door. After all, there’s really no reason why anybody needs to take a picture of the casino’s cage. Except for someone who may be planning a future robbery. It’s important to keep in mind there have been many robberies where the casino’s cage was the target. In fact, a hold-up was committed at Resorts World Gold Coast just a few months ago.

Video Verboten

Casinos today have a pretty relaxed attitude towards still picture photos in a casino. But you will not be able to get away with video. Still, the casino doesn’t view photography as being disruptive. But the minute you get into realms of live streaming or videoconferencing then you will be stepping over a line drawn in the sand. There may be some social media influences such as famous poker-playing YouTubers who have permission to shoot their logs and slot-playing channels within the real casino setting. But in such cases, their agents and representatives would have cleared permission for live streaming ahead of time. Though you can’t simply fire up the phone and start face-timing in a land-based casino.

“Casinos are grappling with dueling priorities,” Roeben said. “They want the business that influencers can drive, but also don’t want to disrupt the experience of their best players – often in high-limit slot rooms. Recently, casinos friendly to influencers have reconsidered their policies, so the story is still unfolding. But it’s indicative of some of the growing pains related to technology and casinos.”