The Philippines gaming sector is taking a “big leap” to ‘smart-table’ technology, to compete operations-wise with other early-mover jurisdictions. So suggested Aaron Raj (pictured), chief technology officer (CTO) at casino-equipment supplier Angel Australasia Pty Ltd, in an interview with GGRAsia.
“Pagcor has started seeing the benefits of smart tables in terms of accurate reporting… This has given lot of confidence to the regulator to think forward,” noted Mr Raj, referring to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), the country’s casino regulator.
Mr Raj’s comments were on the show floor at the recent Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia @ the Philippines 2025 trade exhibition and conference. The Angel brand is a major provider of smart-table know-how.
He said operators in that market had also recognised the technology’s benefits, namely for game protection, player rating, and capture of real-time casino wins or losses for optimising gaming floor management, as well as accurate tax reporting for regulatory purposes.
Mr Raj stated regarding Philippine operators: “They have experienced [what]… is happening in other markets, and they don’t want to play catchup. They want to be on par with other jurisdictions. So that’s a big leap they have taken,” in starting to adopt smart tables.
Angel’s “hybrid” approach to a smart table product uses artificial intelligence (AI) and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, which the company says can handle a variety of styles of casino gameplay and game rules.
The Angel executive – also the brand’s smart-table integration specialist liaising with the industry – suggested smart tables could also provide confidence to newcomers to table games.
Table-game novices
Mr Raj stated regarding the Philippines: “For a predominantly slot-oriented market, if the players don’t know what the table game means, they’re always worried, or scared.”
He added that players “like the ‘smart’ part, because it’s all automated and they know that they are rewarded,” fairly by the technology for their play.
At the same time, such tables are “all human-operated,” giving a connection between the customer and casino staff member.
In addition to baccarat, Angel’s smart-table technology now also covers blackjack, roulette and sic bo, noted Mr Raj.
In all of the game formats, Angel’s product is not disrupting the process a gambler would expect to see at a conventional live-dealer table, the CTO stated.
Casino operators do not need to change their table-game operations “to suit the technology”, Mr Raj noted.
An example was Angel’s ability to marry its technology with house-edge boosting baccarat side bets of the sort adopted in Sands China Ltd’s properties in the Macau casino market, stated Mr Raj.
“For Angel, it is important to understand how the casino operates and help it in its operation. We don’t come and say: ‘This is the way you’ve got to have your side bets, because that’s how our technology works’,” said Mr Raj.
Any overly-simplified baccarat game layout could mean “taking the game experience away completely,” the Angel Australasia CTO remarked. He added: “You bring in a technology to help you, but not to dictate what you should do.”
