Angel’s Smart Tables Put Pose Recognition At Centre Of Baccarat Upgrade

Angel Group’s next-generation smart gaming tables are being positioned as a major step in baccarat technology, with the company saying pose recognition and artificial intelligence will be the main features that set one smart table apart from another. The system was shown at G2E Asia in Macau from 12 to 15 May, where Angel said the focus is shifting toward the quality of data generated on the gaming floor.

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AI And Body Tracking

Aaron Raj, chief technology officer of Angel Australasia Pty Ltd, said smart tables will eventually become standard across gaming floors, but the deciding factor will be how well each system captures and uses information. He said the combination of AI and pose recognition will create the biggest difference among smart table operators.

Raj explained that the value of the technology lies in the data behind it. In his view, smart tables will be widely available, but operators will judge them by the quality of the information they produce and by the solutions used to collect that data.

Angel Group is a Japanese manufacturer focused on playing cards, casino equipment, and smart table technology. It is already one of only 2 smart table providers whose products have been adopted by Macau concessionaires, alongside Walker Digital Table Systems, and it has deployed thousands of smart tables across Macau. Its pose recognition technology has also received regulatory approval in Singapore, while the Macau approval process is still underway.

From Chips To Players

Raj said Angel’s new approach differs from conventional smart tables because it identifies players rather than depending mainly on RFID chips. He said chip-based systems can become unreliable because ownership information is overwritten repeatedly during the day, making it difficult to know whether the data is still accurate.

Angel’s solution uses AI together with pose recognition to identify players through body and movement patterns. That allows the system to track each player’s bets across the table, even when several people are wagering on the same stack. Raj said facial features are only one part of the process, and he noted that facial recognition remains restricted in Macau under current rules.

He also pointed to the company’s response to the “Monkey no Monkey” side bet in Macau, saying Angel was able to support the new side bet within a couple of weeks. Raj said that flexibility comes from the AI-based structure of the baccarat platform. He added that the same approach is now being used in Angel’s blackjack solution, which he described as shoe-agnostic and able to work with different card shoes and blackjack variants without hardware changes.

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Back Office Oversight

A key part of the new system is the use of large dashboards in casino back offices. These dashboards give operators a real-time view of activity across the gaming floor, including turnover, dealer performance, player ratings, float inventory, and compliance-related metrics.

Angel says this setup gives operators a more complete picture of floor activity at any given moment. The company’s broader aim is to make the technology useful not only for game speed but also for management and compliance purposes.

Dealer Workflow And Data Use

The introduction of smart tables in Macau has drawn attention from dealers, some of whom have raised concerns through local lawmakers that the technology has increased their workload. Raj said Angel’s approach is designed to fit into existing table procedures rather than replace them. Dealers continue to operate in the same way as before, with the AI system running in the background to check rules, payouts, and bet collection.

Raj said the system only alerts dealers or supervisors when something goes wrong, such as an incorrect payout. He added that the focus is not only on speed, but also on player experience and the quality of backend data, which supports anti-money laundering monitoring, compliance, and dealer performance evaluation.

Wider Floor Coverage

Raj said Angel wants its AI technology to cover the entire gaming floor and extend across all game types. He described that as a continuing goal for the company as adoption of smart tables expands. With pose recognition, real-time data tools, and dealer-friendly integration, Angel is aiming to place baccarat technology at a different level.

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Source: Asia Gaming Brief