A key topic at the upcoming World Game Protection Conference will be the use of hidden cameras by cheaters during poker games. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

The recent unveiling of a scam that an organized crime group deployed at poker tables across Europe has left professionals nervous about future repeats of this type of cheating. The men used well-hidden cameras in their phones and shirts and a nearly undetectable earpiece to see the cards being dealt.

Professional poker player Maria Konnikova will discuss the matter at the World Game Protection Conference in March at the Rio Las Vegas.

believes casinos should prohibit the use of all electronic devices from table games

Konnikova has researched varying forms of cheating across different games and believes casinos should prohibit the use of all electronic devices at table games. Another possible way to foil hidden cameras, she believes, is giving cards to players through a chute rather than having a real dealer dish them out.

Casinos are largely resistant to her concerns as it is a good form of marketing when people share images, videos, and livestreams of their in-person gambling and tag the property. Some people even believe the casinos don’t care as much when the cheating is during peer-to-peer poker games as it doesn’t lose them money.

Certain high-profile poker tournaments now prohibit electronics at tables and on the rail. The World Series of Poker, for instance, completely banned electronic devices at the table at WSOP Paradise this past December when down to three tables.