Australia’s Productivity Commission says that the federal government needs more control over the gambling industry. That shouldn’t come as a complete surprise. The Productivity Commission is an independent research and advisory board appointed by the Aussies’ federal government. So an entity appointed by the federal government and asked by the federal government to study the gambling industry finds that the federal government should run it? Hmm…

The Australian Productivity report on gambling has come out and they say that the federal government should take the regulatory authority away from the individual states and handle it themselves. They also advocate placing a 2% tax on all gambling revenue. The federal government could also offer “incentive payments” to the states to reduce their “reliance” on slots tax. Those payments are supposed to be to help wean the states off of gambling income rather than cutting it off abruptly, though some people see the idea as bribery.

All of that is troubling to people who advocate small federal government and local governments taking care of as much as possible for themselves. It gets worse, though. The report also suggests establishing a national player tracking system so the federal government can detect “abnormal or risky playing patterns.”

Gee, do you think that’s something that could be abused? The concept behind that idea is that Australian citizens are incapable of taking care of themselves and making sure they don’t spend too much money at the casinos. Therefore, the government has to monitor them and step in if they think the gambling is becoming a problem, if they are betting too much money, or just being irresponsible.

The new government system would allow the federal government to track all money spent on gambling by the citizens, how much money they spend, where they spend it, how much they win or lose, what games they are playing and more. The potential for this financial espionage to be abused is enormous. Of course, the government playing the role of Big Brother isn’t new. Look at their internet censorship history, which, though not as bad as China’s, is exceptionally bad when you consider that – unlike China – Australia is supposed to be a free country.

Here at Gambling Review, I support gambling expansion. However, I’m hoping that Australia’s federal government doesn’t listen to the suggestions of the Productivity Commission.

Gambling Review readers, meet Kris Zutis. Mr. Zutis has not yet graduated from college, but he’s already making lots of friends and enemies in the gambling world. Quite an achievement. When I was in college the only thing I had accomplished was racking up debt, constantly being drunk or hung over, and learning over 50 different meals you can make with ramen noodles. Zutis is clearly ahead of the curve.

A native of Latvia, Zutis is in his final year at Dundee University in Scotland. Zutis is an avid gambler and is even a member of poker clubs at the school. Zutis has designed a computer system for the final project for his Applied Computing degree that would detect card counters in blackjack. Yes, you read that correctly. A gambler wants to take away the only advantage  gamblers can have over the casino.

The system has already garnered a lot of attention, with Zutis being invited to the International Conference on Computer Vision Systems in Belgium to present his system to top developers across the globe. According to Zutis, the program he has developed uses a complex algorithm to track the progression of blackjack games and monitor the cards played and the bets being made. Put simply, the system counts cards the same way a player would and then determines if a player is using the same strategy. If so, it’s reasonable to assume that the player is counting cards.

Having another weapon against card counters is certainly a good thing for the casinos, and Zutis is making some friends in very high places representing the house. However, he’s not exactly popular with blackjack players at the moment. The website Blackjack Hero, a proponent of card counting, calls the inventor “hypocritical” and says they “can’t imagine anyone liking a guy who sells out to the casino’s side.”  The blog also pointed out that Zutis, an avid poker player, decided against developing a system that could affect his game of choice. Instead, he focused on blackjack.

It should be noted that Zutis’ program still needs some work before it’s ready to be unleashed in the casinos. It is just a college project, after all, but then again, so were Google, Facebook and Myspace. Also, card counting has never been possible at online casinos, so maybe someday blackjack players in brick and mortar casinos may have to deal with the same odds as online blackjack players.

Certainly Big Brother techniques, such as the eye in the sky, are already being used by casinos against gamblers and dirty dealers. One can’t blame the casinos for trying to get their hands on a program like this. However, the thought of a gambler selling out their own to make a buck just seems wrong. Every other game in the casino has a house edge that cannot be beaten by the players, but blackjack is the one game where a player who follows proper strategy and counts cards correctly actually has a chance to make money off of the house. This program would take away the only advantage the gamblers can have, meaning there would be no way for a player to make money off the casino, except of course by selling out and selling a product to the casinos that would hurt other gamblers. I guess young Mr. Zutis is a follower of the “if you can’t beat them, join them” philosophy. Such a shame.