Casino visit for blind: "playing cards reading device" being planned

Till now it has hardly been possible for blind people to play for example blackjack. Thanks to an American developer, this could soon change. The man from Justice in the US-Federal State Illinois has developed a “playing cards reading device”. This can be used by blind people to be able to read playing cards with the fingers. But how does this device function?

In July of last year we reported about a man from Baden-Württemberg, who with a stake of 2.50 Euro won an impressive 180,000 Euro on the blackjack table. Till now it has not been easy for visually impaired people to cope with their day to day stress. At the casino they have basically no opportunity to participate in gambling like blackjack. However this could change in the future. A “reading device” will very soon be available on the market and it will enable blind people to participate in gambling.

Developer Organisation introduces “playing cards reading device“

Just a few days ago, the developer organisation InventHelp announced in a press conference that they have managed to develop a so-called “playing cards reading device”. This should enable blind people to read the standard playing cards with their fingers. The creator comes from a small place Justice (around 13,000 inhabitants) in the US Federal State Illinois.

The “playing cards reading device” carries the name Novak Card Readers. The device should enable the blind guests to read the standard playing cards and therefore determine the value of each individual card. Therefore the persons involved could in the future take part in games as Baccarat, Poker and Blackjack. The creator announced in a recent press conference, that he has developed the “playing cards reading device” for one of his friends who is blind.

How does the “playing cards reading device” function?

The invention basically functions very easily. The card reader scans every individual playing card and determines the value and the colour (e.g. ace, heart). This information is then relayed by the device over an integrated loud speaker to the user. Further to this, the “playing cards reading device” will, according to the creator, be worth it, portable and intuitive to use.

Visually impaired people were till now excluded from playing

Of course the casinos do not forbid visually impaired people from visiting the gaming tables and joining in gambling. Till now however there has been a large problem: on one hand the blind guests were not allowed to bring their own playing cards to the table because this could lead to a fraud attempt. On the other hand, special playing cards with the Braille sign language are definitely not allowed in the casinos. Therefore till now there has been no feasible possibility for visually impaired people to take part in the game.

Conclusion

There is currently no concrete decision whether the Novak Card Reader will be authorised in the United States of America. It is also not clear, whether the casino operators should put up a fight against the introduction of such “card reading devices”, since for example they could declare them as being susceptible to fraud. There is still ample time left till such a device can be introduced in the European casinos. The idea, that in the future, visually impaired and blind persons can participate in gambling, is definitely a good thing.

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