Casino chips may be implanted with RFID tags [priv]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

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Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2004 16:48:52 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
Subject: Casino chips to carry RFID tags
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Casino chips to carry RFID tags

11:48 09 January 04
New Scientist

When rumours surfaced in 2003 that the European Central Bank was
quietly planning to put RFID (radio frequency identification) tags in
euro banknotes to combat fraud and money laundering, privacy groups
balked at the possibility that anybody with an RFID reader could
count the money in wallets of passers by.

While the rumours have not been confirmed  or denied  a new
generation of casino chips with built-in RFID tags is giving an
insight into the way banks and shops could keep track of real money
if it were tagged. The chips will be launched later in 2004 and will
allow casino operators to spot counterfeits and thefts, and also to
monitor the behaviour of gamblers.

RFID tags are tiny silicon chips that broadcast a unique
identification code when prompted by a reader device. The tags do not
need batteries, since they simply modify the radio signal fired at
them by the reader. The readers work over distances ranging from a
few centimetres to a few dozen metres, depending on the type of tag.

...

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994542
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