Part IV: Financial Fraud · Chip, Cash & Ticket Fraud
RFID Chip Bypass / Low-Denomination Targeting
How it works
Many casinos embed RFID microchips only in high-denomination chips ($100+) due to the approximately $2.50 per-chip cost. This leaves lower-denomination chips ($1, $5, $25) protected only by UV markings, holograms, and custom designs. Professional counterfeiting operations specifically target these lower denominations, producing larger quantities of fake chips that aggregate to significant values. The lower security on these chips makes them easier to replicate using basic molding and printing techniques. Fraudsters introduce them gradually at busy tables where scrutiny is lower.
Where it appears
Low-denomination chip play at busy table games, chip exchanges/color-ups, bulk cash-outs of mixed denominations
On the record
Industry estimates suggest low-denomination counterfeiting is significantly underreported because individual fake chips are often written off as cashier errors or miscounts.
Detection & prevention
The paid halfHow a monitoring room catches rfid chip bypass / low-denomination targeting, and what stops it recurring — written for the desk, not the reader.
Detection · 23 words
Prevention · 38 words
Published as a detection reference for surveillance, compliance and gaming-operations professionals. Thresholds and tuning are set by the property. Nothing here is instruction — the method is described so it can be recognised.