Part IV: People & Technology · Casino Personnel & Organizational Hierarchy

Segregation of Duties (SoD)

Organizational Structure / Internal Controls

A fundamental internal control principle requiring that critical functions be divided among different individuals or departments so that no single person can complete a sensitive process from start to finish without independent verification. In casinos, SoD is applied extensively: the count team is independent of the gaming floor; cage cashiers cannot verify their own work; vault access requires dual custody; surveillance is independent of operations; and compliance reviews are separate from the activities being reviewed. SoD is the cornerstone of fraud prevention in casino operations.

In practice

Regulatory frameworks worldwide (U.S. state regulations, Macau DICJ instructions, Singapore Casino Control Act) explicitly require segregation of duties. Recent enforcement actions in Australia against Crown and Star casinos prominently featured failures in SoD as central issues.

One entry from the Casino Industry Glossary — 1,157 terms written for surveillance, compliance and operations professionals rather than for players. Definitions describe industry usage; where a term carries a regulatory meaning, verify against the instrument that governs your jurisdiction.