If you are used to going to the tobacconist to collect your daily flash ticket, you must have noticed the presence of minors. According to a survey carried out in 2022 by the Société d’Entraide et D’Action Psychologique (SEDAP), 34.8% of people aged between 15 and 17 have already played a gambling game at least once. Among the sample of 5,000 people, 42.1% played a second time during the year to try to win after a failure.

This maddening figure encouraged the Française des jeux to make arrangements. This public limited company has thus decided to test face analysis software for nearly three months, according to information collected by Le Parisien. This software is based on the use of artificial intelligence that would allow tobacconists to detect the presence of minors.

The facial recognition start-up, Yoti, specified that this software would make it possible to determine whether a person is of legal age or not. According to comments reported by Le Parisien, Florian Chevoppe-Verdier, head of public policy for this company, a terminal was installed in tobacconists to identify the age of customers. Thus, it was possible to present your identity card or have your face scanned at this terminal.

This new technology would determine the age of people to within 1.6 years. Nevertheless, this system only makes it possible to determine an approximate age and is therefore not infallible. “For example, life on the street prematurely ages the face,” adds Florian Chevoppe-Verdier. Indeed, the device works by analyzing pixels and can therefore lack precision at times.

However, this kiosk is already in place in the UK for the purchase of alcohol in supermarkets. It is also tested for tobacconists in this country.