The eye in the sky is a term given to casino

Casino

In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

 and other commercial security closed circuit cameras

Closed-circuit television

Closed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....

. In casinos, they are positioned to monitor seats, tables, hallways, restaurants, and even elevators closely, often with enough clarity to read the time on the watch of a player at a table. They are also known as a Pan Tilt Zoom camera, or a PTZ, an industry standard term.

The camera is covered by a semi-transparent plastic globe which makes it nearly impossible to see which direction the camera is facing from a distance. Retail stores often install empty globes

Fake security camera

Fake security cameras, or dummy cameras, are non-functional surveillance cameras designed to fool intruders, or anyone who it is supposedly watching...

, giving the appearance of additional cameras. The camera is mounted on a series of interconnected gears and levers, which usually allow two axes of rotation. This rotation can either be controlled manually by an operator using remote-control, or can be automated using motion sensing technology. In most commercial and civilian applications, both control methods are used simultaneously to allow automated surveillance of general movement, while allowing a manual over-ride mode to view specific subjects more closely.

These cameras often help casino officials judge whether the person is card counting

Card counting

Card counting is a casino card game strategy used primarily in the blackjack family of casino games to determine whether the next hand is likely to give a probable advantage to the player or to the dealer. Card counters, also known as advantage players, attempt to decrease the inherent casino house...

, which is popular in blackjack

Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...

 or past posting

Late betting

Late betting or past posting is making a bet after the time when no more bets are to be taken. It is considered cheating because information may have become available, including the outcome of the event, that was not available to those making earlier bets.The term past posting originates from horse...

, which is popular in roulette

Roulette

Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....

. In case a crime or a cheat is detected after the fact, the casino employees can review the recorded tapes and find the culprit. The casino cameras are adjusted to focus on certain suspicious players by security workers in a separate casino room with banks of security monitors.