Can Online Casino Gambling be Rigged?

• Penny Cleopatra
• January 18, 2019

It is no big secret that casino gamblers lose far more money than they win. There is a reason why there are so many luxurious land-based casino hotel and resorts all across the nation. There is also a reason why there are so many options when it comes to online casinos these days. The house builds the betting odds to favor them, so they will win more money than gamblers over the long haul. The bigger concern lies in the actual business practices of land-based gambling operations as well as real money betting sites.

So, Can Online Casino Gambling be Rigged?

Yes, we address the entire subject of ‘can online casinos be rigged?’ in length in a previous post. Land-based casinos are highly regulated in the jurisdiction in which they operate. Gambling commissions in these jurisdictions are set up to ensure every casino complies with every regulation in place. The online gambling industry can be a whole other matter. Furthermore, Authorities regulate sites by the country of their origin. However, that does not guarantee that every online gambling site is on the up and up.

Online Casino Gambling Industry Overview

The goal of any real money online gambling site is to turn a profit. These are actual businesses that operate in much the same way a land-based operation does without all the overhead. The suspicious nature of the Internet, in general, has carries over to online gambling, especially when patrons lose more money than they care to.

Basic business practices dictate that there has to be winners and losers on a regular basis. If a site was rigged to win all the time, its customer base would quickly dry up and go away. There is a big difference between the ‘house edge’ and rigged gambling practices. A high level of randomness is built into any game of chance. The overall results of play are controlled as far as actual payout percentages. Any legitimate online casino will publish its payout percentages for every game it offers.

The table game blackjack and the card game poker introduce a certain level of skill that can impact a player’s return. However, there is still a house edge built into blackjack odds as well as video poker machines. This is all part of the game when it comes to gambling on the web.

Internet Gambling Documented Fraud

Just because a large majority of online gaming sites do operate legitimately does not mean that online fraud does not exist.

This post made note of Real Deal and Hi/Lo Gambler online sites running fraudulent coin flip games back in 2013. The fraud consisted of claiming 100 percent payouts verse an actual payout of 96 percent.

How To Cheat An Online Casino?

First of all, we discover other fraudulent practices. For example, over the years, they involve ‘near misses’ in slot machines. The concept revolves around players viewing near misses for major jackpots. An example is two like symbols in a row with the third same symbol just above or below the pay line. Since every slot machine runs on a Random Number Generator, an excessive amount of near misses have raised some red flags. While the payout percentages on machines with a higher rate of near misses stayed the same, this proves the illusion to encourage additional play.

Fraud In Las Vegas

Going back to the 1980s, Nevada documents fraud in the American Coin Scandal. Also, this involves land-based poker machines as well as Keno machines. As a result, the authorities find American Coin guilty of programming machines. More specifically, they try to eliminate the possibility of royal flushes in poker and top Keno jackpots. As a result, the authorities confiscate over 1000 machines. Also, they fine the company $1 million.

In 2007, AbsolutePoker hosts an online Texas Hold’em tournament. Furthermore, they offer a $30,000 grand prize After that, professional players start to notice some irregularity with the results. More specifically, authorities initiate a deeper investigation. As a result, it shows some operators rig the game to favor a player. However, there is a link to AbsolutePoker and a pair of company officers. We estimate that this scam takes between $500,000 and $1 million.

Online Casinos Consumer Protection

First of all, we don’t see casinos document cases of actual consumer fraud and fraudulent practices. However, always look for sites that can ensure secure and fair play. As mentioned, most of the top online sites in the industry are regulates by the country of their origin. Gibraltar and Malta are two legal gaming jurisdictions that have adopt stringent gaming requirements for online casino sites.

General gaming regulations require each site’s Random Number Generators to adhere to industry standards. Certain security measures are put into place before a site’s first game goes live. Legitimate online gambling sites will always reveal which independent auditors were used to overseeing their gambling software. Many of these sites will also prominently display any e-Gaming awards or other industry recognition they receive.

The top gaming venues operating online build their reputations on word of mouth from their actual casino patrons. Customer reviews (good and bad) are often posted on the site. You can also review a site’s posted security policies. Independent site reviews are helpful as long as they come from an unbiased point of view.

The bottom line to consumer protection when gambling online comes down to a player’s due diligence. It becomes easier to document a site’s practices and procedures in today’s highly transparent business environment.

Can Online Casino Gambling be Rigged Summary

Indeed, fraud is still a concern in any industry. More specifically, one that involves real money gambling. Naturally, There are dubious characters trying to defraud the actual casino. Also, gamblers try to beat the house in any way possible since the early days.

Fortunately, the flip-side of the equation is normally not the case. There are enough legitimate online casino gambling sites in the industry today to meet any player’s needs. Trying your luck at an undocumented and unregulated casino site is simply negligent behavior. You should always take some extra time to perform your own due diligence before risking one dime of your betting bankroll. This will provide the added peace of mind that your Internet play is fair as well as safe and secure.