The topic of gaming provides a rich vein of subject matter for psychologists. From the gambler’s point of view, it is all about trying to get a significant return for a minimal outlay. From the bookmaker’s or casino’s perspective, the key is to make that mathematically impossible in the long run and to always ensure the winnings paid out are less than the amounts wagered. This basic mismatch of expectations is what can lead to drama–and attempts to cheat slots.
If you play a slot machine with an RTP of 96 percent for long enough, you’ll end up with winnings that equate to 96 percent of what you staked. The attraction lies in the possibility of beating the house, getting a big win and then quitting before the law of averages knows what’s happened.
Giving fate a helping hand by trying to cheat slots
Unsurprisingly, this has led to plenty of instances where people have used unethical means to artificially shift the odds in their favor. These range from the mysterious antics of Charles Wells, the real-life man who broke the bank in Monte Carlo, to the match fixing scandals that have dogged professional sports over the years.
But it is the slot machines that provide the most intriguing tales of literally cheating the odds. There are no flawed humans to corrupt here, but that hasn’t stopped the those who are determined to beat the house by any means from trying.
1. Money on a string
It sounds like something straight out of a Loony Tunes cartoon. But in the days of mechanical slots, people really used to do this. They would drill a hole in the coin, attach a nylon string and then pull it back out of the machine after it tripped the play mechanism and registered a credit.
2. Literally spin the reels
Back in the 90s, there was uproar and excitement around one of those old oversized Big Bertha slot machines in one of the Vegas casinos. It had hit the jackpot, and a crowd of onlookers were celebrating. Casino officials became suspicious when they saw the crowd was already there before the big win. Turns out they were all in on the scam. They were attempting to obscure the view from the security cameras while one of their number forced the front cover, climbed inside the machine, and manually positioned the reels.
3. Hacking new slots games
You might think that the rise of online slots means the end of the road for the cheats. In fact, the new games you can play online have simply led to a new breed of fraudster. Most of us know that slot games work based on a random number generator. This fulfills the same role as a physical reel. Theoretically, it’s a far better solution as it allows for more complex possibilities in terms of numbers of reels, payouts and so on.
The trouble is that in computer science, nothing is truly random. The machines work using an algorithm that is so close to random that it delivers the same effect. However, a team of hackers procured an old physical machine. They took it apart and managed to reverse engineer the algorithm. This allowed them to accurately predict when machines of the same type would deliver a big payout. The gang was arrested in 2017, but it seems unlikely that we have heard the last of this type of scam.
Play Slots As They Are Intended
Can you get away with cheating at slots? Probably not—at least not for long. Online casinos track what is going on with players very carefully. If you are doing anything remotely suspicious, they’ll notice. And it sure does not take much for a casino to bring out the ban hammer. If you want to tip the odds without getting yourself into trouble, consider playing a game like blackjack or poker where your skill matters. Otherwise, just have fun playing slots the way they are intended—as a game of complete chance.