A live dealer scandal at BetOnline has revealed why regulation of online casino games is so important.
Since the inception of live dealer casino games, many players have felt confident gambling due to the presence of a live dealer. But a player has revealed his experience where a dealer, from Global Gaming Labs (GGL) studio, allegedly cheated.
Blackjack professional, Michael Morgenstern has alleged a BetOnline live blackjack dealer cheated during a game. The incident was pointed out by a fellow fan and caught on camera.
Morgenstern posted the video to his YouTube account over the weekend revealing the dealer’s indiscretion. The 5 minutes and 38 second mark of the 26-minute video sees the action unfold. The dealer first deals a card to another player from the shoe and then proceeds to deal himself what should’ve been Morgenstern’s card.
It appears he has the top card up with a finger and slid the card below out of the shoe to then add to the player’s hand. Morgenstern still wins, but says “people need to know what they’re dealing with.”
The video has earned a lot of attention, especially on the online forum Reddit. Many ‘Redditors’ believe the dealer has access to a hidden video feed or special technology which details the outcome of the next one or two cards in advance.
Others are sceptical of whether it was just an accident and had the card values been different it wouldn’t have been picked up. One user even noted the risk this move entailed, saying it didn’t add up.
“Why would they risk cheating when they are basically guaranteed positive income in the long run?” The user wrote.
“Why would they risk cheating knowing that they are being recorded?”
But another user noted “if it was a mistake, then the dealer would perform a reconstruction.”
The commenters went on to question why anyone would use the site for anything else other than sports bets, eluding to the fact there’s plenty of online casinos which offer regulated and fair live dealer casino games.
GGL is licensed by Costa Rica, which is a poor gambling jurisdiction that rarely reviews operator’s games and as such doesn’t make the UK Gambling Commission’s whitelist of gambling jurisdictions. This Commission is considered to be one of the best in the word, regularly reviewing games including computerised options and the live dealer titles so cheating doesn’t occur.
BetOnline hasn’t commented on the video, despite Morgenstern contacting BetOnline’s customer support and detailing his experience. However, GGL is reportedly responsible for the dealers, not BetOnline – but the company is also yet to comment on the incident.
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