Gambling is one of the most controversial subjects in the world. It’s a sector that is loved and loathed by most people in equal measure. Now that the majority of people are stuck indoors, online gambling has been on the rise. Most land-based casinos are now shifting to the online space.
Gambling enthusiasts are conducting their research to find out if they can be lucky in this industry. They are doing this to understand and familiarize themselves with this world. One of the most interesting topics in this sector happens to be the scandals that have affected the industry.
Not even strict gambling laws can prevent enthusiasts from trying different gambling sites. In this industry, there will always be criminals who are working hard. Here are the scandals that have affected the gambling industry.
1. Boston College Basketball Fixing Scandal
Numerous investigations have found that a betting cartel that existed between 1978 – 1979 used the basketball team to maximize their winnings by fixing games. The project became so lucrative that the founders went ahead to recruit more members.
Little did they know that one recruit would change the terms to save himself. He was arrested and charged with drug trafficking. Since he would be locked up in prison for a long time, he decided to tell his friends to reduce his sentence. That’s how the cartel was discovered and all participants charged with bribery.
2. Ron Harris
Ron was hired by the Nevada Gaming Board assigned him the duty to find and fix bugs in the slot machines. Instead of doing this, he replaced original chips with his so that he could easily manipulate the system and win loads of cash from different casinos. His exploits came to an end when he tried to hit a jackpot at a casino based in Atlanta. He got a seven-year sentence but was released after serving two years. You should always go for casinos that favor you as a player to avoid falling into the trap of cheating. Fortunately, Casinosters has lots of bonus offers and promotions that will improve your chances of winning.
3. Pete Rose
He was the most decorated baseball player during his time. However, he threw all his accomplishments after he was discovered of betting for games where he participated and those that were played during his tenure. He denied placing bets for games that he participated in as a player. However, the damage was already done.
4. Louis Colavecchio
Louis manufactured slot machine coins that almost resembled those that are usually used in casinos. He earned a lot of money from different casinos. However, it didn’t take long before several casino operators noticed that there were more coins in their inventories. After investigations were done, Louis was arrested. His coins were confiscated from the different storage facilities. This proved how much he had made from this project.
5. Tommy Carmichael
Tommy Glen got away with millions from casinos by coming up with ways to rig slots. Among his inventions was the monkey’s paw where he would insert a wire in the machine’s payout section. Technological advancements didn’t stop him.
He started using a small light bulb and camera battery to blind the sensor of the machine and trick it into spilling thousands of coins. As the Los Angeles Times reports, Tommy Glen used to get thousands of dollars every day through this method. He was arrested in 2001. He was banned from gambling in land-based casinos.
Bonus Scandals
MIT Team
There was a group of students from some of the top universities in the world such as Harvard and MIT who perfected the popular technique of counting cards back in the 70s. These students were the first to come up with this entirely scientific technique. It could trick the entire system and beat casinos at the games they offered.
Bill Kaplan, the group leader, was so conversant with this technique that he won $10 million and managed to train other blackjack players. Interestingly, the casinos didn’t sue the MIT team after they were discovered. However, they were banned from participating in casino games forever.
Richard Marcus
Richard Marcus was a homeless person in Las Vegas when he got a job in a casino as a baccarat and blackjack dealer. He had worked so hard and diligently that he discovered all inconsistencies in these games. After a short while, he came up with a strategy to trick the entire system and make loads of money out of it.
One of the famous great cheats was the past posting which revolved around betting after the game had announced the results. Through this method, Marcus would bet with a few bucks to see if he would win. The cheating would then start after the game was over. Marcus found out that he could replace low-value chips with high-value ones quickly after the results had been announced.
By using this strategy, he could easily turn $100 into $10000 in a couple of seconds. At the end of the day, he could walk away with five million dollars from different casinos. Although he was caught by the police, they couldn’t convict him. At the moment, he is a free man. And he writes and sells books about his financial life. Lucky for him!
Conclusion
There are many other scandals that have seriously affected the gambling industry in recent years. All these scandals show that the gambling industry is not just about making money and entertainment. Systems can be seriously affected and things might go from great to worse in a few minutes.
Greed is fatal in the gambling industry. There are others who have stolen many times without getting caught. If you’ve been thinking of starting your casino, you should invest in the best systems and be extra vigilant. Otherwise, you’ll end up losing a lot of money and go out of business. Learn from the mistakes of others to avoid making expensive mistakes in the long run.
