You have to be a little bit sneaky and ruthless to make a successful career from gambling scams. But the ones that do pull it off do it spectacularly. These are just five of the world’s most famous gambling frauds, in no particular order. There are many different approaches that scammers use in order to get their money from you; this article will review some techniques so that you know how not to be a victim when looking for gambling opportunities online.
Biggest Gambling Frauds
The main purpose of this article is to help you understand what types of risks and dangers are associated with gambling. This will let you make the best decision among all the available options. Here are some major frauds that ever happened.
1. Victor Lustig aka “The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower”
Victor Lustig was one of history’s most imaginative conmen. One day in 1920 he convinced an American businessman that he could sell him the Eiffel Tower for $250,000 and step right out of the deal if he didn’t like it after examining it firsthand. The deal couldn’t have been more perfect – the mark was an American, he could check the tower in person and then renege on the sale if it didn’t live up to his expectations.
Lustig had all of these requirements met but his scam did not stop there. He convinced another swindler, Robert Drader, to go with him on the adventure, who would be present at every step of the negotiations and who would later testify that Lustig had sold him what looked like a real Eiffel Tower for $4 million upfront. This was, of course, a complete lie. The Eiffel Tower was still standing at the time and Lustig’s plan was to sell it off piece by piece as souvenirs. For the readers who want to stay away from scams that are happening these days, here are some details about common gambling scams these days.
| Gambling Scam | Details |
| Bonus Abuse | Many casinos offer fake bonuses to attract players |
| Collusion | An individual uses multiple accounts to manipulate the gambling site |
| Chip Dumping | Online casinos are used to make payments for illegal services |
| Impersonation | Stolen accounts with unauthorized access |
Robert Drader might not have been able to see through the scam but the businessman couldn’t. He was confident that he had bought the real thing and even told a French newspaper about it. The two fraudsters were on their way to getting rich until the Frenchman who had sold them scrap metal for $2,000 spotted them in a restaurant and reported them immediately. They were arrested soon after in Nice, France, and given 3 years of hard labor for fraud (which was later reduced to 6 months).
2. Nevada Software Engineer Programmed the Slot Machines to pay more
In July of 2012, a poker player called Michael Preysman was arrested in Las Vegas and accused of hacking slot machines at their Luxor hotel and casino. He was suspected of having reprogrammed slot machines to pay out more than they should have. The concept of discounts and promotions is common but this was a pure scam. You can enjoy free spins, welcome bonuses and many other discounts at https://www.slotozilla.com/pl/darmowe-spiny but that is all legit.
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However, after the case ended with no charges filed against him, he announced that he had received a $2 million buyout offer from a big-name casino group to purchase his secret. This is where it becomes interesting – the FBI initially believed that Preysman had used malware to gain access to the casino’s computers where he manually changed slot machine payouts by flash-writing memory chips directly.
3. Louis ‘the Coin’ Colavecchio Was Caught with more than 750 pounds of Fake Slot Machine Coins in his Car
Louis “the coin” Colavecchio was a counterfeiter who was caught with more than 750 pounds of fake slot machine coins in his car. He had been selling these coins to casinos so that they could make it look like players were winning more than they were.
Colavecchio’s counterfeiting operation was discovered during a routine traffic stop by the Nevada Highway Patrol in 2002 when an officer observed the heavy beam on the vehicle he was using to transport counterfeit coins and called for backup.
4. Special Forged Slot Machines
Special lenses were used to create a 10,000-person assembly line of slot machine counterfeits. In November of 2006, two men in California were caught counterfeiting slot machine coins. They were using special contact lenses to make them think that they were seeing the real deal. The duo had bought a $2,000 custom-made printing press from a man in China who sold fake contact lenses as well.
The men used the stamping contraption to make fake coins with a large amount of detail, giving them the appearance that they were real ones.
5. Counterfeit Coins
One of the most famous counterfeits ever was that of Saddam Hussein. The man in 2006 who had made and sold a forged $500 note commemorating the assassination of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was sentenced to six years in prison. The man’s name is Mahmoud Al-Sakka, and he sold more than 300 forged notes for about $1,200 each.
Maybe these scams are no longer allowed in today’s world but most con artists are hard to catch. If we take care of ourselves, always follow our gut instincts, and try to stay safe from fraudsters we should be able to avoid becoming a victim of them.
How to Avoid Gambling Frauds?
Everyone has heard horror stories about family members and friends who lost everything they owned on a bad bet while betting on a sports game or casino. The scammers who work at these establishments took advantage of people’s hopes, dreams, and finances in order to earn money. The great part is that it can be done without them even knowing! Here are 5 tips for avoiding possible gambling frauds:
- Always choose a licensed casino for gambling
- Make sure you pick the best site for sports betting
- Use a safe and reliable mobile gambling platform
- Check the reputation of the website
- Know your limitations, and do not spend too much!
Conclusion
When you visit a legal online casino, you will be able to enjoy all their games without worrying about your personal information being shared with third parties. You will always know that the games will be fair; those are some of the main reasons that prompted people to choose these casinos over any other form of gambling.
Disclaimer: This article contains sponsored marketing content. It is intended for promotional purposes and should not be considered as an endorsement or recommendation by our website. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and exercise their own judgment before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article.
