Over the years some unscrupulous players have resorted to trying to cheat at the game of roulette as the only way to overcome the house edge and end up a winner. Of course we do not advocate trying to cheat at any casino game in anyway, but we thought it would be interesting for some to look at the efforts others have gone to in order to win at the game one way or another.
In history, its not only the players who have tried cheating, but some casinos themselves rigged the game a little more in there favour. Thankfully with strict regulations for both land based casinos and online casinos that is a thing of the past.
Casino Cheats
Rigged Wheels
Prior to gambling being legalized in the state of Nevada, U.S.A. 1931 playing on a rigged roulette wheel would have been quit a common event. After 1931 new gaming rules were introduced and gambling equipment could be seized for testing and gaming licenses could be lost if cheating was to be found in practice.
Magnets
Magnets and a ball with a steel center have been used by croupiers who could choose when to use the magnets in order to make it more likely for the roulette ball to finish up finish in a certain sector of the wheel that is more beneficial to the casino.
Player Cheats
Late Betting
One method players have been seen to use in the past is to try and sneakily place there bets after the roulette ball has landed in a pocket. They do this as the croupier is looking at the wheel before going on to announce the winning number.
Other players will try and grab some of there losing bets, or even move bets on the table if they get the opportunity.
Of course it's not just the croupier they have to be aware of. Many of the land based casinos around the world have cameras and people watching the action at all the gambling tables for any kind of cheating..
Tampering to produce a Biased Wheel
Some desperate players have gone to great lengths to tamper with the roulette wheels in various ways to put the edge in there favour. Methods include gluing materials to the pockets to effect the bounce of the ball, either making it more likely the ball will land in certain pockets and more likely to bounce out of others. Or tampering with the wheel mechanism in some way to create some kind of bias that can be exploited by the player.
