Lottomatica Rigged Two Online Casino Games?

Allegations on gambling forums and dubious company communication point to the conclusion that Lottomatica subsidiary GTech rigged two online casino games operated by Betfred.

The games in question were Reel Deal and Hi/Lo Gambler, both coded by GTech and used by Betfred and NordicBet. They were supposed to be programmed to have outcomes based on 100% probability, both during free play and pay-to-play modes. It appears that the latter one was not the case.

According to player allegations, with full logs and screenshots to prove the claim, the software produced outcomes that were fully improbable to happen by chance. Based on tens of thousands of hands played, the statistics showed a 48%-52% distribution of the results. The chances of this happening by chance are microscopic.

UK internet casino operator Betfred responded with an apology, blaming the outcome on configuration error by the programming company. The statement went on to say that “Betfred Games has been running two versions of the same game for free and money play respectively and that is simply not acceptable. Based on that we will be refunding all losses on the game from when the game was introduced to Betfred.”

They won’t get off the hook so easily, though. Betfred is authorized to offer online casino games under UK gambling laws and its Gibraltar license clearly makes it their duty to undertake the proper testing of any games they offer. They certainly failed to do this and should be held accountable for it.

Whether they were supplied flawed games knowingly or by error is a secondary issue in this case, one which ought to be investigated nevertheless. Especially, since the Lottomatica group of companies (GTech, Spielo, Boss Media) distribute a large number of games that bring in enormous profits.

No communication from them has been forthcoming, which is rather unsettling, since telling the truth does not need to take so long. Can players now trust the fairness of the group’s other games? What about those who would like to play online poker in the UK: can they trust the integrity of the International Poker Network, which the group also operates?

The icing on the cake is that only recently Lottomatica was recommended for approval to operate online poker rooms in Nevada. The regulator’s decision is expected next week. It remains to be seen whether this mess will have any impact on it.