The Top 10 Casino Gambling Scams of the Century

Two years ago, Bill Zender and I sat down and started going through our notes from the past 20 years on casino scams. We aimed to put together our “Top 20” scams for the 2020 World Game Protection Conference. This would be a look back over the past 20 years. We wanted to share our findings and lessons with students of the games. The conference never took place.

Reliable figures on casino scams are rare, and many cases never get fully reported. I gathered the official numbers and some insider estimates. Then I rounded them to the nearest million. This is why honest Canadian casino reviews are so valuable today—they give players transparency, highlight potential red flags, and help prevent history from repeating itself.

In this article, we share 20 major scams — each explained in under 100 words. No names, how the scams worked. The goal is to spark debate. More importantly, it aims to help casino managers spot and prevent cheating.

The Top 10 Scams

The Baccarat False Shuffle

Crooked dealers are hired by players to conduct false shuffles. During a game, a player writes down the order of the cards as they are placed in the discard rack. After the shoe, the dealer takes the eight decks and proceeds to shuffle. The dealer keeps a group of up to 100 cards aside and shuffles the rest. This way, the sequence of cards stays in the same order as recorded. In the next shoe, players wait for the slug to appear. Then, they can predict future results and place their bets. Such manipulation poses a serious threat to casino integrity and ultimately to business survival, as consistent cheating can lead to massive financial losses and damaged reputations.

Casino losses: $10M-$100M

The Baccarat False Shuffle Camera

Crooked dealers are hired by players to conduct false shuffles. In the final step of the shuffle, the dealer “high riffles” about two decks of cards. Then, they perform a “step through” false shuffle. A woman accomplice seated at the table rests her bag on the table while the dealer shuffles. The bag contains a concealed camera that records the shuffle. She leaves the table, returns to her hotel room,, and plays back the video to get the sequence of cards. She tells the players at the table. They wait for the slug to appear and bet based on that.

Casino losses: $10M-$100M

The Dice Sliding Teams

An old scam that keeps on giving. A sharp gambler manipulates one of the dice during a roll. This change shifts the odds in favor of the player and his team. Team members create distractions to help the shooter during the dice roll. This keeps the game caller and staff from noticing the illegal roll.

Casino losses: $1M-$10M

The Poker Card Reading Cellphone

A crooked poker dealer switches in a deck with invisible markings on the card edges. A player working with the dealer has software on his phone. This software can use the camera to analyze and identify markings. Before a game, the player enters how many players are at the table into his cellphone. After shuffling, the dealer straightens the deck. Then, he places it on the table, in view of the cellphone. The software checks who has the top-ranked cards. It then alerts the player through a small earpiece.

Casino losses: N/A

The Card Mucking Teams

A baccarat player attaches a device to his sleeve known as a hold-out device. The device is like a robotic arm that holds a playing card. When a card can boost a hand's value, the player will activate a switch. This extends the card into the player’s hand to make the switch (muck) easier. That swapped card is saved to be used again in later rounds. You can get the “starter” card in a few ways. You might steal it from the casino or make a counterfeit.

Casino losses: $10M-$100M

The Slot Machine Button Sequence Glitch

A player found a glitch in a type of video poker machine. They can use this flaw to gain an advantage. The “double-up bug” allows players to replay winning jackpots with higher wagers. The gambler starts off wagering a single cent per spin on the machine. When he hits a jackpot, he doesn’t cash out. He rapidly hits a set of buttons to replay the winning hand. This time, he goes for the maximum bet.

Casino losses: $1M+

The Craps Call Bet Collusion Caper

Craps dealers in collusion with players pay long-odds “hop bets” that don’t exist. As the dice roll, one player, in cahoots with the dealers, mumbles something unclear. It sounds like a call to bet, but maybe it’s not. After the dice come to rest, the crooked dealer will pay the player for a winning hop bet.

Casino losses: $1M+

The Baccarat Card Carrier Thieves

A group of thieves huddles around a card storage cabinet in a high-limit baccarat room. They block the view of staff and cameras. They break into the cabinet. They steal a card carrier with 416 pre-shuffled cards meant for a game. They head to their hotel room briefly. There, they open the carrier and note the card sequence. Then, they return the cards to the cabinet as they took them out. They wait until the cards are put into play and bet accordingly.

Casino losses: $10M - $100M

The Camera Van Teams

A player hides a camera in his sleeve. He plays Three Card Poker with a dealer. She accidentally lifts her cards before putting them face down on the table. The player positions himself so that the camera can view the card values. The camera broadcasts the live playback to a van outside the casino. Accomplices can see the dealer’s hand. They talk to the player at the table using a hidden earpiece.

Casino losses: $1M+

The Employee Slot Machine Riggers

A team of crooked slot employees with access to the inside of machines rigged them to pay out bogus credits. They used their expertise to change the “coin in” amounts. They also deleted the history of false and fraudulent amounts from the machines. Their wives and partners cashed out the stolen money over 4.5 years. They set up shell companies and many bank accounts to “wash” the ill-gotten gains.

Casino losses: $1M - $10M

Conclusion

Casino scams have cost the industry millions. This shows how creative and persistent cheaters can be. Learning from these cases helps casinos and players stay alert and safe in the future.