Live Blackjack Dealer at BeOnline caught Cheating

Viral videos are all too common these days. Most deal with comical incidents, but this latest video published by a self-professed professional gambler shows a live blackjack dealer clearly cheating. The incident occurred at BetOnline, who’s since parted ways with the live dealer software platform.

The video (see below) was uploaded to YouTube by Michael Morgenstern on February 18, 2017. It shows the hand being dealt all the way to completion, then shows it again, this time pointing out the dealer’s obvious and blatantly intentional error. Then, a third time, it’s shown in slow motion to further prove the fact.

The video clearly shows the live casino dealer making a duplicitous maneuver known in the blackjack world as ‘dealing seconds‘. This occurs when the dealer gives a player the second card in the deck, then deals the original top card to himself. In this case, dealing seconds gave the dealer 18 – just enough to win the player’s double-down bet on 17.

Dual Responses From BetOnline

In an apparent effort to regain the trust of its members, BetOnline issued a pair of press releases relating to the live dealer cheating scandal.

The first didn’t explicitly mention the underhanded dealings, instead confirming that the supplier of the live blackjack dealer tables had been replaced with a new, “superior live casino vendor”.

18 February 2017, BetOnline.ag announces that they have cut third-party vendor Global Gaming Labs (GGL), in favor of Live Dealer Casino third-party vendor Visionary iGaming (ViG) – effective immediately!

The press release went on to identify the source of the conversion as a result of “client-side complaints regarding the number of available tables, games offered, lackadaisical dealers, and poor hand reporting…”

BetOnline said it began searching for a “superior Live Casino Vendor” a month ago, and integrated the new platform on the day of the notice, Feb 18. “Client feedback has been very positive since the switchover!” read the release.

The use of so many exclamation marks is quite uncommon in an official notice such as this, and is a clear indication that the move was in response to customer dissent. The second press release, issued on Feb 20, deals more specifically with the live blackjack dealer’s blatant cheating.

BetOnline Confirms Live Dealer Cheating

After noting the viral video, and the previous software provider’s replacement with Visual iGaming’s live dealer product two days prior, the online casino operator said:

BetOnline.ag is currently looking into the issue with help and careful cooperation from the previous Live Dealer provider. BetOnline.ag asks that anyone who feels they may have been affected by this dealer’s actions to contact them by email at Casino[at]BetOnline.ag.

As always, BetOnline.ag takes client feedback seriously. And nothing is more important to BetOnline.ag than the integrity of its gambling offerings and the enjoyment of its players.

Is BetOnline Free of Blame?

The press releases from BetOnline would certainly seem to insinuate that the cheating incident was by no fault of their own, and that they’ve taken every possible action to ensure it never happens again. But is that really the case?

The sad truth is, when a product is proven unsavory, most companies are quick to react with a positive notice that points the finger at someone else. A scapegoat, if you will.

While it’s entirely possible that GGL was 100% to blame – after all, what incentive would the dealer have to cheat other than a kickback from their employer? – it could be just as probable that BetOnline was involved, either directly or indirectly.

It could be that the online casino operator had some sort of under-the-table contract with GGL in which the live dealer casino supplier would receive an incentive if the overall win percentage came out above a certain rate. But again, there’s know way of knowing for sure without further investigation.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story to see if the live blackjack dealer cheating scandal turns out to be something more than meets the eye.