Is Online Blackjack Rigged?
This is one of those questions many blackjack players have. It ties into the age-long problem of whether or not online casinos are rigged. We can give you a quick answer — online blackjack is usually not rigged, but it can be.
As this is not a question that we can merely answer and be done with it, we still have to elaborate on what this means exactly. Stick with us if you want to learn why online blackjack usually isn’t rigged, as well as how it can be. Let’s take a look.
Are Online Casinos Rigged?
Before explaining online blackjack and whether you need to worry about them being rigged, we need to talk about the places where one can play online blackjack — online casinos.
In all honesty, online casinos can always be rigged very easily. However, that doesn’t mean that they are. What’s more, the overwhelming majority of them aren’t. And the most important thing to understand here is that there are things that ensure online casinos and the games they offer aren’t rigged.
First of all, quality casino games developers don’t want to be associated with rigged games and casinos. Therefore, they don’t even make games that are rigged, including blackjack. Every good developer creates casino games with random number generators embedded in them to ensure that what happens in the games is entirely random.
Naturally, all casino games are made to slightly favour the casino so that the site can make a profit. However, this casino edge is always very small, and no matter how large it is, it doesn’t mean that you can’t win big in any single game.
Aside from the precautions taken by the software developers themselves, every online casino is subject to the laws of the country it operates in. If they are international, they are still subject to rules that ensure fair play and safety of players.
What’s more, each casino that’s certifiably fair holds the proper licenses. The best licenses in the online gambling world are the ones given by the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC). So, if a casino has one of these licenses, you can be certain that it is fair and no more rigged than life itself!
It’s important to mention that many online casinos allow independent auditors to occasionally check their level of fairness and honesty.
Why and How Can Online Blackjack Be Rigged?
Players are very suspicious of online gambling games, and they have every right to be. It’s easy to think that the game is rigged because an online casino can easily rig a blackjack game. The casino controls the software, and it can thus control how the game unfolds. What’s more, with the way blackjack works, the casino can easily turn the odds in their favour without anyone noticing.
For these reasons, it’s understandable that you would worry about the game of online blackjack you’re playing being rigged. What’s worse, it’s not that these things haven’t happened before. For example, there is the infamous Potripper scandal in which the website’s owner had the ability to see players’ cards.
Cases like these are rare, but not unheard of. When it comes to blackjack, there are many ways a casino might rig the game. The most common method a bad casino could use is removing the aces or face cards completely. You would think that this is easy to notice, but the fact is that most blackjack games use less than 50% of available cards per game, so it’s likely that no one would notice.
Other methods of rigging an online blackjack game exist, but the reality is that most casinos won’t use them. This is mostly because of the reasons we already explained and the rules that prevent them from rigging games. However, most online casinos don’t even want to rig their games. It simply isn’t worth it. If someone realizes that a game of blackjack is rigged, the ensuing bad reputation could easily ruin the casino.
In all honesty, only a very dumb casino owner would want to rig blackjack, as the potential rewards are very low, while the risks are tremendously high.
How Can I Know If My Online Blackjack Game Is Rigged?
Finding out whether your game of online blackjack is rigged always comes back to the trustworthiness of the platform where you’re playing the game. As long as the platform itself is fair and legitimate, the chances of the blackjack game being rigged are minuscule.
One of the most important things to check is if the casino holds a license from one of the organizations we discussed (MGA and UKGC) or from another well-recognized agency. Also, make sure that the game of blackjack comes from a legitimate and popular software developer like Microgaming, Playtech, Evolution Gaming, NetEnt, etc.
When it comes to the game itself, you can also play live dealer blackjack games. Live games are easier to follow, and any potential problems are less likely to occur and easier to spot. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t play regular blackjack games online. All of the best blackjack games are made with algorithms that shuffle cards entirely randomly. And of course, as long as the casino is good, the possibility for the game being rigged is virtually non-existent.
If you start losing a lot, it’s good to take a hard look at the way you’re playing. Unfortunately, the most likely reason for your constant losses has something to do with you, not the game itself.
Most players tend to blame the game for their losses, instead of inspecting their playing methods and strategies. In most cases, when players accuse the casino of their blackjack game being rigged, they are doing so because it doesn’t occur to them that they did something wrong. So, it’s important to consider this aspect as well when you’re looking into the fairness of the game.
The Bottom Line
All in all, online blackjack is almost never rigged, even though it can be. Most casinos where you’ll be playing the game are legitimate and fair, so their blackjack games are most likely fair as well.
In addition to that, even though a game of blackjack can be rigged in several ways, there is no point or need for a casino to do it. The rewards are low, and the risks are high, so you can be certain that an online casino would never have a need to rig a blackjack game.
In conclusion, you can relax and start playing online blackjack in your favourite, legitimate online casino without a single worry about it being rigged.
Related Articles
FAQ
As long as the game of live online blackjack you’re playing is hosted by a legitimate, trusted casino, it certainly isn’t rigged. If you lose, the only reason is the lack of skill or luck.
If you compare it to all other online casino games, playing blackjack is extremely worthwhile. That’s because the game is mostly about skills and knowledge, and you have the highest chance of winning out of all casino games. The better you are at playing blackjack, the higher your probability of winning.
