How is Technology Being Utilized to Eliminate Cheating in Mobile Gambling

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Ever since gambling was invented, there were attempts at cheating. Some were more successful than others and as gambling evolved, so did the cheating. Today, we see a vast array of sophisticated tools and measures deployed for one purpose only and that is to prevent in online gambling. Casinos spend millions each year to ensure their games aren’t tampered with and for the most part, they are successful. That doesn’t mean you should take your Internet security for granted just because you are on a safe site. Taking at least basic precautions is simply a must these days, especially if you are visiting gambling sites and are engaged in online money transactions.

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The History

Once upon a time, cheating accusations in Western saloons were resolved with six-shooters or, for those who didn’t like wearing such a large piece of hardware, with legendary Derringers. As gambling evolved and Las Vegas took over, casinos developed more sophisticated ways of dealing with those aiming to cheat them and technologies like RFID chips, TableEye21, AngelEye, and various others became standard fixtures one every casino floor. Today, we see a different set of challenges, requiring a new approach when dealing with them.

The Challenges

Modern criminals and cheaters usually have a pretty good grasp of technologies used in cybersecurity and even better one of the ones that can be used to defeat them. However, they have one major disadvantage and that is lack of human contact. Once you have eliminated the human component, cheating gets dramatically harder, as you are dealing with a cold machine, whose emotions you can’t use to get access. There are other ways though, like exploiting the bugs in the software or even trying to access random number generators.

Type of Cheaters

When we talk about the cheaters, we usually imagine people rigging the system so that they can take advantage of increased payoffs. While there is a fair number of them, there are other types of cheaters that are equally dangerous to casinos and even to players. One type is carders. These are people who try to access the casino’s database and gain credit card information of their players. In the early days, they would also try to get users’ passwords, so that they can get control of their accounts.

The Solutions

Depending on the treat, all respectful online casinos have been employing several layers of defense cheaters. The reason for pouring all this money into defense is simple, those who don’t do it, don’t last much. The latest approach is deploying a single piece of software that combines roles previously had by several different programs. Apart from the obvious benefits, like cheaper cost, easier maintenance, and streamlined support, this approach also has some risks. The most prominent one is that cheaters now have to hack only one program, as opposed to several in the past, in order to gain access to the database and random number generator. Still, security experts believe that the pros far outweigh the cons in this case.

The Technologies

Global information security spending in 2018 exceeded $124 billion. A sizeable chunk of that money was spent by gambling sites. Things like predictive analytics, risk analysis, and data modeling are common occurrences in online gambling security. Advanced software is used to monitor players’ behavior and produce analysis and models of their future moves. Every player has a file in the system, filled with their habits, preferences, and type of play. The verifiable mountain of data is constantly being analyzed and any irregularity is immediately red-flagged and reported to the security team, which can then decide whether or not to take action. All this has made cheating very difficult, but not impossible.

There will always be those who try to cheat the system, even regardless of monetary reward. People cheat every day in online games where there is nothing to be gained, except better K\D ratio. When you throw cash into the mix, the chances that someone will try something funny grow exponentially. The important thing to remember is that regardless of how sophisticated security is, there is always a chance, albeit a minuscule one, that someone will slip through the cracks and rig the system in their favor. That is simply a reality of the digital world we live in.

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