60 Minutes today revealed a large scale cheating scandal that saw more than twenty million dollars unfairly taken from players by other players. This has not only cast a dark shadow on the industry, but it also has put fear into the online poker player's heart.
This is not the case when it comes to playing at online casinos. Online casinos are set to the same standards as Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos as far as their mechanical games are concerned. In Las Vegas slot machines are set to payout an average of 83-88 percent of the time, while online casinos have much higher standards.
Some online casinos even set their slot machine payout percentages to as high as
97%. What this means is that for every dollar spent a slot machine will pay back 97 cents. In Las Vegas, for every dollar spent a machine will pay back 83 cents. The reason for this is because online casinos have no other form of entertainment to keep their players coming back. Therefore, they let players win more often, hoping this form of excitement will replace the excitement generated by live shows, restaurants, and socializing.
This is not something the online poker world has to its advantage. The house also benefits the more a person plays, but they only can hope that players win against other players so that they come back to play more. With cheaters now dominating the industry, or at least scaring the majority of the industry, poker players are less likely to come back for more. After all, who wants to come back to a game where they always lose?
So with the online poker cheating scandal breaking to the mainstream public on 60 Minutes, online poker sites might see a great decline in game play. However, the online casino industry, which offers slots, blackjack, video poker, and other online casino games, does not have to fear the same type situation occurring with them.