Are Some Online Casinos Cheating Players On Payouts?

I received a handful of interesting emails from different people last week, and frankly it's hard to believe the contents of any of them. However, they were all complaints about the same thing: online casinos cheating each of them on payouts.

The first e-mailer wrote that on several online casino sites on which he played roulette the casino cheated him on the payout when he hit a winning number. He said that this was happening to him on at least four online casinos whenever he bet on the inside numbers (straight-ups, splits, corners, etc.) He said that when he bet straight up on a number, he received the correct payoff of thirty-five to one but the casinos locked up his original winning bet as if it were a loser.

What is supposed to happen when a player hits a winning bet in roulette is that the bet is paid and the winning wager is left on the number on the layout (up to the player whether to rake it off or let it ride). When I heard this I figured that somehow the writer was mistaken or simply just playing around with me, but then I received three more emails to the same effect. I am currently investigating this and will write more about it when I have evidence either confirming or disproving this alleged cheating by online sites.

I also received two emails from online baccarat players who said they were several times shortchanged while being paid for winning tie-hand wagers. The tie bet in baccarat generally pays 8 to 1 (in some casinos both online and off 9 to 1). These players complained that they were receiving only 7 to 1 on winning baccarat tie-bets.

CAUTION!

Baccarat tables sometimes use tricks to deceive players. Back in the 70s and 80s on some Las Vegas brick and mortar casino baccarat tables the text for the tie bet said "9 for 1," which is the same as 8 to 1. By using the word "for" instead of "to," casinos can make the same payoff seem more attractive by the way they word it. My first thought about these online baccarat complaints was maybe the tables the writers were playing on said "8 FOR 1" instead of "8 TO 1," which would be correct as a 7 to 1 payoff but still a ripoff because the tie bet should always pay at least 8 to 1. Of course there is the possibility that the online casinos in question are in fact cheating players on payouts, but I don't have any solid info on this yet and will also investigate it.

If anyone out there has similar online casino or online poker cheating complaints, please let me know at once!