Can Online Blackjack Be Rigged?

Blackjack is a popular casino game whether you play it online in a virtual casino or in a physical casino. As you’re putting real money at risk, card players often ask themselves whether their losing streak or even a winning streak was rigged. In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about playing Blackjack online and, of course, whether or not the game is safe for you to play.

How Does Video Blackjack Work?

At the heart of all online casino games is a computer program called “Random number generator”. This program creates a random number. This number is used for various purposes depending on the game. For card games like online poker and video blackjack, it determines what card could show up next. For slot machines, it determines what symbol each reel could stop at. It is pretty standard for the casino to have a slight edge against a member – it is how they make their money.

However, these random number generators aren’t perfectly random. Online casinos will tune the output of the program so that instead of having an equal chance of winning and losing money, Blackjack players have a slightly higher chance of losing. It’s is called the house edge and it works well for the casino. But does that make it a fair game?

Does House Edge Mean Online Blackjack is Rigged?

The house edge can be represented by looking at the “Return to Player”, or RTP, value. This value tells you what percentage of your original deposit you can expect to get back.

For example, assume the RTP for a particular game is 95%. Then the house edge for this game is 5%. It means that if you keep playing the game over and over again, you will eventually end up at 95% of the money you have wagered. The casino holds 5% as their profits. You may view this as unfair at first, but it is how all casinos stay in business. There is not really a blackjack strategy to get around this but this has no correlation with a game being rigged — it’s still a fair game.

Online blackjack will not be rigged in any way if the casino is fair and trustworthy. This means that even other strategies such as the card counters are considered valid.

Pick a Reliable Casino

The house edge at online casinos is a lot lower than at land-based casinos. So, it is easier to make money when playing table games online, including Blackjack. However, the risks at an online casino are much higher. People wonder ‘do blackjack dealers cheat?’ And the answer is typically no.

If a casino got a reputation for being unfair, it would lose its customers and be investigated. However, there are a lot more online gambling sites based on different jurisdictions all over the world. It’s a lot harder to regulate them, so the risk of falling victim to a shady casino is higher. There is no cheating at any valid casino.

The best way to avoid shady casinos which may take part in cheating is to look for certifications. There are independent organizations such as TST, who will check if the video blackjack odds are fair or not. Also, try to play at casinos that get their games from reputable software developers like NetEnt, Microgaming, Realtime Gaming, etc. It’s even harder for casinos to cheat at live Blackjack than video blackjack, so play live games if you can.

Verdict

Cheating is not exclusive to video blackjack. Some physical casinos will also cheat at Blackjack by having dealers counting cards, having non-standard decks, improperly shuffling, and so on. Dealers who do this are very experienced at hiding it, so even if you’re at the blackjack table, you might not realize it.

In video blackjack, you are guaranteed far higher winnings. Since there is no dealer, a few losses in a row might feel like malice rather than bad luck. However, good online casinos rely on their reputation to maintain a customer base. So they will have fair games that are certified independently. If you still feel you’re losing too often, try looking up our How to Play Blackjack section for some tips and added security to your game!