Is Online Bingo Rigged?
Is online bingo rigged? Do bingo halls utilise “house players” who win all the big prizes or is online bingo totally fair and random? Why do the same winners appear time and time again? Whilst no-one can say with certainty that all bingo sites are 100% fair, strict licensing and regular inspections ensure that almost all bingo operators behave in a fair and ethical way. All the major bingo software is frequently and thoroughly tested, ensuring that each players has an equal chance of winning a game, with the winner decided by the luck of the draw rather than any manual manipulation on the operators part.
Ghost players and house players have been the subject of much debate over the years. This usually stems from a single player or group of players regularly “defying odds” or experiencing amazing streaks of luck. Whilst theoretically it may be possible to have house players, it would be incredibly stupid of any bingo operator to employ any. If an operator was found to be cheating in this way then their reputation would be in tatters, they would lose their license and quite probably their business. Amazing streaks of luck do happen in online bingo. I myself was the subject of an almost embarrassing streak of luck at an online bingo site, and I have known it happen to several other players too.
One of the other situations which has led people to claim the game is rigged is when accidentally a winner is announced before the balls have been drawn, as happened at Wink Bingo quite recently. In this case, the CM accidentally revealed the name of the full house winner when only the single line prize had been won. Not surprisingly many players became suspicious at this announcement, but the mechanism which made it possible is quite simple when understood.
With online slots, the sequence on which the reels will stop is automatically determined when the player presses the spin button. The reels then spin and line up with the pre-defined sequence. In other words the outcome of the game is determined before the reels have spun. Online bingo works in the same way. At the start of the game, the sequence of balls which is called is predetermined by the random number generator. The computer can calculate the winning card by comparing each card to the sequence and so the winning cards and their holders will be known before the balls are drawn. The balls are then drawn to complete the game. CM’s can see the information on the winners as soon as the game commences, and occasionally they accidentally reveal this before they should, as was the case with Wink.
On the whole online bingo is safe and fair. Stick to well known and trusted bingo sites who have been around a while. If you feel that a site is “unfair” then vote with your feet, there are plenty of genuine and ethical operators who would value your custom.
