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Gambling Controversies That Left Their Mark In History

Every gambler needs to believe that they are playing on a level playing field. That the odds are the same for all players. With huge sums of cash changing hands during betting games, especially with sports betting, then it's no surprise that some might be tempted to cheat. And it's so much easier to do this from within the sports/casino companies themselves, out of the sight of the bettors themselves. Over history, there have been a number of famous cases where the perps were caught out.

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The Greatest Gambling Controversies in History

Let’s be honest here, gambling is a serious business. More especially, when you consider that people have been gambling for more than 4,000 years. Today, betting has evolved to such a degree, that you can bet on almost anything. From sports matches to online tournaments, and from casino games to even how that plot of TV shows will develop. Nevertheless, if you bet, then you need to believe that you have a chance of winning. That’s the odds of winning are in the hands of the Gods. Understandably there are some people who believe that all casino games and sportsbooks are rigged. And historic gambling controversies only serve to strengthen this view.

That the outcomes are already decided. Of course, from a casino’s or sportsbook’s point of view, this would be a terrible sin and could lead to the end of their business. A modern company like the internet gambling site 22Bet Casino or any of the other best jackpot sites would quickly lose their reputation for being fair. During the course of history, there have been some astonishing gambling controversies that have left the public open-mouthed. And they have certainly left their mark on the history of gambling.

Gambling Controversies: The Royal Baccarat Scandal

This scandal swept across London high society In the 1890s. Everyone was scandalised after a court case that involved the heir apparent, Prince Edward. He would go on to become King Edward VII. The decorated war hero, Sir William Gordon-Cumming was a close friend of the Prince And he was accused of cheating at cards. As a result, he filed a writ for slander. And the Prince was forced to attend as a witness himself, which is the first time a royal person had been obliged to attend court since 1411.

As you can imagine, the general public was fascinated by these gambling controversies. As a result, the Royal Court of Justice felt more like a theatre than England’s most formal court. The media of the day were having a field outing on the story and the whole of England appeared to be watching. And it was all over the casino game of baccarat.

Cheating At Cards

A year previously there’d been a social gathering with the friends at Tramby Croft. This was the home of a prominent shipping magnate called Arthur Wilson. After two nights of playing baccarat, Sir William managed to win a significant sum. But some present became concerned that he was bending the rules as one of his jackpot winning strategies. They even confronted him about this. It appeared that the soldier had been adding chips to his stake after the cars were revealed. A sneaky way of increasing his winnings. Of course, this was a huge affront to his honour. Sir William denied the accusations vehemently.

Nevertheless, because the Prince was present, Sir William was forced to sign a pledge that he would never play cards again as a means of avoiding any public scandal. The problem here was that in British high society, your reputation is everything. So cheating at cards was considered a grave sin. It didn’t take long for gossip to reveal the affair, which quickly became known as the “Tramby Croft Affair.”

Sued For Slander

As a result, Sir William had no other option but to go to court to defend his honour. In a court case worthy of a Game of Thrones episode, he failed. Now he was publicly disgraced. He instantly lost his military commission and ended up ostracised by the whole of London high society. Having said that, his rich young American fiance stayed beside him. As the Times Newspaper commented, “He has committed a mortal offence. Society can know him no more.”

Looking a little deeper, it’s possible to see that the reason this was to become one of the biggest gambling controversies of the time was the fact that the game of cards had been organised by Prince Edward himself. It’s interesting to note that today, baccarat is considered a mainstay of the casino tables. But in Victorian England, it was very much frowned upon. This is because it was considered solely a game of chance as opposed to one of skill. Even worse, the game was meant to be very popular in France. Playing for money was banned in the UK, though this did not stop it from being the favourite hobby of many of the aristocracy, including the Prince himself.

The whole scandal opens the door to the private lives of the elite. Unsurprisingly, the public was shocked at what they saw. As a result, it took some time for Prince Edward to restore his reputation. Later on, it was noticed that he no longer played baccarat but opted for whist instead. This became the preferred Royal game.

Gambling Controversies: The Black Sox of Chicago

Crossing over the Atlantic, we have the greatest and most infamous of all early 20th-century gambling controversies. The “Black Socks of Chicago.” This revolved around allegations of corruption that stained the reputations of many of the great athletes who played baseball. The issue here was one of betting on your own games. In 1919, during the Baseball World Series finals, one of the strongest teams playing was the Chicago White Sox. They were considered the easy favourites to win against the Cincinnati Reds as they had enjoyed a spectacular season. But in the final results, the Reds won. As you can imagine everyone was shocked.

Suspicious Bet Timing

It transpired that eight White Sox players had conspired to throw the finals. In doing so, they stood to take in a hefty profit in the process. It appeared that the Chicago gangster, Arnold Rothstein, was involved in the scam. Just before the first match began, there was a massive flood of betting on the Cincinnati Reds. Obviously, with them not being the favourites, this certainly drew the attention of both the gambling community and the news-press. Unfortunately, this led to suspicions amongst many games in the league. Eventually, a Grand Jury was assembled to look into the matter. The first person to confess was the pitcher, Eddie “Knuckles” Cicotte. After his confession, everything fell apart.

In spite of this being a case of criminal fraud, no one actually ended up in prison. Nevertheless, eight “Black Sox ” players were permanently banned from the game of baseball. As a result, they were forever denied entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Betting on Themselves

It turned out that eight of the White Sox players had conspired together to throw the finals, and make a hefty profit in the process. Notorious Chicago gangster Arnold Rothstein was also involved in the fix. The flood of bets on the Cincinnati Reds right before the first match stirred up the gambling community, and rumours of what was about to happen even reached some of the news correspondents. Naturally, the following baseball season was plagued by suspicion, and a grand jury was assembled to investigate the matter. Pitcher Eddie ‘Knuckles’ Cicotte was the first to confess, and soon the match-fixing was unravelled.

Gambling Controversies: The Ultimate Bet Scandal

The Ultimate Bet scandal involved a chubby chap called Russ Hamilton. During the 1990s he was one of the greatest American poker players. In fact, in 1994, he won the World Series of Poker main event. In doing so he pocketed $1 million along with his body weight in silver. Unfortunately within a short space of time, he went from hero to zero. Tempted by huge offers into the new world of internet gambling and internet jackpot poker, he became a consultant for the online poker site, Ultimate Bet. Russ was one of the biggest names in all the internet poker chat rooms. With his fame, he was able to attract prominent poker players and take the whole online poker betting platform to all-time highs.

Using A Superuser Account

Yet behind the scenes, there was a problem. Many members started to file complaints about a certain “Superuser.” Consider for a moment the idea that a poker player is able to see his opponents cards. That would render the whole game pretty pointless. And yet this superuser appeared to be able to do just that, and consistently win the jackpot online. At some point, some data was leaked and a prominent maths expert suggested that these gambling controversies were true. The problem was that the superuser was playing unbelievably well. He knew exactly when to bluff and exactly when to fold. It was almost uncanny. Luckily today this could never happen. With licencing requirements being so strict, any online casino like 22Bet Casino would need to keep everything above board.

Money Paid Back

Later in 2008, it was revealed that the former champion, Russ Hamilton, along with some other employees, had been quietly and systematically stealing from their clients. It turns out that Russ Hamilton had four accounts himself which allowed him to participate in games as if he were in “God Mode.” It also turned out that he was the “Superuser.” Between the course of 2004 to 2008, he managed to pocket over 20 million dollars. Not only that, but all of these gambling controversies involved the former owners of the website as well. But Russ never spent a day in prison. In the end, the website, Ultimate Bet was forced to pay back every cent.