Part III: Slot Machine Cheating · Physical Cheating Methods · #5.28

False Jackpot Claims (Customer-Side)

How it works

A player falsely claims to have hit a jackpot when they did not. Methods include: claiming a machine displayed a jackpot that “malfunctioned” away; tampering with a machine to create a false jackpot display; claiming a jackpot on a machine they never actually played. While most malfunction claims are legitimate (all machines display “Malfunction Voids All Pays”), some players deliberately attempt to exploit software glitches or create false displays to extort payment. In a 2015 Iowa Supreme Court case (play in 2011), a player who was not accused of any wrongdoing was shown a $41 million bonus award on a slot machine because of a software glitch. The courts ruled for the casino because the game’s rules formed a contract that did not include any such bonus; the court did not decide the malfunction question.

Where it appears

All slot machines, particularly those with known software vulnerabilities.

On the record

A case at Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo (play in 2011; Iowa Supreme Court ruling in 2015) became a national story. The player was shown a displayed $41,797,550.16 bonus award, but the casino determined it was a software malfunction. She sued for breach of contract, estoppel and consumer fraud; the district court ruled for the casino and the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed in April 2015. The court decided the case on the game’s posted rules and did not rule on the “Malfunction Voids All Pays” sign.

Published as a detection reference for surveillance, compliance and gaming-operations professionals. Thresholds and tuning are set by the property. Nothing here is instruction: the method is described so it can be recognised.