how hackers use their smartphones to win big at slot machines!
Unscrupulous individuals from Eastern Europe have discovered a way to hack into slot machines at land-based casinos in France, and they’re doing it with the help of simple smartphones!
This ingenious method has been used many times, and has already enabled one of the crooks to pocket €12,000 in a single evening.
While the man in question has since been arrested and the case referred to the Versailles investigating court, the other members of the network are still at large, possibly ripping off other casinos in France…
Smartphones to collect illegal slot winnings
How do these new-fangled crooks manage to get their hands on such high slot winnings? Well, they are systematically equipped with a smartphone on which are installed several software programs designed to trick slot machines (which account for 80% of French casino revenues, by the way).
According to Matthieu Escande, a lawyer at the Paris Court of Appeal who specializes in gambling, the method used is similar to the remote hacking of bank cards via NFC technology. In an interview with Tech&Co, he explains that hackers can interfere with the electromagnetic waves of slot machines and act on their algorithms, provided they have a computer system more sophisticated than that of the gaming terminals.
Slot machines are a prime target for “mobile” hackersTo win the jackpot, you need to play optimally and consistently. To understand the mechanism used, it is essential to look at the player payout ratio (TRJ), which French casinos are required to respect under Ministry of the Interior regulations. The TRJ represents the percentage of money wagered by players that will be redistributed to them over the long term, with the remainder retained by the casino as profit.
A concrete example: with an FIT set at 95%, a player who has wagered 10,000 euros on a slot machine over a long period should get back 9,500 euros, with the remaining 500 euros going straight into the casino’s coffers. However, cheaters, armed with their smartphones, have the ability to modify the FIT of machines by causing interference, raising it above 100%, thus guaranteeing them systematic winnings without any deduction from their initial bet by the casino.
Eastern European countries renowned for their hacking expertise
However, according to Me Matthieu Escande, large and regular winnings attract attention, and a player who wins 500 euros a night could be suspected by the casino, thus alerting the gaming police. What’s more, he believes that current and former casino employees could also be implicated, as they are the only ones who know how often TRJ checks are carried out.
According to an article published by Le Parisiena mysterious criminal organization from Eastern Europe is at the head of the hacker network. Eastern European countries are renowned for their expertise in computer hacking. Gambling, meanwhile, has always attracted the attention of criminals because of the potential gains it can offer.
