The now defunct casino software company Sheriff Gaming apparently had the ability to rig slot games so that friends and family of the site owner could win large jackpots a court in the Netherlands has heard.
The Court Zeeland West Brabant released papers on a case in August brought against the owners of Bubble Group, which was the parent company of Sheriff Gaming. Amongst the various charges of tax evasion, money laundering and corrupt practices carried out by the company was a testimony from a programmer revealing a startlingly shady practice of rigging slots.
According to the court papers the unnamed programmer suggested that the company’s slots jackpots were ‘engineered’ in a way to never pay out. However, if a player changed their wagering stake from €2 to €1 then this would override the system and allow a payout.
Although the claims are unsubstantiated, it is believed that the override allowed the owners to treat friends and family to large jackpots. The programmer claims that the override was triggered by a player on at least one occasion, which led to an unnamed director to become ‘very angry’. Apparently the winner was never fully paid out on their jackpot win.
According to the programmer, 95% of Sheriff Gaming slots were rigged in this way, designed to payout to a ‘fake player’, which was normally family and friends. On the odd occasion that a real winner had occurred, instructions usually circulated to prevent the withdrawal occurring.
The owners of Bubble Group, which included Stijn Flapper and brothers Maurice and Michel Gregoire, await trial on a variety of charges that occurred between 2008 and 2013.