Is Online Blackjack Rigged or a Fair Game?

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Last Updated: June 24, 2022

Written by: Ivan Potocki

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Blackjack is one of the simplest gambling games involving at least some skill element. You can learn it within minutes and start playing it in the comfort of your home on an online casino of your choice.

But, playing blackjack online from your room is different than playing it at a real-life casino table.

This often leads blackjack players to contemplate exactly what goes on in the game’s inner workings, far from their eyes.

These opinions and theories are further exacerbated by examples of some online casinos rigging their games in the past.

So, when you’re putting your hard-earned money on the line, it’s perfectly understandable to ask the question – is online blackjack rigged?

If you’ve ever wondered about this or perhaps have questions about how exactly online casinos can ensure the safety and fairness of online blackjack, make sure to read this entire page.

We’ll go over everything to provide you with a definitive answer to this ever-present question.

Is Online Blackjack Rigged?

To dispel this myth right from the start, no, online blackjack isn’t rigged. At least, this is a certainty if you play at a licensed online casino with a proven track record.

Online casinos are often heavily regulated, and any site that wants to run a legitimate operation must adhere to a long list of rules.

This starts from the local level in the country or region where the online casino is based. To operate legally, the site must get all of the permissions and meet all requirements.

Then, it must also obtain online gambling licenses from various online gambling authorities.

Without these licenses and certificates, the online casino can’t reach a high status, as many responsible online gamblers will avoid it.

For most online casinos, clearing all of this and finally setting up a legitimate business is an expensive and time-consuming project.

It wouldn’t make any business sense for the online casino to rig its blackjack games after investing so much effort and resources.

So, why do some online blackjack players so passionately believe that the game is rigged? The reason is very simple when you think about this.

It’s that you can’t see what’s going behind the game.

In land-based casinos, you can see the dealer performing everything right in front of you. When playing blackjack online, it’s just you with your device and a game connected to a server based who knows where. 

To add to this, most online blackjack players don’t really understand how these games work. So, when they lose money, they feel like they’ve been cheated in some way.

In reality, they just can’t cope with the fact that they lost and want to blame someone or something else for their poor decisions.

Online blackjack games are, in fact, entirely random and completely unpredictable. That said, how can we be so certain that online casinos ensure the randomness and fairness of the results? This is where RNG software comes into play.

RNG Software – Ensuring Fair and Random Online Blackjack Games

RNG software is the core feature of every online blackjack game. It ensures that every game is completely fair, random, and unpredictable, making it impossible to rig.

RNG stands for Random Number Generator, and you’d find it in many other online casino games, not just blackjack.

In simple terms, RNG software generates millions of possible outcomes several times every second.

When you make your bets and decisions in the game, the RNG software stops working, and the latest produced outcome is displayed in the game.

Skeptics can argue that it’s still possible to abuse this algorithm, as it still is just software that works on a pre-programmed pattern.

But, RNG generates so many combinations each second that it’s the closest we currently have to purely random in today’s online gambling industry.

The House Edge – A Legal Fix in the Casino’s Favor

Although online blackjack is not rigged, you should still know that the odds are always stacked against you.

So, in this sense, the casino is legally fixing the game in its favor. But, this isn’t anything unusual, as you’ll find it in any gambling game, whether you play online or in a land-based casino.

It’s called a house edge. To be more precise, the house edge is a feature that gives the casino a slight advantage to ensure it is always profitable in the long run.

The house edge in online blackjack is generally between half a percent and two percent. It varies depending on how optimally you play the game.

More experienced blackjack players can get close to the lower number. However, the higher percentage is more realistic for most casual online blackjack players.

But, what does this mean in practice? In short, the house edge is the percentage of money of all players’ bets that the casino takes.

For example, if the blackjack house edge is 1%, the online casino will take $1 from every $100 you bet.

This is something you have to accept if you want to gamble online. And, when it comes to this, online blackjack is actually one of the most favorable games for players in terms of house edge percentages.

Online roulette has a house edge between 2.7% and 5.26%. Slots have a house advantage of around 4%, on average. Some online casino games even have a house edge measured in double digits.

The RTP – Calculate How Much You Can Win Over Time

While the house edge is the percentage that the casino takes to ensure consistent profits, the RTP (Return to Player) refers to the wagers that you receive back over time.

This metric is marked by the percentage that makes the difference between 100% and the house edge.

So, for instance, if an online blackjack game has a house edge of 1%, as we discussed above, the RTP is 99%.

This means that for every $100 you wager, you’ll get $99 back over time. However, this number is calculated over a massive sample, so you might get better or worse returns if you only play for a short while.

Moreover, while the RTP might be 99%, it’s also important to take into consideration all of the probabilities based on your and the dealer’s hand.

For this, the outcomes primarily depend on how well you play your hand and, honestly, how lucky you are so that the dealer doesn’t get a better hand.

Taking all of this into account, it’s not difficult to understand that blackjack is a very unpredictable game.

So, while you might be tempted to accuse a casino of rigging an online blackjack game, know that there are just too many elements in play and that your losing streak is just a result of a string of unfavorable coincidences.

Biggest Aspects That Make a Safe Blackjack Online Casino

While every online casino is unique in its way, the best online gambling sites in the business all share some traits that make them trustworthy.

So, here are the four most significant traits all safe and fair blackjack online casinos have in common:

• Licenses – When an online casino is licensed by a reputable authority like the UK Gambling Commission or the Malta Gaming Authority, you can rest assured that it’s been thoroughly tested. On the other hand, if an online casino is unlicensed, you can’t trust that it offers fair and random blackjack games.
• Additional Accreditations – Apart from licenses, a fair and trustworthy online casino will likely have at least one third-party accreditation. These are often from independent auditors or organizations that test the casino’s blackjack games to ensure fairness.
• Online Reputation – Legitimate online casinos live off of their reputation, which is why they will do their best to uphold a positive image. If you find a lot of positive reviews and good stories from past players, it’s a great sign that it’s safe to play blackjack at that online casino.
• Well-known Partnerships – Another good way to tell if an online casino is legit is to check its payment partners and the software companies it works with. If it’s an unsafe site, reputable companies wouldn’t want their name associated with the particular online casino.

The Online Casino Itself Can’t Fix the Game

In addition to the aspects above, one thing not many online gamblers know is that online casinos can’t simply change an online blackjack game or fix it any way they want.

The main reason for this is that online casinos aren’t actually the ones that make the games. They simply purchase the license to host the game from a software provider.

So, even if an online blackjack game is fixed, it would primarily be the software provider’s fault for making the game, and only then the casino’s fault for featuring such a game.

While software providers could easily rig their online blackjack games, doing so wouldn’t pay off for them.

And, there are more things preventing them from doing this than their morals. Like online casinos, game providers need to pass stringent testing and verification.

They need to possess licenses from trusted and reputable jurisdictions to offer their games in online casinos.

If a big-name company gets busted for rigging its blackjack games, its reputation would suffer significantly.

Seeing that reputation is everything for these companies, seeking short-term profits by risking years of effort is not the wisest business move.

Of course, there will always be unproven casino software companies that might try to cheat you out of your money by fixing their blackjack games.

But, if you stick with reputable software providers and licensed online casinos, the chances of this happening are close to zero.

Are Online Blackjack Games Rigged – Summing Up

Hopefully, this detailed article has brought this topic closer to you and helped you understand how online blackjack works and its different elements.

Knowing all of this, you can agree that online blackjack isn’t rigged, especially if you play in a trusted and licensed online casino.

Of course, while it might seem like the game is rigged against you during bad losing streaks, this is simply the nature of the game.

If you play long enough, you’re bound to run into spells of poor results from time to time.

Still, if you remember to stick with a trusted online casino, you can play online blackjack without worrying about it being rigged. Even so, make sure only to wager what you can afford to lose and play responsibly.

Is Online Blackjack Rigged or Fair FAQ