Contentious iPhone app bolsters casino cheating

by Stevie Smith - Feb 17 2009, 11:50

A new App Store software application made available for Apple’s touch-screen iPhone handset is causing something of a ruckus with gambling regulators in Nevada after it emerged that it gives users an illegal advantage while playing the casinos.

More pointedly, regulators have issued a warning to all casinos regarding the card counting abilities of the unnamed iPhone application, which places a focus on the popular game of blackjack.

While the act of card counting is itself not illegal under U.S. law (although seriously frowned upon within casinos themselves), using a device to aid card counting is considered a felony.

Illicit use of the application was first uncovered by gambling regulators in the state of California who rumbled players at an Indian casino that were found to be using their iPhones to track card usage and adjust bets while at the blackjack tables.

As a result, the California state authorities duly moved to alert other regulatory bodies, including those at the Gaming Control Board in Nevada, and that warning has now filtered down to individual casinos.

According to a board spokesman, individual casinos are free to deal with the iPhone threat as they see fit, although a full blanket ban on the use of electronic devices while at the gaming tables will most likely be the end result.

The Tech Herald: Developers fume as Apple rejects competitive App Store software

The Tech Herald: Hackers jailbreak 3G iPhone from the App Store

The Tech Herald: App Store hits 300 million downloads

Around the Web