Two men have been arrested in France in connection with a hi-tech scam used to cheat at card games in casinos across Europe. Local police arrested two men late on Friday at the Casino Enghien-les-Bains (pictured) in the Paris suburbs.
Police say the men used a hidden camera and earpiece to communicate dealers’ cards to each other, giving them a simple winning advantage.
The as-yet unnamed duo have been charged with organized fraud, according to FranceInfo. Police say they suspect the pair cheated casinos across the continent for tens of thousands of euros.
The Alleged Cheating
The two men, a 63-year-old Ukranian and a 37-year-old Latvian, allegedly worked in tandem to cheat poker and blackjack tables in high-limit rooms.
Police say one man used a modified phone with a tiny camera on the edge face. He streamed footage of the all-important underside of the dealers’ cards to the accomplice on a laptop outside the casino. He would then relay that information to the player via a tiny earpiece.
It was an earpiece so small and well-hidden, police had to use a special magnet to remove it from the suspect’s ear.
The Investigation and Arrest
Investigators suspected the pair for several weeks, thanks to a tip-off. To gather evidence, they installed their own hi-tech surveillance at the Casino Enghien-les-Bains and waited for the men to return. The pair were arrested in the casino car park on Friday at around 1 a.m. local time.
When police raided the suspects’ accommodation after the arrests, they found various bank cards, electronic casino cards, and documents relating to tens of thousands of euros in transactions at gambling venues across the continent.
Police also said they believe the men to be part of a wider criminal gang operating similar gambling scams throughout the EU and Eastern Europe.
“We were able to document in detail a unique cheating system,” said Commissioner Stéphane Piallat, head of France’s gambling enforcement agency, the Service Central des Courses et Jeux (The Central Service of Racing and Gaming).
“We must allow casinos to take measures so that this type of scam can no longer take place.”
One U.S. woman recently was arrested on suspicion of conducting a less hi-tech but nonetheless effective gambling scam of a similar kind.
Jamie Smith, 31, worked at the MGM National Harbor in Maryland as a card dealer. She is accused of allowing three players she knew to see her cards during games of blackjack, giving them a winning advantage. Police believe Smith’s October 2023 scheme cheated the casino out of $43,000.
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
