Czech national Rodoslav Skubnik was part of a crime syndicate that cheated Singapore casinos through smartphone technology. This week, Skubnik received 22 months in prison for cheating in slots.
The young criminal was part of an international syndicate that included three men and three women. They used their smartphones to predict when slot machines would pay big before playing them.
Skubnik said that he and two Russian syndicate members used their smartphone video cameras to record action on specific slot machines. They uploaded the recorded videos to a program that analyzed the data, which was transferred back onto the smartphones. The slots cheaters were then able to use their phones to gain an edge at Marina Bay Sands casino and Resorts World Sentosa.
Skubnik pleaded guilty to three charges of obtaining an advantage through cheating. This is a landmark case for Singapore because it’s the first time that casinos players have used mobile devices to cheat.
Aside from using technology, the cheating syndicate had a “master” and “player” arrangement, whereby players received 10% of the illegitimate winnings, and the master collected 5% from each player. The master’s duties included analyzing the slot machine data, and the players made the money by using the smartphone data in Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa.
Singapore isn’t the only place that the Russian/European gang is believed to have struck. Authorities believe that they’ve identified the same con pulled in US, Macau, and European casinos. They’re still investigating to see how deep the matter goes.
Skubnik earned $20,000 through three trips to Marina Bay and Resorts World. In total, the syndicate made $120,000 by playing slots at Singapore casinos.
Vladislav Logachev and Andrei Egorov, two Russian members of the gang, are still awaiting trial. They could strike a similar plea deal with the city state, or take their chances and face up to seven years in prison and a SG$150k (US$110k) fine.