How to Prevent Cheating On Bill Acceptors

Posted by juliabennet on November 26th, 2012

One of the big problems of operators of amusement devices like bill acceptors and 8 liner machines is cheating.  Detecting and preventing them can be done several ways, but you must first have an understanding of the 2 cheating methods the thieves use:  (1) stringing or fishing, and (2) electronic zapping or shocking.

Cheating by fishing or stringing involves feeding the bill with attached thin polyester tail into the machine.  When the credits rack up, the cheat pulls back the tail to retrieve the bill. There are signs to know that this cheating is being done.  If you notice the same player is playing for a very long time and most often wins, or the meter readings have a mismatch, it is highly probable that someone is “fishing” on your bill acceptor and 8-liner machine.  Other signs include your machine loses money consistently, and the rate of failure of game boards is on the high side.

Cheating by zapping, on the other hand, uses a high-voltage, stun device or handheld zapper.  It is used to shock a person or an animal by pressing the device on them.  In cheating on a game, it zaps the bill acceptor and 8-liner machines to fool the devices into believing that the cheat has already inserted the money.  This can rack up game credits and makes the thief always win a game.  This kind of cheating is very difficult to detect.

If you have suspicions that cheating is being done on your 8 liner machine or bill acceptor, you can verify this. Before and after a suspected thief plays, immediately count the money you have on the machines and see if it matches with the meter reading.  A video camera can also be placed in a strategic location to monitor the person playing, or someone can be assigned to carefully watch the player.  Once caught, these thieves should be banned from playing in your establishment, don’t forget to report them to the police authorities.

You can also stop cheating by fishing on bill acceptors and 8 liner machines by having upgrade kits or switching  to a different brand of acceptor machine.  Cheats are unique in each brand and model. Learning how to cheat on a new system may take the cheats some time.  They will always go for what is easiest for them to do.  Zapping can be eliminated or prevented by adding a Zap Stopper to your machines.  This is a board that prevents false credits brought about by electro magnetic interface, and it works with all models of acceptors.

You need to accept that no system can claim that it has complete security.  But you can choose a particular brand and model  that includes sensors that detect cheating effectively.  This reduces the machine’s vulnerability both to cheating by either fishing or zapping, and invalid bills. You can find the best acceptors and its components from various websites online, where you can take advantage of  lower prices and be offered the best deals that you can possibly get.

8 liner and bill acceptor are very expensive to buy first-hand, so it’s ideal to go to auctions to buy such gaming machines.