How to Spot Fake Casino Chips
Nowadays, many people's favorite pastime is to play casino games online. But the pleasure of playing in a real casino remains. When we play in our favorite casinos, we exchange our real money for chips. And although these symbols may look plastic, they are still considered a form of currency. This makes the chips attractive to criminals who are still trying to produce counterfeits. Surprisingly, casino croupiers often say that nowadays it is easier to make fake money than chips.
But what should you watch out for when playing? What are the standard features of real chips and what is good to look for if you have a bunch of casino chips in front of you? In this article we will give you complete information on how to protect yourself and what casinos do to protect you.
*Weight: Chips are usually made from a mixture of clay and other materials. You can't think that all chips have a standard weight. The weight varies in different casinos and some chips can tip the scales up to 11 grams, while others can be 8.5 grams.
*Colour: The usual colors that casinos support for their chips are as follows:
- $1 – white / blue
- $5 – red
- $25 – green
- $100 – black
- $500 – purple
- $1 000 – orange
These colours can appear in different nuances, but the combinations remain. This in turn makes it quite difficult to falsify the right one. You can easily check the colour of fake chips against real ones and you will soon see the difference.
*Markings: Each casino has a unique stamp for its chips that shows where they come from. The quality of these graphics is a great sign of the authenticity of the chip. You may need a magnifying glass, as some counterfeits have exceptional skills, but other chips will never be 100% perfect. If you visit a casino with chips from another establishment, you may be able to cash them. "Foreign chips" are often accepted if the casino is owned by the same operator. Chips without any logos will be an immediate sign that something is wrong.
Methods Used by Casinos to Detect Fake Chips
Over the years, casinos have become wise and now use various methods to stay away from scammers. As a general rule, the highest value casino chips are tracked by casinos to see where they end up. This means that you are more likely to come across counterfeits worth less than $ 25.
*24/7 Camera Monitoring: Every corner of every inch of the casino floor is covered by surveillance cameras. They are then monitored 24/7 by large teams of security personnel. By constantly checking players and croupiers live, the cameras can track deposits, play and withdrawals from start to finish.
*UV Markings: Casino chips are usually marked with UV ink, which is only displayed under UV light, which is a quick and easy way to find out if you have a counterfeit or not.
*RFID Technology: High technology has also penetrated deep into the production of chips. These are security markings that are inserted into chips that can be traced by casinos. Allowing establishments not only to monitor stolen chips, but also to monitor floor activity. It allows them to quickly check if a table is losing or winning and see if the transactions are correct. Casinos use special scanning devices to detect RFID chips.
What to do if you Accidentally Find a Chip?
If you come across chips lying on the floor of a casino, don't put them in your pocket! Honesty is the best policy, just hand them over to the casino they belong to. Most casinos have strict rules for this and misappropriating a found chip can be considered theft.
Don't rely on trying to use these chips on tables, as the croupier has no idea where they came from. Or sell found chips to collectors. It is true that collectors pay heaps of money for rare and antique casino chips. But if you think it's hard to fool a collector with a fake chip, these guys really know things. And he will examine the goods carefully before handing you the money.
The production and use of counterfeit money is subject to prosecution with the same force as the production and use of counterfeit casino chips. Be on the alert!