Gambling

Gambling is the action or game of a person betting money particular outcome or event, and should the event go in his/her favor, win a specified reward. In RuneScape, gambling has become increasingly prevalent due to the Reintroduction of Free Trade, which allowed players to transfer large sums of money to other players.

As a general rule, there are two types of players when gambling occurs: the "hoster", or player that offers a deal, takes the bet, and makes the event occur, and the "player" or "gamer", who places the bet. Odds almost always favor the hoster, who can make millions off of lost bets. The hoster is at risk to lose more than the gamer should they win, although the player/gamer is often put at risk more through the dangers of a scam.

'''Players should be warned: gambling is a risky activity that will almost always end up costing a player money. '''In addition, gambling is often an easy way for hosts to scam players. Should you decide to take a host up on their offer, consult this guide and take certain precautions to avoid being scammed or tricked. It is always best not to risk your money at all.

Flower Game
"The Flower Game" is a player-made game on Runescape which involves gambling. The player hosting the game will determine how much a winning bet will be multiplied.

Because this game can be used as a method of scamming, players should be wary of any deals that seem too good to be true, and must understand that they are playing the game at their own risk, as is the case with any gambling game. If a so-called "dealer" is legitimate, ask him / her to trust you (exactly the same way he / she is asking you to trust him / her) and take your bet after the winner is determined, much the same way that he / she is asking you to trust him / her to give you your winnings after the flower grows. For example, if the dealer is asking for 500k, ask to trade 500k and offer your own 500k, to make sure he has 500k. Also ask him to show you the prize. Now, you both have 500k. If you win, trade back his 500k for the prize. If you lose, do nothing. If he / she is unwilling to do this, it is a more likely to be a scam. Don't be fooled - avoid being scammed.

Another method to verify a host is their general appearance. High level (110+) players with large amounts of gold are unlikely to scam a small bet, and are more likely to give up their own cash than low-leveled, poor players. Always ask to see the hosts' cash and rewards to make sure they are a trustworthy host.

Scamming is often conducted in the Flower Game through partners. A player will fake-win a prize, making observers falsely believe the host is legitimate.

How the game is played:

The gambling player will trade the host any number of coins and bet on which color flower the host will plant. If they guess correctly, the host will award them with a prize (usually 3 or 4 times higher than the original bet). This is advertised in the following format, as an example: "Flower Game 4x", meaning the payout is 4 times the bet.

Sometimes hosts will claim that they are offering extremely high priced prizes with a low gambling price. Many of these are scams, so it is important to play at one's own risk.

The chances of winning a game are roughly 1/7, so you are likely to lose money betting on any payouts less than 7:1. See flowers for more information. Red, Yellow, Blue, and Orange flowers are the best choices, with roughly a 15 percent chance at each. Purple and multicolored flowers are less common, while white and black are extremely rare. The full odds of each flower may be seen in the flowers page.

Dice Game
The so-called "Dice Game" is simply another form of scamming along the same lines as the "Flower Game". The player will ask you to give him / her cash, and he / she will claim to pay you your "winnings" if the correct number comes up when he / she rolls the dice in his / her clan chat. This is simply a new "twist" on the old "trust game" scam that has resurfaced as a result of the return of the free trade. If a player wants to play the "Dice Game" with you, simply tell that player that you will pay him / her your bet after the dice roll - after all, it's the same thing, except it's not as now the player may scam the host. Even if the player offering the dice game is an honest player, offering a fair game, they may not agree to trading your money after the roll, fearing that they will lose out on the bet if the betting player loses. Keep in mind that although this is sometimes a scam where they will not pay out for a winning roll, some players are hosting legitimate games of chance.

If someone is offering a dice game, they shouldn't be reported until it becomes evident that this is a scam.

"Dice Clans" are often used as a trustworthy form of dice gambling through the form of impartial hosts. In this case, two players wager against each other money, and the player with the higher number wins the others. A host keeps the bets (usually the owner of the clan), and pays the winner. The host usually keeps a 10 percent commision.

Staking
Staking is considered the safest way of gambling, and the best odds. The downside of staking is that it requires a high combat ability, and leaves less to chance as it does combat.

In staking, players meet at the Duel Arena to challenge each other to a one-on-one fight. They bet money, which is held in a "pot" for the winner. The first person to kill the other wins the entire pot. There is ZERO chance of a scam in staking, as the actual RuneScape server holds all bets. Additionally, assuming all combat advantages are taken out of the equation, staking puts on odds of about 50-50, although these can be raised depending on combat levels, weapons, etc.

Reaction by Community
Gambling is often frowned upon by respected players of the RuneScape, as well as Jagex. Critics claim that it is making RuneScape an "online casino" instead of a fun RPG. Others accuse hosts of unfairly tricking low-leveled players into betting their entire fortune on a game, unaware of the odds.

Hosts are frequently reprimanded for using autotypers to spam gambling areas, contributing to the large amounts of Lag players experience south of the Grand Exchange. Because of this, some players have launched a campaign to outlaw gambling on the forums, gathering support from both J-Mods and P-Mods.

However, some players argue that gambling is a free activity players do at their own risk, and that it encourages better wealth distribtution if players win. Player moderators are even sometimes seen hosting flower games, drawing criticism that they are unfairly using their credibility to make money.

With the exception of posting anti-scam notices in RuneScape and on their site, Jagex has not announced any sort of crackdown on gambling or hosting. Player moderators frequently storm the Gambling Grounds, muting players that have been scamming. Staking is a recognized way to make money, but flower-gaming and dice-gaming are considered "black market" illegitimate means. Regardless of what the general opinion is, gambling in RuneScape has become a method to make and lose millions.