NetWinner Program Review — update, 4/19/09: Netwinner is down, hopefully for good!
As NetWinner is 6 months behind in member redemptions (as of 5/08), I do not recommend this program to anyone at this time. See the Related Articles below for more info.
Date Launched: October 2006
Reward Per Dollar Spent: No shopping reward
Minimum to Redeem: 100,000 points (for a $100 Ecount GC); less for contest entries
Prizes Offered: Ecount GCs, contest entries, other instant-win prizes
Earn Points For: Playing games, referrals
Limit One Account Per: US or Canada citizen or resident aged 18+ with a valid email address, one account per person (they check for cheaters and playing in multiple windows isn’t allowed)
Dollar Value of a Point: 1/10 of a cent
How to Play MoneyWheel: Either click Quick Pick or select 4 double-digit numbers and one single-digit number, then click Win! If the numbers you picked match those generated by the program at random, in the same placement and order, you win points. (It’s important that you validate your email address when you join otherwise your prizes may be forfeited.)
Nine different games will be played with each set of numbers that you choose. The prizes available range from $25 to the over $1 million progressive jackpot, points in the amount of 25 to 5,000, or one entry into a daily prize drawing (for one of two $250 prizes, or one of 10 $100 prizes). The odds of winning $25 is about 1 in 281,000. You can play MoneyWheel 100 times a day. Your odds of winning any points at all is one in 29. In other words, with 100 spins (approximately 50 minutes of game time) you can expect to win 25 points an average of 3 times, for 75 points a day (not including the occasional multiplier). To get enough to cash out for a $100 GC, the only sure cashout except for drawing entries, you’d have to play daily for 1,333 days (3 years and 9 months). This does not include the ten games of Banko you’re allowed to play daily.
The thing to remember is that you can cash those easier-to-win points into GCs. Plus, you can play over and over all day long if you want (you have to wait 20 seconds between games).
How to Play Banko: Press Play and wait for the computer to generate a pattern (matching this pattern will result in a win). The computer calls the balls and highlights them when it matches a space on your card. You win for a bingo, four corners, pattern, or banko (which I assume is a “blackout”). Every 5 calls the prize for the four ways to win changes. The most frequent win is for a drawing entry, next most frequent is 25 points. When you win you can either cash out, or keep playing and take a chance on losing what you won if you don’t win on another game before the calls stop. There’s no way of knowing when the calls will stop for that card (it will be between 30 and 70). The full rules for Banko are here. Many people report winning more on 10 daily plays of Banko than on 100 of MoneyWheel.
This site is optimized for broadband. If you’re a dial-up user, you’ll probably want to pass on this site.
Note: Because of problems related with NetWinner’s ability to pay members in a timely manner, I do not recommend this site to anyone as of this time (5/08).
Related Articles: Netwinner.com Down for Good?, Netwinner in the News Again: Makes BBB List of Worst Companies, Netwinner Boycotted, Named Worst Business in Charlotte by BBB, BBB “Inundated” With Netwinner Complaints – Says Site “Should Have Halted” Games, NC Residents Ripped Off By NetWinner Needed for TV Report, New NetWinner Forum — Alternatives to NetWinnerCentral.com, Another Anti-NetWinner Video Maker Interviewed, Interview with Maker of Anti-NetWinner Video, “Get a Life,” Says NetWinner, NetWinner “Refunds” Points in Lieu of Payments, Response to NetWinner, NetWinner Sponsors Porn Discussion…at a Dragon*Con Convention, NetWinner Updates: No $ to Ecount, Major Privacy Violation, Referral Policy Change, NetWinner Gives Partner Sites a 50% Raise; Asks Them To Buy Prizes, Beginning of the End of NetWinner.com?, NetWinner VP Addresses Concerns, Win Netwinner Points in New Forum
Like Netwinner? You may also like: BoomerTowne, SpotWinner, LuckySearch, BigDevil, Blingo, Winzy, PromoSquad, or Kiwibox
{ 7 comments }
OK, I have been a member of Netwinner since June (nearly 5 months). I didn’t seem to care for it much but would occasionally get on and play when I was bored. Recently Netwinner launched a new game (Banko). After playing that game a few times I ran into what seemed to be glitches. Playing it many times it seemed to happen all to often, especially when you were suppose to win big amounts.
ie: I was playing and won bingo on 10 points, I didn’t want the 10 points because it’s not worth it to stop at 10 points so I continued the game. I then got the 4 corners on 10 points, declined it because it still wasn’t worth settling for 20 points. Then I got the pattern for 250 points but the game failed to credit me the points and finished calling the numbers where I ended up with nothing…
Another ie: The game was going on for ever.. I finally got 4 corners for 50 points but declined it because it would have been more valuable (Jackpot valuable) to have gotten bingo, which I was set up in 3 different ways to get. The game was almost finished calling the numbers at 67 numbers (it calls 70 numbers maxed) and suddenly started calling K-0, K-0, K-0.. I lost..
I then went and reported both incidents and was told it’s a glitch it’s not rigged. (Thinking to my self well if it’s a problem with the game, I should still have won in both cases), so I asked if I can be manually compensated and was denied and made fun of.
So I decided to do a little investigation into the game my self to see what was causing the glitch and recommend on how to fix it. I simply downloaded the banko.swf file located at http://netwinner.com/flash/games/banko/banko.swf and decompiled it so I can take a look into the source code (Completely legal to do).
During my investigation I unveiled a naughty little secrete, it wasn’t a glitch. It was actually doing it on purpose. The method they use to call the banko balls are not even random, it is dependent on a remote server to call the ball which means, netwinner has the capability to manipulate which balls are called.
I also found that their was two different arrays at which the balls are stored in, a “winning array” and an “anti-winning array” which also gives credit to the fact that they are indeed not randomly generated. What it means is one array holds the numbers that are on your banko card, and the other hold numbers that aren’t on your banko card.
With those to findings means Netwinner controls when you will win, how you will win, and how much you will win. Is it a coincident that it’s been around over a year and hasn’t paid out a large sum to one individual winner? No! They control it. The have not problem paying out points because the most you can get with those are gift cards which come from their sponsor and is no expense to them.
So here’s how the game is supposed to work. You get a Banko card (like Bingo). It has 25 numbers on the card a matrix of 5 x 5. Their are 4 different was you can win on each each card (each game). There’s the original (bingo -one line of 5 numbers), then (4 corners – cover the cards 4 corners), then there’s the (pattern – cover the shaded pattern depicted on the card), and the last one (Banko – cover all the spaces). The amount of balls that are called is supposedly random (It’s not) between 35 and 70 numbers. The amount won is supposedly determined on a revolving prize wheel that revolves every 5 balls that are called. (Also not true since the game is predetermined).
Here’s the so called glitch, the game is supposed to stop calling numbers that is supposedly random. But that is not what’s really going on. That random number at which the game is supposed to end is based on how much you have won during the game. If you are going to win more than what was predetermined before the game had even started, the game is supposed to stop calling numbers. Some times it fails to stop so the game continues and you are not credited the points for any other wins.
In the case of when I should have won the jackpot but it started calling K-0, that is because the “anti-winning array” was empty so it was trying to stop me from getting the jackpot with the anti-winning array which was empty resulting in it calling the default “0″ (K-0).
Thus it’s not a glitch, netwinner is just not done perfecting it’s cover-up (the fact that it’s rigged).
I contacted the admin again after my findings, at which for the most part agreed with me. However he insisted “it isn’t rigged.” He also said, “We do have controls as to who wins what, we would be fools if we didn’t.” I replied saying, “If your business model gave prizes out that accommodated the rate at which your sponsors paid you, you could still turn a profit and give prizes out to your members, then you would not have to rig your games and offer huge prizes that you do not intend to pay out.” His reply, “OK, we heard enough of you.” then banned me out of the chatroom, deleted my account, and forfeited the 58,000 points I had earned in the 5 months I was a member.
So, I recommend to anyone signing up with big dreams.. Don’t get your hopes up, no one will ever win the Jackpot, or any other substantially high cash out in the form of a check. They are simply getting rich off of their ads for you wasting your time to get a few $25 gift cards every 2 – 3 moths or so..
Such a waste of time, it’s Rigged!
It is obvious that Banko is not a completely random game. There are too many opportunities to win cash prizes which never win. I have played enough games of chance to know that for the number of times I have played, with the high number of chances at hitting Banko with a cash payout, it would have happened had the game been random. The odds always run true in time.
It is a awesome site. I mean sure i spend MY time playing, but that does not mean its not a great site. I have gotten most all prizes and awaiting mroe. So, no need in downing a awesome site. Its not for all, but for many who like it enjoy it and are happy …LIKE me
Oh, and they have a contest running for cash! yup! $850! bet your bum I entered;) whoooot! So, I am having fun winning my free money oh yeaaa
It is a great site and you gave some great information! very cool! I hope many know what free is and takes time to play more. Its fun to me
LOVE THIS SITE. I’ve won over $800 since I joined and I have always been paid.
Netwinner is the best site that I have found on the internet! Where else can you play games, enter contests, make new friends AND win money???? Nowhere that I have found! AND it doesnt cost you a penny to play….I have cashed out for 100.00 and almost have enough for another 200.00, so guess where I am going….SHOPPING!!!
Banko has its glitches, yes, BUT it is still in BETA (testing stage of the game) The only way they can work out the bugs is if we give them feedback on the problems that we encounter on it…I for one will test a game for free and if i win, YAYYYY, and if a glitch comes up, so be it….it still didnt cost me anything to play!
Come join us and win some money!!!
I LOVE PLAYING THE MONEYWHEEL & BANCO.I`VE BEEN WAITING FOR MY E-CARD.HAVEN`T SEEN IT YET.IT`S BEEN OVER 90 DAYS. JUST WONDERING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.
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