I guess in my mind the argument is that the entire allure of a casino is that there's an illusion of skill to the games. Nobody wants a pure chance game, and t

I guess in my mind the argument is that the entire allure of a casino is that there's an illusion of skill to the games. Nobody wants a pure chance game, and the casinos know this, so they make games that allow for some degree of skill to influence the outcome. The idea here is that if you think you're above average, you can win 55% of the time, and the casino allows that because most people win 40% of the time so they come out positive. In fact, casinos promote that, and poker and blackjack are great examples where beginners who don't have the skills to beat the odds are more likely to gamble (and lose money) because they think they're better than they actually are. To me, that's what makes this case and card counting the same thing. The players used their skill to outsmart the casino. The casino can then update their rules to account for that: using multiple decks for blackjack, or adding an obstacle the dice must trip. What the casino shouldn't be allowed to do, is go cry to the government and throw the players in jail. That being said, if the players were going against guidance or violating the rules then I agree, that's illegal and they should return the money and be banned from the casino. Still no prison though haha.