Sounds like you're talking about player run casinos, with the mention of scamming. You can usually find a few of these in the Plane of Knowledge, and it typically works with you giving a certain amount of platinum to the casino holder. You do a /random 1000, and if you get over 700 you get double your cash. Under that, you lose what you bet.
The problem is that you can't really avoid being scammed. It's a matter of whether you were lucky enough to get an honest person. They can either refuse to pay you if you win, or just keep your money period, because 99.9% of the time they want to get the cash before you roll. For the most part it's a bad idea. Too much risk involved to play against bad odds, unless you're only betting small amounts.
There is a casino in Shadowhaven though, which is apparently a part of the game. I think it's closed right now due to the overwelming volume of players that used it however.