Hi I am a microstakes winning player and never believed that online poker is rigged as I believe in variance and as we play more hands online it tricks our brain into believing the poker site is fixed or rigged against us. But I think why would a site risk that as they earn millions from rake. But a mate who believes it’s rigged asked me last night “so you think the 888 bonus wheel you spin every day is not rigged” of course it is I replied. So he’s convinced that if that wheel is fixed and not random then why can,t the poker itself be fixed! I know it’s not random that wheel but I have won a few 16.50 big fish tickets this year from it! I still don,t believe online poker is fixed but my mate have got a point as we all know that wheel is fixed!
Your friend doesn't know the world of poker, I think this can happen on smaller sites, on larger sites, it's very difficult to lose credibility and money to earn through fraud. Poker does not depend on earning money from players, only rakes, that is, it is player vs player to win or lose.
casinos, sports are different, they are programmed to win.... Conclusion are very different cases, that is, your friend is a fool for believing in this conspiracy theory.