Online casino gaming remains an entertaining hobby for many individuals, but trust has always been an issue. For players who go on a losing streak, the general assumption is that the casino is manipulating results against them. To protect players, random number generators (RNGs) are in place. However, these are only verifiable by third parties. Crypto casinos have stepped up with provably fair technology to resolve the trust issue. This unique system operates on blockchain technology, taking advantage of the fact that data on the blockchain cannot be deleted or removed.
In this article, we explain what provably fair technology is, how it works in games, and its benefits. You’ll also find a summary of how to check if you’re being cheated or not with this system.
Provably Fair Technology vs. Random Number Generators
In the iGaming industry, randomness determines fairness in all games. Casinos and game developers typically use random number generator (RNG) software to achieve randomness.
This fairness makes it impossible for players or the casino operator to find a pattern to exploit.
The RNG is similar to the provably fair gaming mechanic, but there is a unique difference. With RNGs, players must depend on Independent Test Labs (ITLs) to know if a game is truly random.
Trustworthy traditional casino sites like Luckypays that use RNGs usually have a seal of approval from an ITL like eCOGRA. You can find a few exciting Luckypays casino bonuses, but they may not be available with cryptocurrency payments.
Components of Provably Fair Technology
There are four main components necessary for provably fair technology. These components have unique functions, ensuring that there is no manipulation from the casino:
- Player Seed: This is a unique number that you provide to the casino. The game can generate a player seed for you, or you can create one yourself.
- Server Seed: A number the game server generates. The server seed isn’t revealed to you, so there is no chance to cheat or manipulate results.
- SHA256: This is a hash function that takes in a secret seed from the server and then encrypts it to create a hash value.
- The Nonce: This is a number that changes each time you place a bet. This changing value confirms that each round is different.
Provably Fair Technology in Action
Understanding the technical aspects of provably fair technology can be daunting, so we’ve simplified it into a few points. These points cover how the provably fair technology works in any game:
- When you initiate a new game round, a server seed is generated. This value is public, but you receive it as a hashed version (thanks to the SHA256).
- Now, you can create a player seed and then place your bet.
- Once you pick a player seed, the server will generate a game hash just before the start of the round. It does this by combining the player seed with the server seed.
- The game hash contains the session’s results, so you can then verify the results using an online tool.
- At the end of the game, the server then shares the unhashed server seed so you can compare.
Checking for Foul Play
The goal of provably fair technology is to ensure transparency and fairness, which is why the server seeds are made public. However, you only receive a hashed server value. So, to ensure you’re not being cheated, you must convert the hashed seed you receive at the start to an unhashed server seed. You can then check to be sure the game isn’t sharing random seeds to cheat you.
If the server seeds match up, you should also verify the results. There are ways to do this manually, but you can save yourself the stress by using an online tool.
Transparency and fairness are two areas of concern in the iGaming scene. However, with provably fair technology, these issues may become less of a problem. With players gaining insider information on how games determine their results, more and more individuals will come to trust legitimate online casino platforms.
Despite the benefits of provably fair technology, it’s still far from becoming the industry standard due to certain issues. The inability of regulatory bodies to control cryptocurrency transactions is one of the significant problems in this space.
