How Provably Fair Systems Work in Sweepstakes Gaming Platforms

Retro-dominance has much to do with player preference but far less to do with it. The currency in which players place their trust for the purposes of online gambling is the currency of sweepstakes trust.

Since there are no physical reels, cards, or dice within an online casino (as opposed to a brick and mortar), the player needs solid evidence that his/her outcome is not being tampered with by someone/ some entity working in concert with the house.

With the development of provably fair systems (as mentioned by Sweeps Pulse) the player can convert what was once blind faith into absolute mathematical certainty that every single spin, hand, and/or roll occurred precisely as advertised with absolutely no manipulation or interference from the house or anyone else.

The Cryptographic Magic: How It Actually Works

You should not be intimidated by the technical jargon associated with provably fair games. Provably fair games work with some of the same basic ideas behind password security and blockchain technology – complex on the inside and simple to understand and participate in.

The Three Components

All provably fair games require:

1. Server Seed: The platform will generate a unique random string prior to starting the game as the server seed
2. Client Seed: Your browser or device will also generate a random string called the client seed 
3. Nonce: Simply a counter that is incremented with every bet (1, 2, 3…)

All three of these components are combined using cryptographic hashing, much like a mathematical blender; always producing the same result when given the same input, and it cannot be used to reverse engineer the original components.

The Process Step-by-Step

Before You Start To Play:

• Platform generates a server seed and hashes it (converts to a scrambled version)
• They display the hashed version to you: a3f5c8…
• Proves they had chosen their random number prior to viewing any of your actions
• You have the option to change the client seed you used, or simply use the default

While Playing:

• Your browser sends the client seed you generated to the server
• The system calculates: Server Seed + Client Seed + Nonce
• Calculates the outcome: what cards come up, how far the reels spin, etc… 

After You Have Played:

• The platform displays the actual, unhashed server seed
• You may verify that the hash produced by the server seed matches the hash displayed by the platform during the start of the game
• You may independently determine that the same inputs produce the same outputs 

Real-World Verification: How Players Actually Check

Fairness is about being able to rely on what happens in the game. Here’s how most players check that their games are random and honest:

Manual Verification (For the Tech-Savvy Player)

What You’ll Need:

• The seed number revealed by the server from your game history
• Your client seed (as seen in your account settings or your game logs)
• The Nonce Number For That Specific Spin/Hand
• A SHA-256 Hash Calculator (Free Online)

The Process:

1. Put the Server Seed Into A Hash Calculator
2. Check To See If It Matches The Hash Seen Before The Game
3. Merge The Server Seed + Client Seed + Nonce Together In A Certain Format
4. Hash This Combination Of Information To Get A Number
5. Convert The Number Using The Platform’s Published Algorithm To Determine Game Outcome
6. Verify With What Actually Happened

Reality Check: Most players will never do this, as there are automated options to do so; but more importantly – you can if you want to, and most provably fair casinos have some kind of automated option available.

Automated Tools 

Most Provable Fair Casinos Have Automated Options Available To Their Players To Verify Games Are Random And Honest:

• Browser Extensions: Click Once To Verify Your Recent Game History 
• Third Party Auditors: Independent Websites That Use The Casino Data To Verify Outcomes 
• Open Source Calculators: Community Created Tools That Match The Casino Algorithms

Beyond Slots: Where Provably Fair Shines

Randomness is what’s important to players; as a result, provably fair games are best suited for games with lots of random elements (e.g., card games, dice and crash games, lottery-style draws):

Card Games

Shuffle Verification:

• Randomizing each card location based on the output of cryptographically generated values
• Since players can verify the entire deck before it’s shuffled, there is no way to “stack the deck,” etc.
• Multiplayer poker environments are particularly dependent on this level of verification

Dice and Crash Games

Instant Verification:

• The multipliers used in determining crashes are derived solely from the combination of seeds input into the system
• Since participants can verify prior to play that all possible outcomes have been calculated using the published probabilities for a game, there is no opportunity for the house to manipulate the odds during play
• As evidenced by community-generated and audited databases showing the results of multiple games over time, the mathematical probabilities of winning are proven to be correct

Lottery-Style Draws

Transparency of Sweepstakes:

• Timestamps of when draws were made are recorded irrevocably
• Hashed versions of participant entries are available for verification
• All algorithms and formulas used to select winners are visible to everyone
• Since there is no ability for the casino to show favoritism or otherwise influence who wins, the integrity of the sweepstakes process is ensured

Conclusion

Provably fair systems are more than simply innovative technology, they symbolize a new philosophy in on-line gaming; rather than asking the player to trust in an authority figure, license, or a brand name, they give anyone the ability to verify fairness with curiosity and a calculator.

To the player, the message is clear: you do not require a degree in computer science to take advantage of the benefits of provably fair gaming. The fact that verification is possible itself creates a change in psychology from suspicion to confidence.

For those interested in verifying the details of the system technically, the mathematical certainty provides a level of satisfaction that no regulatory seal can compare to.

Interested in learning about the specifics of a particular on-line gaming site’s provably fair system? Check out their “Fairness,” “Provably Fair,” or “Transparency” pages – legitimate sites will explain the details of their system and provide you with tools to verify their claims. If you cannot find such information on a site, then it would be wise to question what they may be trying to hide.