If there’s one myth about online casinos that won’t go away, it’s that games are rigged. And if you’re one of those cynical souls that refuses to accept the truth, you’ll want to hear about provably fair casinos.
All crypto casinos offer a selection of provably fair games nowadays. I’ll explain the technology properly in a moment, but here’s the gist. Results aren’t generated entirely on the casino’s side – they need your input – so they can’t be tampered with. What’s more, everything’s completely transparent and verifiable.
What Does Provably Fair Actually Mean?
All gambling sites claim to be honest, but you can only take their word for it. However, provably fair casinos put their money where their mouths are. As the name suggests, you can literally prove it wasn’t a setup, thanks to the “commit-and-reveal” system.
In plain English, the casino generates and publishes a value before the game starts. This is later combined with your own input to create a result. The casino can’t know what your input will be, so they can’t fix a result.
Because they committed to their value in advance, everyone can check to see if it was altered later on. If it wasn’t, you know the game was honest.
Make sense? Perhaps some more details will help.
The Techie Bit
Provably fair casino games rely on three parts to generate a result: the server seed, client seed and a nonce.
If you’re British like me, that last bit will never stop being funny. But that’s what it’s called, and I promise this technology has nothing to do with Epstein’s island.
Server Seed
This is the first bit I mentioned – a randomly-generated seed created on the casino’s side. The seed itself isn’t published, as that would be open to abuse. But an encrypted hash is, and that’s the thing we can verify later.
Think of it like writing something down and sealing it in an envelope. We can’t see what’s written there, and nobody can mess around with it. But after the game result is known, we can go back and look.
Client Seed
The game result can’t be generated until a second seed is added. To prevent the casino having full control over the result, this is taken from a player.
Some provably fair casinos let you set your own seed, while others randomly generate it for you. The ability to set your own is a superior setup, randomising things even more. But even if the casino creates it, the server seed is committed before the result, so the game can’t be rigged.
Nonce
This is just a counter that adds a number to each game. It allows the casino to use the same base server seed for multiple rounds, while still generating a unique result every time.
The nonce, client seed and server seed all combine to produce one piece of data, which is then run through a hash function. This produces a long sequence of characters, which the casino server uses to determine the result.
This string can be recreated after the event – the same inputs always produce the same hashed characters. And that’s how we prove the result wasn’t tampered with.
How to Verify the Result
Every provably fair casino differs slightly, but a typical verification process looks something like this:
- Find the game’s provably fair details and click to reveal them
- Note down the server seed, client seed and nonce before playing
- Enjoy the game and wait for a result
- Click the button marked “Verify” or similar
- Type the seed and nonce details into the verifier
- Confirm the calculated result matches what really happened
My Favourite Provably Fair Casino Games
To wrap things up, here are the three provably fair games I enjoy the most.
Plinko (Betpanda Originals)
One of the most popular provably fair games at crypto casinos, Plinko is borrowed from my favourite TV show growing up – The Price Is Right. It’s so straightforward even an idiot like me can play.
The ball drops onto the grid, and eventually comes to rest in a pocket at the bottom. Wherever it lands, that’s your return – but some of the multipliers are worth less than your stake.
Mines (Thrill Originals)
Based on the old Minesweeper game, this provably fair original puts you in control of the volatility. Choose the grid size, as well as the number of mines to be hidden, tailoring the grid however you like.
Mines perfectly combines simple rules with engaging gameplay. And if you don’t like the risk-reward balance, just change it!
Aviator (Spribe)
Although it wasn’t the first crash game ever created, Aviator is certainly the most successful. The concept couldn’t be simpler – place your bet, watch the little red plane take flight, and bank your multiplier before it crashes.
Almost all provably fair casinos now have their own version of this hugely popular game, often right alongside the OG.