The Role of RNGs: How Random Number Generators Keep Games Fair

Games at licensed online casinos are all tested for fairness by auditors. With their seal of approval, these games are deemed fair to play, living up to international gambling standards about game integrity. Though it doesn’t mean you won’t occasionally run into the occasional cold streak. Or go without winning every now and again, which can make it feel like these games are rigged against you. But that is not a casino con. No, it is just part of the randomness of the results, and something that is really unavoidable.

The bottom line is that casinos do not rig their games. The titles you play at licensed online casinos all come fully tested. Casinos cannot simply get their hands on a game, rig it to their liking, and then release it. No, every single one of their games needs to pass an audit, which will determine whether the game meets the industry requirements. However, there are a few points of interest to note about RNGs, and how they work behind the scenes.

Defining RNGs in Different Game Genres

Casino games use Random Number Generators, or RNGs, to prove they are fair to play. These powerful algorithms ensure that every outcome of a game is fully randomised so that it is impossible to predict what will happen next. Each game has its metrics and requirements, setting the stage for how their RNGs should work. A few aspects of these RNGs, however, are universal in all games.

No game is designed so that the casino loses money. It just doesn’t work as a business model, and casinos must tweak their products to give them a small edge. This is achieved by calibrating the algorithms with the payout structure. This creates the house edge, which is always present in every casino game. RTP, or Return to Player, is a theoretical percentage of how much a game pays out. It is a theoretical model, calculated by the game auditors by simulating hundreds of thousands of rounds in a single game. The RTP is always below 100%. Each game may have a special algorithm, payout and odds. And these are designed to benefit the house.

Card Games

There are only 13 cards in each suit and 4 suits, making a total of 52 cards per deck. Some games may use multiple card decks, whereas others have only a single deck. But for each of these table games, the RNGs work powerfully to ensure the games are fair. RNGs here don’t shuffle the cards once and then allow for a certain amount of deck penetration. The card decks are shuffled after each round, completely randomising every game.

This eliminates any chance for card counting in blackjack. As to make the strategy work, you have to keep track of the True Count as you play through the shoe. The probabilities can change hugely, and when the True Count is +1, +2, or higher, it suggests there are more 10s left in the deck. In this scenario, many blackjack experts raise their stakes and play more aggressively. Once the dealer decides to reshuffle the shoe, the count starts from the beginning and you either leave, or play the waiting game again.

In games of video poker or baccarat, there aren’t really any viable card counting strategies, which is why it isn’t affected by whether you play with real decks or RNGs and virtual decks. For blackjack players, if you are counting cards then you generally avoid RNG blackjack table games.

Slots

Slots are quite complex as we cannot really calculate the true probabilities of matching symbols falling on a payline. The RNGs produce random results, and the only way we can count a theoretical probability is through the payouts. Taking the inverse of the payouts, and taking into account the RTP, we can more or less figure out the percentage or probability of landing each payline, but it is not a precise measurement.

It becomes even more complex when you have bigger grids, more symbols, and special symbols such as Wilds, Scatter Symbols, Cashpots, and others. Throw in some contemporary slots features or mechanics such as: Megaways, Cascading Reels, Multidirectional Paylines, or Ways Pays, and the long list of possible outcomes is extended tremendously. In terms of fairness, one question we have encountered a lot is whether slots are purposely designed to make near misses.

Near misses in slots can have a similar psychological effect on players as winning. It is meant to trigger a rush of dopamine and stimulate players to keep gaming. But as for whether the outcomes themselves are intentional, the lines are a little blurred. For however many winning combinations there are in slots, there are many more “near miss” scenarios. So they technically don’t need to rig the games to bring you close losses, as these will occur naturally as a part of the game.

Roulette

Online roulette uses RNGs to determine where the ball will land on a wheel. It is very close to real life, with completely random results and no way of knowing where the ball will land. Arguably, it could be even more fair than real roulette. In RNG roulette there are no faulty or old tables that may be compromised or have little biases.

Also, there have been scandals in real roulette where players have been able to predict where the ball will land. By timing the ball movement and observing the precise segment where the ball is released onto the wheel, some players have been able to pinpoint the precise region where the ball will fall.

In RNG roulette table games, no such thing can happen, as the ball’s spin, the timing of the throw, and which segment is under the ball at the time it is released onto the wheel all constantly change.

Other Casino Games

There are loads of RNG casino games you can play beyond roulette, slots, or card based games. You can throw virtual dice in RNG craps, try your luck on virtual scratchcards, enter a game of iBingo, or even have a go at crash style games. All virtual games, or the ones you play against the computer at casinos, run on RNGs. They randomise the throw of a dice. Or the possible symbols hiding in a scratchcard.

Are RNGs Really Random?

If we are being extremely accurate, no, RNGs are not fully random.  They are pseudo random, meaning they are intended to mimic randomness and create patterns that are impossible to predict. All RNGs have an initial value, called a seed, from which they can generate a long sequence of numbers that appear random. The sequence is created using a mathematical formula. This formula is so complex it is practically impossible to hack, unless you have the seed and the algorithm.

So no, RNGs are not random. But even if you have the formula and the algorithm, it is next to impossible to hit the Play button at the right time to guarantee a win. This is because the RNGs are generating numbers constantly, even in the few milliseconds between pressing Play or Spin. And these cycles are tremendously long.

Say you wanted to keep playing until the cycle eventually reached the end and started again. The Monte Carlo System is a method that can be used to calculate the frequency of wins, variance, and follow any patterns. Realistically, you would need to play millions of rounds to reach the end of the cycle, and even then it may not be fully apparent. Therefore, for all purposes, we can say these RNGs are random enough, even if they are deterministic and not truly “random” by definition.

Variance in Results

Anything can happen next, and you could play a game of slots in which you hit the jackpot twice within an hour. The odds would be stacked high against it, but you never know what will happen in the next round. Or, you could be playing for 10 rounds in a row without hitting a single payline. Or a partial payline, for that matter. The implied probability doesn’t necessarily mean you need to play a certain number of rounds to hit a specific payout. Take straight bets in Roulette. You could play 37 rounds and still not land your number. In another case, you could land your number 3 times in 37 rounds.

This deviation of the actual results in proportion to the probability is called variance. Variance can work in your favor if, for example, you draw a Royal Flush in video poker (odds 1 in every 650,000 rounds) after playing 100 rounds, the variance has swung in your favor. Or, you win 4 hands of baccarat Player Bets (around 44% winning chance) in a row. The same could be said the other way around if you play 10 hands of baccarat on Player Bets and not win a single one.

Streaks and Anomalies

In theory, variance is far greater in the short run, with fewer samples to build the context. If you were to roll a dice in craps thousands of times, the results would theoretically become closer to the actual probabilities of each roll. However, this is all theory. One of the classic gambler’s fallacies is to assume that you are “due a win”. Because, say, the roulette ball landed on black 5 times in a row. It may distort your understanding of the odds, or give you some kind of gambler’s bias, and make you believe the red must come soon as the results must balance out 50-50 at the end. But that is not the case.

The odds on red or black is always 48.6% for either. This is because there is a 2.7% chance of the ball landing on the green Zero. And it doesn’t matter what happened in the previous round, each game is fully independent of the other. Winning streaks or losing streaks are just statistical anomalies. And this same outlook is needed when analysing RNG games.

Playing Safely and Practising Caution

Some players aren’t used to RNG games and may feel a bit unsure about playing them. That’s fair enough. You don’t get to see the roulette wheel spin, the cards being shuffled, or any of the physical mechanics behind the action. But rest assured, the fairness is still there. Independent labs like eCOGRA, iTech Labs, and GLI rigorously test these games to make sure everything checks out. These auditors don’t work for the casinos. They exist to protect players and make sure the maths behind the games checks out. These auditors test everything from RNG performance to RTP percentages, making sure what’s advertised is what you actually get.

Risk taking is a part of gambling, and whether that means spinning a slot with a powerful algorithm or betting on a hand of baccarat, they all have their risks. That is the part of gambling that stimulates us and makes the games entertaining. However, you should always remember to gamble responsibly and set deposit limits and reality checks to control your gaming. Don’t fall for any gambler’s fallacies or use gambling as a means of making quick money. Because it doesn’t, these games are intended for entertainment purposes only. If you ever feel like you are getting worn out or tired, then by all means take a break. Ultimately, gambling is a risky endeavor, and you should never let your emotions get the better of you.