As the ongoing pandemic is wreaking havoc in the gambling industry, forcing millions to shift from the once-loved brick-and-mortar casinos to online platforms, punters are looking for safe alternatives. Speaking of which, there are very few ways to make sure your online casino – either it is Boomerang Casino or any other platform for that matter – isn’t rigged, and only a single one to exclude cheating on a mathematical level: a Probably Fair algorithm.
Whether you are aware of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies by now or not, the Provably Fair algorithm stems from blockchain technologies, allowing you – and anyone else with access to the server seed private key, for that matter – to verify the outcomes of all the games played at a Provably Fair casino.
How is that possible? Well, there is some complex math behind this, but don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it since Aleksandra Maj from KasynoHEX brings it down to a few simple concepts that interact with each other in a pretty straightforward way. One of the best platforms which I know for online betting is joker 123. You can try on this platform also for gaining good results in online betting. Without further ado, let’s dig into it!
Three Cornerstones of Provably Fair Casinos: Server Seed, User Seed, and Nonce
There are three major components every Provably Fair casino works with:
- Server Seed, the seed generated and controlled by the casino. You only see a public hash of Server Seed, whereas the private key – the one that determines all the future outcomes of games – is given to you only after you change the current Seed Pair.
- User Seed, the seed generated and controlled by you. You can choose any User Seed – either manually, or automatically, or use the one provided by the casino – which is usually alphanumeric and up to 30 characters in length.
- Nonce, the number of the wager in an array of wagers when gambling.
Now, a Seed Pair is the combination of the User Seed (your seed) and the Server Seed (the casino’s seed), through which gambling outcomes are generated by the casino.
How Does it Work?
Provable Fairness becomes possible because
- You can generate a random User Seed – which casinos can neither control nor decrypt – and therefore produce a random Seed Pair that the casino cannot control.
- You can change your User Seed – and therefore a Seed Pair – anytime you want, thereby changing the outcomes of your future games.
- Anytime you change your User Seed, you get access to the private key of the Server Seed, using which you can verify the fairness of the games played. For that, you can use a Provably Fair Verifier provided by your casino.
In reality, it works as follows:
- Your casino creates a Server Seed and sends it to you in a hashed form (that is, encrypted; a public hash in a string of characters shown to you without displaying the private key of the Server Seed).
- You generate a User Seed, creating a unique Seed Pair, which will be used to determine the outcomes of your game until you decide to set a new User Seed.
- At the end of the gambling session or after you’ve set a new User Seed, you get access to the private key of the previous Server Seed and then can use a Provably Fair Verifier to make sure the outcomes were fair.
The Vulnerabilities of Probably Fair Casinos
Now you might think that Provably Fair casinos are the very best thing that the gambling world can offer, but there are a few reservations to make.
- First of all, theoretically, since the private key of the Server Seed is the only thing that separates you from knowing all the outcomes of his future games, a server lead or hack may give you the ability to control gambling the way you. Such hacks have happened in the past, so now Provably Fair casinos tend to implement the strictest security measures.
- Secondly, most casinos allow you to opt for a default Seed Pair, which is the one generated by the casino without any efforts on the side of the punter. Contrary to common sense, the majority of players do choose this option, thereby blindly trusting their casino and nullifying the whole point of Provable Fairness. It goes without saying that casinos can pre-select a Pair Seed so that it would have the least favorable rolls.
- Thirdly, Provable Fairness has nothing to do with withdrawal restrictions, odds, and security. This fact doesn’t take away from the usefulness of the concept, but it’s important to acknowledge that a Provably Fair casino and a good casino aren’t the same. There are tons of other parameters to take into account, so it would be a very bad idea to blindly choose a Provably Fair casino without researching it through and through.
Last but not least, keep in mind that gambling is addictive and no one but you is responsible for your actions. Should any signs of gambling addiction be spotted, don’t hesitate to contact BeGambleAware, GamCare, Gamblers Anonymous, or your local problem gambling organizations for help.