When I refer to Electronic Roulette I am speaking about game tables, at the casino, with no croupier spinning a wheel. The machines may be solo or connected to others via a network.

At Crown Casino, Perth the electronic roulette machines are networked and a single result per game is reflected on all of them.

I have a few thoughts about these machines, some good while some will be critical.

Where my comments are critical I am speculating and have no real knowledge of foul play. It is my opinion based on my skills as a computer programmer of 30 years and experiences at the casino.

Craig

Why Electronic Roulette is good

Machines of this type allow you to find somewhere reasonably solitary, which is great if you are just starting out and not confident of your playing ability. You can spend as long as you need examining the screen, instructions, payouts, while monitoring results from the current and previous games.

There is ample space around them, with a shelf for resting your beer on. They allowing you to maintain distance between other players while you find your way. You can also play them before midday because they are always ready, whereas other roulette games within the casino are closed until 12:00 noon.

Being by yourself gives you ample time to feel comfortable while having a few bets along the way, hopefully picking up a few dollars too.

My “potentially unfounded” concerns – Electronic Roulette

Where do I start? First of all it is important to understand computers are incapable of generating truly random numbers. They can, when seeded incorrectly will generate a “predictable” series of pseudo random numbers. The term predictable is important! I am sure the manufacturers put additional coding effort into ensuring randomness and their Random Number Generators are bulletproof.

When I first started using electronic roulette, which was actually my first roulette ever, I had an initial bank of $50 and was betting the minimum amount which was $2.50. When I eventually doubled my $50 to $100 I doubled my bet – it was slow going but worth my patience.

The electronic machines are grouped in blocks of four or five with a partition dividing another four or five on the other side. I think there are four blocks of eight to 10 devices – I can’t remember exactly. There were 10 to 15 people playing in total. All of us were playing the same game and seeing the same computerised croupier.

I did quite well for my first ever roulette, but I was playing safe bets.

During a subsequent visit I played the same machines starting with $50 and continued to win $5 or $10 at a time. Similarly there were plenty of people playing.

Both trips my initial bank grew from $50 to $1,600 on the first and $900 on the second.

A few months later I was playing the same machines again but now I’m losing consistently. I fed another $100 into it and continued with my small bets and lost 75% to 80% of the time. When I looked around I could see I was the only one playing and all other electronic machines were empty. That was when my computer programmer brain kicked in.

Now for my theory – reminder, unfounded with no evidence!

When there are plenty of players, each with different bets and selected numbers, the computer decides who to pay based on the lowest payout. It knows what all players bets are and can quickly determine how to payout the least amount of money. When there were many players the smallest payout was me with my small bets. When there were many more players I climbed slowly from $50 to $1,600. When playing alone, using the same betting strategy, I lost over and over again.

As a computer programmer with 30 years experience I know how easily it can be done. 20 years ago I wrote a five reel slot machine which did not cheat, but I could have made it cheat if I wanted and there had been real money involved.

The source code for these gaming machines is proprietary and closed. I am unaware if the Australian Gaming Regulators have access to source code for review purposes, but I’d like to see their random number generator and how it is seeded and regulated.

A heartfelt disclaimer

I am not accusing anyone of cheating, neither the machine manufacturers or Casinos. I am simply putting forward a theory based on my experiences.

My advice when playing these machines is play when there are many other players and don’t be the biggest payout of the group.

If gambling is a problem for you, see Gambling Responsibly or visit gaminghelponline.org.au