While I am not claiming all online gambling is rigged, I am personally sceptical of their legitimacy and motivations. As a computer programmer myself I have had a great deal of experience and know very well computers are rubbish at generating true random numbers. With that knowledge in mind as well as understanding a business needs to generate income & grow means I don’t trust only gambling.
Computers were created by humans and are therefore fallible. It is well known that computers cannot generate truely random numbers and when a gambling site relies on randomness for a games outcome, such as roulette, there will always be doubt as to the legitimacy of the generated results.
Random number generators
According to the International Encyclopedia of Statistical Science caution should be exercised when using Pseudo Random Number Generators (PRNG) ;
The list of widely used generators that should be discarded is much longer [than the list of good generators]. Do not trust blindly the software vendors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudorandom_number_generator#Potential_issues
I do not want to cast aspersions nor blindly accuse all online casinos of foul-play, however, like computers, human nature is fallible and money is a powerful motivator.
Random Number Generators require a seed values but getting an appropriate seed value in itself can be a difficult task. Incorrect use of seed values results in a predictable pattern of subsequent random numbers. 20 years ago I wrote a slot machine simulator with five reels and during testing, before it was released to the public, I noticed that the results of “random” spins had a repeated pattern over 10 – 12 spins. As it turned out I had incorrectly seeded the RNG which resulted in unreliable results. Bugs in software are a fact of life and online casinos are not immune. It is worth consider also that something may not be a bug but rather by design.
Some Random Number Generators use a combination of atmospheric conditions, radio noise, microwave noise and more for seeding purposes. These values change rapidly and produce more reliable seed values, and as a result more reliable randomness. See random.org for more information.
The range of numbers available for random selection can also become a problem if the pool is statistically not large enough. In the case of roulette the pool of numbers, 0 – 36, and is particularly small. Faulty or incorrectly seeded RNG’s may have a penchant for the smaller numbers in the group giving the result a bias.
Security weakness
Another potential issue might be security defences and availability of exploits. A simple Buffer Overrun bug may allow hackers, or clever players, to artificially seed the RNG remotely causing a predictable result or series of results.
We read about bugs in software all the time. Exploits allowing false manipulation of data or output and bugs like these cannot be avoided. Despite companies like Microsoft and Apple which have large teams of coders & security specialists they are constantly providing updates for their respective platforms. Continuously chasing their tails, removing exploits, and tightening security. Sometimes the resolution to an exploit may introduce further bugs.
On occasions software may be perfectly OK and it is hardware which lets them down. 25 years ago software I had released suddenly started playing silly buggers. 12 – 15 users out of thousands worldwide claimed buttons had no text or icons on them. I went through the source code with a finetooth comb and found nothing and 99% of all users had no issues at all! It turned out the users with issues all had the same brand of video card and it was the video card at fault. Problems like that are difficult to diagnose, but do happen more often than you might think.
My point is that bullet proof software is an enigma, a fantasy, and doesn’t exist because the people writing are flawed.
Money is a powerful motivator
From a statistical analysis point of view a group of pseudo random numbers can be biased towards the house easily. If that bias gives as little as a 5% extra chance of the house winning then what do you do? If a company has a turnover of $5 Million annually a 5% bias can add $250,000 per year of additional income.
Should such a bias exist how would you, the user, determine its existence and prove it. You are at the mercy of the powers that be.
Consider your own morals for a moment. If your boss approached you and said “I’ll give you a $20,000 cash bonus if you just look the other way!” What would you really do? We can all take the moral high ground and proudly claim we wouldn’t do it, but until you’re in that position can you be sure?
Money has always been a powerful motivator and people may do things completely out of character in exchange for more money.
You can trust online gambling if you want but I don’t
I have seen videos of online roulette where the winning number appears on the screen prior to the ball settling into its pocket. Straight up that is dodgy a f**k.
It is a simple task as a programmer to quickly scan everyone’s bets and choose an outcome which pays nobody at all or the smallest of winners.
I don’t trust online gambling at all, it is as simple as that! If I’m going to play roulette for real money I want to play at a properly licensed and regulated casino. I suggest you do the same.
Disclaimer – Online Gambling
I have never gambled real money online and the above comments are my personal opinions. I am not suggesting any specific online gambling platform is cheating their clients.
How I profit playing roulette at the casino.
Happy Roulette Adventures everyone!
