Updated: February 7, 2023
Provably Fair Casinos – What Is It? Does It Really Work?
Provably fair casinos have revolutionized online gambling. The concept removes even the possibility of a rigged result.
With provably fair games, you can verify the authenticity of each bet you place. This means the casino can’t manipulate the outcome – either by design, or because the result is verifiable.
Provably fair games are available on a growing number of online casinos. But how do they work? What are the best providers? How do you check the randomness?
We’re here to explain it all – in simple words, so you don’t have to be a tech wiz to understand it.
Read on to learn about:
- What are the two types of provably fair games?
- How to choose a provably fair casino?
- Why provable fairness is growing in popularity (and why you should embrace that)?
- How to check provably fair game results even if you don’t know much about blockchain technology?
But, if you already know that stuff, we’ll cut to the chase. Here is our list of provably fair casinos that we love and trust:
What Are Provably Fair Games?
As crypto gambling grows, so does the interest in provably fair games. Over the last six months, Google searches for “provably fair” doubled – and players around the world are learning about the concept.
Empowering gamblers
Provably fair means you can check if the game result was random.
Imagine you are playing a slot or a blackjack game at an online casino.
How do you the game’s algorithm isn’t rigged to cheat you? The short answer is: you can’t.
As a player, you have no other choice but trust the casino operator.
This is where provably fair games can make a huge difference. With this technology, you have tools to check if the game’s outcome was truly fair.
What Is a Provably Fair Casino?
Provably fair casinos are online gambling providers that offer verifiably random games.
These casinos use cryptographic algorithms to generate random numbers, which ensures that the games cannot be rigged. Provably fair casinos allow players to verify the fairness of each game using a cryptographic hash function. The house edge (often impressively low) and the RTP also pre-defined.
Before we dive deeper into what this verification entails, let’s look at provably fair and traditional casinos side-to-side:
Provably Fair Casinos | Traditional Casinos | |
Random outcomes? | Yes | Yes |
Algorithm visible? | Yes | No |
Randomness verifiable? | Yes, all outcomes are on the public ledger. | No, because the casino algorithm is private. |
Games available | In-house exclusives like Crash and Plinko | Most online casino games |
Popularity | Growing | High |
But here’s the catch:
Provably fair casinos also offer non-provably-fair games.
This is actually great news. For example, BC.Game and Stake have their own provably fair originals, along with games from your favorite providers. That’s why they’re on our top selection:
The Best Provably Fair Casinos
So, what are the provably fair casinos we love and trust? To make our selection, we only picked providers that:
✔️ Offer a selection of provably fair games.
✔️ Provide an excellent casino experience overall – not just in provable fairness, but when it comes to UX, customer support, and easy payouts.
Here are our top three choices:
BC.Game
BC.Game is our favorite provably fair casino – and a brand we wholeheartedly endorse overall. Not only does it offer a great selection of provably fair games, but it also provides a user-friendly platform, excellent customer support, and instant payouts.
Provably fair selection:
BC.Game has 20 internally developped provably fair games. From Crash and Plinko to traditional casino games like dice, BC.Game doesn’t disappoint.
Stake Casino
Stake’s online casino is another excellent option for provably fair games. While it doesn’t have quite as many games as BC.Game, it still offers a great selection of popular provably fair titles, along with a top-notch sportsbook product and crypto perks like an on-site exchange.
Provably fair selection:
Stake has 15 provably fair exclusives, all of them featuring an impressively low house edge.
Cloudbet
Cloudbet is a great choice for those who want to bet on sports as well as play provably fair casino games. It’s one of the oldest crypto casinos in the game, yet they’re constantly improving their platform and adding new features.
Provably fair selection:
Cloudbet’s provably fair casino games include eight crowd-pleasers like minesweeper, dice, and more. Their house edge is slightly higher than Stake and BC.Game, though, which is why they rank third.
Metaspins
Last but definitely not least, Metaspins is the newest addition to our provably fair favorites. This site may be a relative newbie, but it boasts a stellar game portfolio (2500 games and counting), no-KYC registration, amazing rakebacks, and more!
Provably fair section:
Metaspins boasts one of the most comprehensive provably fair portfolios we’ve seen. They have the classics like Aviator (the equivalent of Crash) and Plinko, as well as multiple super well-designed slots and tables.
So why did we rank them fourth? Simply because they’re new.
Here at Casinos Blockchain, we’re extra careful when recommending casinos. Though Metaspins is licensed and safe, we still want to watch them a little longer before giving them first place.
Random Number Generation: The Key to Provable Fairness
To have truly fair casino game you need the outcome to be random.
Imagine you’re rolling a dice:
The number you get, 1-6, is completely random. You have a 1:6 chance of getting 1, a 1:6 chance of getting 2, and so forth.
This applies to every roll. Just because you threw a two on the last round doesn’t mean you can’t do it again. The chance remains 1:6 and neither you, nor the casino, knows what the outcome will be.
The physical dice roll is random by design. Unless you use crooked dice, there is no way to manipulate the outcome.
But what about online casinos? How do they decide what number you got on the dice?
One thing is for sure – there is no hidden casino employee that rolls a dice every time you play a dice game. Instead, the casino uses a random number generation (RNG) equation to calculate the outcome.
Random number generation (RNG) equations use values of entropy (chaos) like the micro movements of your mouse to generate a random string of numbers. Blockchain technology offers new ways to ensure RNG – learn more about blockchain casino RNG in our dedicated article.
Companies and regulators responsible for licensing casinos evaluate the equipment’s RNG mechanism or the online casino’s server. The difference with provably fair casinos is you, as a player, can also verify the random outcome.
How Does It Work?
As a casino creator, you can build games on top of a blockchain, granting transparency and immutability to the way the game operates. This takes advantage of the distributed ledger technology – the same one that allows you to trust transactions even without a centralized institution:
If the game is not built on the blockchain, it can still be provably fair.
For instance, if the code is open-source, you can proactively check it and make sure there is no manipulation. Verification tools can help you check provable fairness for a specific result.
Here is how that would work:
- You need a random number to determine a game’s outcome.
Whether you’re playing dice, slots, or blackjack, the casino needs a random number to figure out the result of the game. - From the player side, a client seed is generated.
This is the first step of random number generation. Your computer’s hardware generates a client seed. It’s displayed as a hash (e.g.: 4b02asd9l8cocacrl119sp0x33497a) because it’s encrypted against intruders. - The casino generates a server seed.
That comes from the game server side and it’s unique and non-forgeable (thanks to blockchain technology.) - The casino uses the server seed and client seed to generate a random number.
This random number determines the outcome of the game. - Once the game is over, you can see your client seed.
Now that you know your seed, you can use that to figure out the server seed. - You can input the seed in a calculator and it shoud return a hash.
There is only one possible hash, based on your client seed. If it matches the server seed hash, the game wasn’t rigged. Any changes mid-game would result in the hashes not matching.
How Do I Verify My Game Was Really Fair?
Most casinos with provably fair games have their own verification methods and tutorials. At their core, they boil down to checking the randomness for yourself. But how exactly do you do that? We’ll show you:
First, we should make the distinction between crypto casinos and blockchain casinos:
⚡ Cryptocurrency casinos accept crypto as a method of payment. We’ve talked about the best Bitcoin casinos, top Ethereum sites, and other altcoins extensively throughout our reviews.
Blockchain casinos are based on blockchain technology. Usually, these are Dapps (decentralized apps).
Just because a casino accepts Bitcoin, it doesn’t automatically mean it uses blockchain technology in its games.
For example, you can gamble with 65+ cryptos at BC.Game and they don’t take fiat payments. However, the casino is still not built on the blockchain – it’s a crypto casino, not a blockchain one.
Now here’s the catch:
Both blockchain and non-blockchain casinos can be provably fair.
The difference is how you check provable fairness. If the casino and its games are assembled with blockchain technology, they can be provably fair by design. With non-blockchain casinos, on the other hand, you can verify the randomness by checking the specific round.
How does that work? Here’s a step-by-step:
Provably Fair Games That Are Not On The Blockchain
Provably fair verification processes can vary across casinos.
Let’s check out a simple example – BC.Game’s Classic Dice:
The classic dice game results are calculated like this:
- BC.Game uses the client seed and server seed to calculate a hash.
This gives them a 64-character string in hexadecimals. - They take eight characters of the string and convert it into an int32 value.
An int32 value means they have 32 bits to store the number. - Then, BC.Game modifies the number.
They divide the value by 0x100000000, multiply it by 10001 and divide it by 100. - This returns a dice number which determines the game outcome.
In short, BC.Game takes two random numbers, runs them through an algorithm, and returns a new number, which determines the game outcome.
To verify the fairness when you’re playing dice, first find the seed:
Then, go ahead and copy the numbers from the popup (we can’t exactly show you ours – that wouldn’t be safe).
Go to the side menu and find the provable fairness section. You’ll get the link to the provable fairness validator there:
Finally, go to the provable fairness validator and paste the seed. The program will repeat the calculations and reveal the result – if the outcome matches your original game, the dice was provably fair:
And there you have it, this is how you check provable fairness on a non-blockchain casino. Keep in mind that every provably fair casino will have a slightly different way of doing this. What brings them together, though, is the fact you can always make sure the outcome was fair.
Our favorite provably fair casinos include:
Blockchain Games
If a casino game is blockchain-based, the verification process takes a big turn toward simplicity. Taking advantage of smart contracts in platforms like Ethereum, TRON, EOS, or NEO to build casino games means the rules will all be governed by an overseeable code.
That code – along with any transactions carried out on the blockchain – can be publicly audited in a more robust manner.
Instead of the player manually checking each round, the software can be audited once to assure no form of foul play will occur. Periodical checks can then be performed to confirm the code has not been altered. This is a big win for players, and regulators as well.
Our top blockchain-based casinos include:
When Should You Be Wary?
If you choose to play at a renowned Bitcoin casino like BC.Game you probably don’t need to worry about constantly checking if an outcome was fairly calculated. It’s highly unlikely they would risk their reputation trying to cheat players; casinos always have a long-term statistical edge – meaning that, by design, they always win.
Sure, it won’t hurt to verify if your full-house was just beaten by a royal flush in the final round of a poker game. That’s how those verification tools become truly useful in our opinion.
On the other hand, casinos entirely based on blockchain technology are still a relatively new thing.
It’s not just about recycling the previous structure and carrying transactions with cryptocurrencies instead of fiat money. The whole thing needs to be re-designed.
Players can already choose between some very good options if they want to engage in sports betting or casino games that use this technology.
Final Thoughts
Provably fair games give you additional peace-of-mind. You can check the game’s fairness at any time, and be confident that the game is fair.
But some of these casino games require a little bit more work on your part. You usually need to take some time to understand how the game works – and to check the hashes yourself.
Reputable casinos like BC.Game are very transparent about the process. For the most part, you don’t have to manually check everything – but you can, if you wanted to.
Alternatively, you could go to a casino Dapp like Earnbet, which is provably fair by design.
In the end, provably fair games are a great way to play casino games online. They’re fair, transparent, and you can always check the game’s integrity for yourself.