USAEnsuring Fair Play: The Importance of Fairness Tech in US Online Casinos
Gambling at an online casino is an exciting pastime, but it can go wrong if the platform or hackers are trying to defraud you. For this reason, you can only trust reputable casinos that have put various fairness technologies in place to protect every subscriber to the site.
Gambling at an online casino is an exciting pastime, but it can go wrong if the platform or hackers are trying to defraud you. Hackers are always searching for new ways to scam people out of their money, and setting up fake online casinos with unfair games is one of them.
For this reason, you can only trust reputable casinos that have put various fairness technologies in place to protect every subscriber to the site. In this article, we’ll cover the aspects that a casino must have to ensure fairness so you can minimize the potential of being scammed.
Why is Fairness Important in Online Casinos?
Every gambler wants to know that they have a fair chance at winning. Thankfully, regulatory authorities such as the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE) exist to ensure that online casinos have adopted the necessary technology to make their games fair.
Consequently, when you spin the reels or place a bet in a New Jersey online casino, you can be confident that you have a fair chance at winning. Without these measures in place, you’d simply be handing over your money to the owners of the casino, most likely a group of fraudsters.
Additionally, casinos that don’t comply with the regulatory bodies' demands are subject to fines or being stripped of their operating licenses.
The Role of Technology in Ensuring Fairness
We’ve touched on the fact that each online casino must adopt fairness technology to give all their players a fair shot at winning money with every game. These include random number generators (RNGs), player tracking systems such as Know Your Customer (KYC) policies, multi-factor authentication, and fraud detection software.
What are the Types of Fairness Tech Used by Online Casinos?
If you wish to completely understand what online casinos must feature regarding their fairness technology, we’ll discuss each in detail.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption
SSL technology encrypts the data you send from your device to the casino’s server. As a result, it’s virtually impossible for third parties like hackers to access or intercept your information.
Furthermore, you should remember that websites that feature SSL technology usually have “HTTPS” in their URL instead of simply “HTTP”, indicating if you should trust the site or not. (1)
Random Number Generators (RNGs)
This technology is crucial for recognizing if the casino is fair with its games. RNGs, as we know them, ensure that the games you play in a casino are fair. Casinos typically use this technology in slots, live dealer games, and table games to ensure that these games' results are completely random and unbiased.
Additionally, New Jersey online casinos for example use third-party auditors to test the RNGs on their platforms and certify them as fair. You can then enjoy these games knowing you’re not being scammed and have a realistic chance of winning. (2)
Player Tracking Systems
These systems were introduced primarily to track players' preferences in an online casino. However, the information it provides includes the playing habits of a player, which titles they prefer, how long they typically gamble, what denominations they use, and their highest wins and major losses.
As a result, casinos can identify if something is off with a player’s profile and investigate when there may be a case of fraud. (3)
Fraud Detection Software
Online casinos use this software to monitor the behavior of players. Algorithms in the software search for certain patterns and anomalies. It will usually involve data mining and pattern recognition to identify fraudulent activity. (4)
Hackers can use various ways to access players' bank accounts, or some criminals can use false identities to launder money. The software assists casinos in quickly identifying these fraudsters so they can take action.
Fairness Certifications
Casinos require fairness certificates to inform players that the site is fair and they can enjoy gambling safely and fairly. Independent testing agencies such as eCOGRA and iTech Labs conduct tests on games you’d find in online casinos and issue certificates when declared fair.
Pros & Cons of Fairness Tech
While fairness technology assists the online gambling community in minimizing the possibility of criminal activity, it does have benefits and drawbacks, which we’ll discuss below.
What are the Benefits of Fairness Tech?
Casinos that use fairness technology are safe to play at since they:
- Provide players with a fair chance at winning games.
- Display transparency with their certifications from third-party agencies.
- Reduce the possibility of fraud occurring on the site.
- Minimize opportunities for hackers to swoop in and scam its players.
What are the Potential Drawbacks of Fairness Tech?
With everything positive, you’re bound to experience some drawbacks. In this case, it includes:
- The risk of obtaining false positives regarding fraudulent activity.
- Initial costs for casinos to implement the technology on their platforms.
- The high cost of maintaining these programs to keep up to date with cybercriminals.
The Regulatory Landscape for Fairness Tech in Online Casinos
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement uses the Technical Services Bureau (TSB) to ensure the integrity of the gaming equipment and systems that casinos in the state use.
Several units work together to enforce fairness in gambling and compliance with regulatory requirements. Every product you find in an NJ casino must be verified and approved by the slot lab before players can use them.
The Cyber Security and Analytics Unit exists to detect potentially fraudulent activity. They also respond to cyber security threats.
The Information Technology Investigations Unit conducts investigations and audits to ensure that casinos comply with the Division’s regulations. (5)
Future Developments in Fairness Tech & Online Casinos
Fairness technology also encompasses anti-fraud tools, and casinos will implement two-factor authentication and stronger password requirements. As a result, fraudsters will find it difficult to access players’ accounts.
The development of fraud prevention software will continue since cyber criminals are constantly evolving. As a result, casinos can conduct risk assessments based on the browser behavior of criminals that are a cause for concern.
Regarding fairness in games, third-party organizations will continue scrutinizing the titles that developers produce and only allow them to feature in a casino if it passes their tests and receives certification. Continuing this trend ensures that players have a fair chance of winning.
FAQs
A set of tools casinos employ to keep the site free from fraudsters while ensuring the games are completely fair.
Casinos use these tools to minimize the possibility of criminal activity. Players must pass multi-factor authentication to prove who they are, while casino games must pass tests from the relevant authorities to be declared fair.
It ensures that players are given a fair chance at winning when playing various casino games. Additionally, it reduces the possibility of cyber criminals taking advantage of honest players.
Yes, if a casino has a license from a regulating authority such as the NJDGE, they can be confident that their games are fair and have received proper certifications.
Yes, it’s part of their license conditions. For example, the NJDGE uses various organizations to verify the fairness tech in a casino before issuing certificates.
Takeaway on Fairness Tech in Online Casinos
Fairness technology at online casinos has two purposes - to improve the safety of players and ensure they have a fair shot at winning casino games. Some of the tools casinos employ are specifically to minimize the risk that fraudsters pose.
For this reason, players must follow certain processes, such as the Know Your Customer steps, where you may have to disclose your social security number. The casino follows this to protect every player registered on the site. As a result, cybercriminals can’t impersonate anyone and scam other players or the casino.
Additionally, the games that appear in an online casino must be declared fair and unbiased. The tools casinos use for this involve external auditors and random number generators, ensuring that the results of various games are left to chance.
Resources & Sources
- Cloudfare, What is SSL?, <https://www.cloudflare.com/en-gb/learning/ssl/what-is-ssl/>, accessed April 3rd, 2023
- New Jersey.gov, CHAPTER 69O INTERNET AND MOBILE GAMING, <https://www.nj.gov/lps/ge/docs/Regulations/CHAPTER69O.pdf>, accessed April 3rdm 2023
- Digital Scholarship, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Casino Technology: Player Tracking and Slot Accounting Systems, <https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1200&context=grrj>, accessed April 3rd, 2023
- Tech Target, Fraud Detection, <https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/fraud-detection#:~:text=Fraud%20detection%20is%20a%20set,or%20using%20stolen%20credit%20cards.>, accessed April 3rd, 2023
- Division of Gaming Enforcement, Slot Laboratory -TSB, <https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-gaming-enforcement-home/slot-laboratory-tsb/>, accessed April 3rd, 2023