What Have Online Casinos Been Doing to Prevent Players from Cheating?

It is widely known that online casino gaming is a lot of fun and one of the aspects that make it fun is the unpredictability. There are times you lose, there are times you win. However, most times you wonder if the slot is rigged or if the virtual dealer is a sneaky one.

The casino and the player are both capable of cheating. However, it is quite easy to estimate the probability of a casino cheating, all you have to look for is a Curacao eGaming license or a provably fair logo at the bottom of the webpage.

Casinos on the other hand who have millions of users have to employ safeguards to reduce the likelihood of players cheating on the games. Cheating in online gaming goes beyond online casino gambling. A recent study shows that seventy-seven percent of gamers find it perfectly acceptable to cheat¹.

Advanced Encryption and Security Protocols

Before we dive into how online casinos protect themselves from players that are cheating, we need to examine how they handle threats from external sources i.e. non-players. Who are these non-players? They are usually cybercriminals who want to target players' personal details such as names, addresses, birth dates, and banking information. All this information is necessary to complete your KYC but it is never a good turn of events if it gets into the wrong hands.

The United States Federal Trade Commission serves as the regulatory body which enforces data protection laws within the country. Several states maintain data protection laws which provide superior security than federal standards. The casinos deploy advanced encryption technology using 128-bit or 256-bit encryption Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security for cyber protection. These tools basically muddle up players' information so that a third party would not be able to read them.

The security does not end with SSL and TLS, top casinos also make sure to implement two-factor authentication as a mandatory measure or optional in some cases. The 2FA basically requires players to provide two different forms of verification when accessing their accounts, such as a password and a one-time code sent to a mobile number. In some cases, it might be face ID or Google authentication.

Random Number Generators (RNGs) and Fair Play Certifications

Random Number Generators are essential in online gambling. Their work is to ensure that game outcomes are fair and unpredictable. This is so that there is no element of cheating done and the casino and player can see public records of previous games played to see if there has been any noticeable pattern in the results of the game. There usually isn’t any pattern. There are two types of RNGs used in the gaming industry, these being:

• PRNGS (Pseudo Random Number Generators): These use algorithms to produce sequences of numbers that appear as random but are usually determined by an initial seed value to appear random but are essentially predetermined. The only reason why they cannot be said to be totally random is because although they produce seemingly random results, they will repeat the same sequence if given the same seed value.
• TRNGs (True Random Number Generators): These generators on the other hand generate numbers that are completely unpredictable. They make use of physical processes, such as electronic noise rather than algorithms or seed values.

Online gambling relies primarily on PRNGs because they demonstrate the best effectiveness rate. Random Number Generators within roulette tables and slot machines and blackjack tables serve to establish fair and unpredictable results in gaming sessions.

How RNGs help Ensure Fairness and Security

Top online casinos protect their RNG integrity through independent third-party tests performed by popular organizations such as eCOGRA and iTech Labs The main role these agencies perform is to conduct extensive simulations and analyses of the results from playing at these casinos to verify if the RNGs really produce unbiased results. Casinos that pass this test usually have certificates from these independent organizations displayed boldly at the footer of their webpage.

These online casinos are regularly audited to ensure ongoing compliance with fairness standards. Testing agencies will perform spontaneous checks and ongoing assessments to find irregularities in game outcomes. Random Number Generators protect games from unauthorized manipulation attempts made by both players and fraudulent operators².

Instances of Fraudulent Exploitation of RNGs

There have been many instances where players have tried to cheat casinos by exploiting RNGs. Some of these instances are:

1. Ron Harris: Ron Harris was a Nevada Gaming Control Board computer technician who reverse-engineered the PRNG of a keno program to predict the winning numbers. In January 1995, he and an accomplice attempted to claim a $100,000 jackpot in Atlantic City, they hit the jackpot the very first time they played which is a feat that had never been done before. The jackpot win raised suspicions and they were eventually arrested³.
2. Russian Team led by Alex: In 2008, Russian hackers successfully attacked European casino machines of Novomatic, Atronic, and Aristocrat brands after predicting which random number generator choices would happen during gameplay. Each game's PRNG time patterns were mastered by team members who used cell phones to enhance their chance of triggering bonus rounds. The group relocated to US casinos between 2014 and 2016.

Their prolonged success at cheating online casinos occurred because they exclusively aimed to trigger bonus rounds. The awarded bonuses remained under the taxation limits which resulted in less scrutiny than the Ron Harris case received. The authorities conducted multiple arrests at different locations including Southern California, Missouri, Singapore, Florida and many other states.

AI and Machine Learning in Fraud Detection

Modern technological progress allows online gambling sites to use AI tools to both find and stop fraud in real-time. Most casino fraudsters actively search for system weaknesses which they can exploit through activities such as account takeovers along with bot activity, money laundering and bonus abuse⁴.

The AI systems review extensive data collections, spotting out-of-norm betting behaviors. The system receives standard player dataset information which enables it to identify unusual behavior that flags accounts for human assessment into potentially fraudulent activities.

Anti Collusion

When players hear of cheating in poker, the first thought that comes to mind is card counting. The game has changed however as cheaters are now practicing collusion where two or more players conspire to gain an unfair advantage over other players. Casinos usually have the odds stacked in their favors and any irregularity in this will cause them to be suspicious⁵.

Players that are colluding to break the house edge usually:

• Share information about their hands,
• signal intentions,
• or coordinate betting strategies to manipulate the game’s outcome.

These break the principles of fair play and will lead to losses for unsuspecting players and the casino alike. An instance of collusion happened in 2010 when professional poker player Ali Tekintamgac was found guilty of colluding with fake journalists who signaled to him about opponents’ cards and he was later imprisoned.

Online casinos that catch players colluding share information about them and create blacklists that are circulated within the industry. They do this to make sure that identified cheaters find it almost impossible to continue their activities undetected across platforms.

Multi-Account Detection Systems

The casino sectors strongly oppose multiple account use since these actions permit players to benefit from bonus opportunities and team up with other betting participants. During his gameplay, one player learned about threshold betting systems that exist in many casino games since platforms track wagered amounts by hiding internal meters to reward players with bonus rounds after reaching specific bet limits.

The player exhausted $500 bonus funds playing slots before transferring actual money to wager at high stakes until he activated the bonus round that rewarded him generously because the slots detect his losses. Security teams caught the player and his partner who received permanent bans from opening new gaming accounts to collect bonus rounds.

The casino makes use of IP tracking to monitor the IP address of players and can identify when multiple accounts are from one location which raises red flags. They also make use of device fingerprinting where they collect a unique combination of user device information such as operating system, browser type, installed plugins, otherwise called a “fingerprint.” This also does the same task as IP tracking to detect when multiple accounts are being accessed from the same device.

Conclusion

The rate at which cheaters are trying to break fair play policies is quite alarming and this is why casinos cannot afford to slack. KYC, 2FA, SSL, RNGs, and many more tools have to be implemented to protect against cheaters. Technology for fraud prevention keeps getting upgraded day by day as you can see in the application of AI.

1. Survey finds cheating prevalent among American gamers, written by Ben Treanor, published by Time2play.com
2. Random Number Generator, Written by GamingLabs, Published by GamingLabs.com
3. Exclusion List, Written by Department of Law & Public Safety, Published by nj.gov
4. The Role of AI in Fraud Detection For Online Gambling, Written by Ajayt, Published by sdlccorp.com
5. Why Does the House Always Win? A Look at Casino Profitability, Written by J.B. Maverick, Published by investopedia,com