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The Discovery That Could Revolutionise Online Slots and Online Casino Security
When the concept of video slots first came about, one question needed addressing.
17:59 18 October 2022
When the concept of video slots first came about, one question needed addressing. This involved replicating the randomness of how the reels landed after every spin. The answer came from a particular pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) software. It is responsible for powering the online slot games enjoyed by many today.
Whether it is a game based on a pot of gold theme or a film franchise tie-in, if it is one where the gambler plays for a significant progressive jackpot or one with numerous bonuses or features, they all are essentially the same.
How do PRNGs Work?
PRNGs differ slightly from truly random RNGs that all reputable sites offering online slots use. As we know, modern slot machines use RNGs (Random Number Generators), which do not utilise any form of memory to ascertain when a number should be generated. This results in purely random results every time.
Overall, how PRNGs work is relatively simple – each generated number symbolises a particular arrangement of the slot reels. Once a gambler spins those reels, they end up landing in the combination that corresponds with the set number.
A minor issue regarding making the sequence as random as possible in the real world has always remained. This is mainly because computers are programmed to work using foolproof repeatability.
Therefore, there is only so much that pseudorandomness can do. It is undoubtedly more than realistic enough for slot games to be entirely fair; however, any improvement would surely be appreciated by casino owners and gamblers alike.
Lava Lamps
Researchers have carried out various experiments to generate randomness, such as Cloudflare’s concept of filming lava lamps. A walk into their US headquarters lobby will lead to a hundred lamps arranged on shelves in front of a camera.
They constantly capture images of the unique shapes created by the heated wax, convert them into pixels, and ascribe numbers to each lamp. This gives them a unique, continually changing seed used to create random numbers.
A Newer, More Secure Approach
The TOBB University of Economics and Technology in Turkey has established a more traditional approach.
The university’s computing department has created a solution enabling computers to generate truly random number sequences. It reduces the interference between the memory employed by the random number generator and the computer’s remaining ambient data.
That predicts moments only when a small segment of the RAM is in use and utilises this downtime to generate a supply of random numbers released and refilled. After approximately two hundred tests, this has enhanced random number performance by more than 25% compared to other systems.
Not only does that mean it could become easier to program randomness into slot machines, but it could also lead to increased website security. That is mainly because this type of technology is employed for password and private data encryption.
Since there has been an increase in security tokens, e.g., Microsoft Authenticator, this technology will offer a new way of generating unique numbers. That may result in more reliable casino websites, and surety for players who sign up since online privacy is paramount today.
While this technology is only used in the academic world, the online casino industry is always one of the first to acquire state-of-the-art techniques.