While some casino games have a skill element within the outcome, some casino games are purely based upon chance. Because all online casino games are partly or completely driven by chance, all trusted safe casino games rely on a random number generator, or RNG within the software that powers the game. The RNG is a mathematical application that does exactly what it says: generates a completely random number. Not all RNGs are identical, and they have to be tested extensively to ensure that the numbers they generate actually are random.
In certain games, the usage of an RNG has an obvious role. In European roulette, for example, the RNG generates a number from 1 to 37 (with 37 corresponding to “0”) on the roulette wheel. The RNG generates a number, the casino stops, and bets are paid or forfeited.
In craps, the RNG must generate two random numbers simultaneously, as well as in single deck card games, the RNG must generate a number from 1 to 52, with each of those numbers corresponding to a specific card. During a single deck card game, the RNG must “remember” which cards it has already dealt to ensure that they won’t be dealt again. With multiple-deck games like online blackjack, the RNG has an much more complicated mathematical algorithm driving it.
Some RNGs require the user to specify an initial “seed” value, which itself varies randomly. A number of them use the time on a clock as a seed, to ensure that there’s no human intervention at all within the RNG. There are actually some RNGs that really involve numerous RNGs running all at the same time, with one RNG picking from among-the results, creating a sort of super-randomness to the calculation. Remember, these are very oversimplified ways of describing how RNGs work, but it gives you some idea of the “brain” behind the many online casino games you enjoy.
To be deemed as fair, numbers spit out by any RNG have to be unpredictable and unbiased. To ensure that this really is the case, internet gaming platforms have to be tested regularly by independent testing entities like eCOGRA. The testing groups have to test the RNG algorithms over millions of hands of card games or millions of throws of dice to make certain that the numbers are unpredictable and unbiased.
In your online research about internet gambling, you might stumble across a person or site telling you that a certain slot machine has a “cycle” which is predictable enough that you can learn when it’s “due” for a jackpot, or which will want to sell you some sort of system for predicting hits. These ploys are not gambles at all: they are just good ways to throw away your money. Save those hard-earned dollars for something else!