Third party testing in online casinos

20.12.2007

With so many online casinos available and each one with great offers and graphics that make you forget just what it was that you were looking for to begin with, it can be easy to forget to check if the gaming is fair. Now, it might seem like silly that any serious casino should want to fool its players to make more money.

In the end of the day they will only loose their clients if they don't ensure to have the proper software and regulations to ensure fairness. Still, it is only proper to look for information on how the casino goes about ensuring that their gaming is fair.

Tools for fairness in gaming
A serious casino must employ methods in order to ensure gaming that is fair. One of the most common ways to do this today is by the use of a RNG, a Random Number Generator. This is a function that makes sure that the numbers that come up, i.e. the results you get when you bet are arranged randomly by the computer and not by the hand of a person.
Another very important feature is that you can see the dealings of the casino. Reports of their payout percentages should be available as should information of how they ensure fairness in gaming. Reports should be made by an auditing firm or testing company. When you read the casino presentation you should look for the names of known third party testing companies. This is the way you'll ensure that the information you get is truthful and not directly from the owners of the casino.

What to look for
One of the best known independent auditors of online casinos is TST, Technical Systems Testing. They are internationally recognized and they carry out tests for the kind of interactive gaming that is found in online casinos such as lotteries and wagering. The people working with TST are engineers, scientists and mathematicians and they have no connections to the establishments that they test. If you find that the casino that you'd like to try has their logo you can be sure that it is a fair and secure place to play in.

Another well known company that performs audits of the integrity of software, the stability of hardware and payout percentages is PriceWaterhouseCoopers. PriceWaterhouseCoopers is a giant company and among its clients are Disney, Yahoo and IBM. The main business of this company is audit and if you find their seal you can feel sure that the casino you are looking to play with is serious when it comes to finance. With this seal you should be able to view payout percentages and thereby make up your mind if it is worthwhile to join.

Other seals that speak of the fairness and security of the casino are IGC (Independent Gaming Commission) and eCOGRA (e-Commerce Gaming Regulation Association). The last mentioned is the joint effort of PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Microgaming and if a casino is a member of this you can expect it to be a transparent establishment.