Provably Fair Explained: How Players Can Verify Online Casino Fairness

Trust is one of the biggest concerns for online casino players in New Zealand today. Whether you’re spinning the reels of your favourite pokie, or placing bets on your favourite casino table game, betting online means you can’t physically see the cards, dice, or pokie machine mechanics at work.

Essentially, you’re relying entirely on software to ‘do the right thing’. This is where provably fair technology comes into play; a system that’s designed to give you, the player, mathematical proof that the outcomes of any games are fair, and not manipulated.

Provably fair technology is most commonly associated with crypto casinos, but its underlying principles are becoming increasingly relevant to players comparing the pokies from Pragmatic Play transparency, fairness, and long-term trust. 

Understanding how provably fair works can help you make smarter decisions about where and how you play, and in this guide, we’re going to break down how it works, what it means for you, and the pros and cons of this technology.

What Does Provably Fair Actually Mean?

In simple terms, a provably fair system allows you to independently verify that the result of a game was generated fairly before the bet was placed and that it wasn’t changed (either by a dodgy casino, or an illegitimate software provider) after the outcome was known.

You see, traditional online casinos rely on random number generators (RNGs) that are tested and certified by third-party auditors. While RNG-powered games are, generally, very safe (provided you play at trusted online casinos), it still requires you to trust both the casino and the testing agency.

Provably fair flips that model and changes things a lot. Instead of asking players to trust the casino, it gives you the tools to verify the outcome yourself using cryptographic algorithms.

How Provably Fair Works

At the core of provably fair gaming are three key components:

1. Server Seed. This is a secret string generated by the casino before the game starts. The casino commits to this value by publishing a hashed version of it, meaning it can’t change the seed later without being caught. This is all verifiable on the Blockchain (the same technology that powers most cryptocurrencies.
2. Client Seed. The player generates the client seed (or sometimes automatically, but changeable by the player). This ensures that you have direct influence over the outcome generation.
   Note: This, of course, doesn’t mean that you can manipulate the game into giving you a winning spin/outcome, but it does mean that you’re able to, effectively, ‘choose’ from billions of potential outcomes randomly.
3. The Nonce. A nonce is simply a counter that increases with each bet. It ensures that even with the same seeds, every round produces a unique result.

Together, these three components are combined using cryptographic hash functions to generate the game result. After the round, the casino reveals the original server seed, and it’s with this seed that you can then check that the outcome matches what must have been produced from those inputs.

If the maths checks out, the game was fair. If it doesn’t, the casino has been caught red-handed.

Why Provably Fair Matters to NZ Players

For Kiwis, provably fair games offer a few different advantages when compared against conventional virtual casino games and online pokies. Perhaps the greatest benefit is transparency. When you play provably fair games you don’t need to take anyone’s word for it; you can verify all of the game’s outcomes yourself.

For players who are naturally quite suspicious of online casinos, provably fair games are also a great way to ensure that the gambling site you’re playing at isn’t manipulating the games themselves. With provably fair games, casinos can’t secretly adjust RTPs, tighten games for certain players, or change how the machines perform after big wins/losses.

Now, it’s important to be clear here: provably fair doesn’t automatically mean “better” than RNG-based games; it’s just a different trust model.

Differences Between RNG Games and Provably Fair Games

If you’re curious about the main differences between the two types of games, here’s a concise overview of the core differences:

RNG Casino Games	Provably Fair Casino Games
Are audited by third parties	Use cryptographic proof instead of audits
Have fixed RTPs	Allow outcome verification
Don’t allow player verification	Often show the exact odds and calculations
Rely on regulatory oversight	Verification is solely in the hands of the player

Both systems can be fair, but provably fair games remove the need for that “blind trust” that so many players struggle with.

Can Pokies Be Provably Fair?

Yes, but it’s not quite as straightforward as you may think. The issue is, almost all of the provably fair pokies currently available come from crypto-focused software providers. This means you’re very unlikely to have heard of any of the studios producing these games; you won’t, for example, see provably fair pokies from Pragmatic Play, Push Gaming, or Big Time Gaming (BTG).

When it comes to fairness, though, provably fair games work by:

• Generating reel positions via hashed outcomes
• Using fixed reel strips published publicly
• Mapping cryptographic results to symbol positions

For whatever reason, mainstream software providers haven’t taken up this type of game design yet. It’s likely that regulators would, themselves, have an issue with it, and, as a result, most provably fair pokies are pretty basic in design, and rarely contain the mechanics and bonus features found in conventional pokies. Still, this may change in the future – and we hope it does!

Common Misconceptions About Provably Fair

Provably fair, like most parts of blockchain-based technology, can be quite complex to grasp, especially if you’re brand new to crypto gambling. There are quite a few misconceptions about the technology, too, with one of the most common being: “Provably fair means I’ll win more.”

The answer to this is categorically no. Provably fair games simply prove fairness, not profitability. House edges and RTPs still exist! Some players also believe fair games are less volatile. In reality, this is also false. Long losing streaks are still statistically possible – and provably fair actually proves that, too.

Final Thoughts

Provably fair technology has been around for a surprisingly long time. Unfortunately, despite the general premise behind it sounding great, it’s never really caught on. For most players, the actual process of verifying game results via the blockchain is simply too complex, and this barrier-to-entry is enough to stop most players from even being interested in them.

Still, if you are familiar with crypto gambling already, the learning curve may not be too steep. And, for NZ players looking for offshore casinos, these games are a solid way to independently verify that the games are actually honest and fair.

Just remember; provably fair doesn’t change the laws of probability, but it does change who you’re trusting. And for many players, that makes all the difference!

Last updated: 9/01/2026