RNG certification and integrity tests

1) Why RNG certification is needed

• confirm cryptographic randomness and absence of displacements;
• prove compliance with legal standards (licenses, technical regulations);
• strengthen the confidence of players and payment/regulatory partners.

2) RNG typology and requirements

TRNG (hardware): diode noise/jitter/physical processes → high entropy, post-processing is mandatory (pullers, for example, Von Neumann, XOR-folding).
CSPRNG (cryptographic): deterministic, but unpredictable with secret seed: CTR_DRBG/HMAC_DRBG (NIST 800-90A), Fortuna, etc.

• ≥128 entropy bit in the seed, documented by policies reseed.
• Separation of entropy sources (system, hardware, external) and their monitoring.
• Prediction resistance, backtracking and state compromise.
• Isolation of RNG in sandbox/TEE/HSM; lack of "admin levers" of influence on the result.

3) Regulatory frameworks and laboratories

• GLI-11/ GLI-19 (requirements for games/online systems),
• ISO/IEC 17025 (laboratory accreditation),
• отчеты eCOGRA, iTech Labs, BMM Testlabs, GLI, QUINEL, SIQ, Trisigma.

Regulators (approximately): UKGC, MGA, AGCO, NJ DGE, etc. require: valid RNG certificate, RTP/volatility test packages, binary version control and immutable journals.

4) What exactly is tested during certification

1. Statistical randomness: batteries of tests (see § 5).
2. RNG integration ↔ the game: correct call, no leaks through time/latency, protection against reuse of values.
3. Game math: simulations of 10 ^ 7-10 ^ 8 + spins/rounds for compliance with Design RTP and volatility profile.
4. Delivery integrity: binary/script hashes, signatures, assembly control.
5. Operational policies: seeding, reseed, key-rotation, entropy monitoring.

5) Statistical batteries (verification core)

• NIST SP 800-22: Monobit, Runs, Approximate Entropy, FFT, Cumulative Sums и др.
• Diehard/Dieharder: Birthday Spacings, Overlapping 5-Permutation, Rank Tests.
• TestU01 (SmallCrush/Crush/BigCrush): a strict industrial standard.
• Additional: Serial correlation, Poker, Chi-square, KS test.

• p-values in a valid range (usually 0. 01–0. 99), failures → investigation/retest.
• Sample sizes: at least 10 ^ 6-10 ^ 7 leads per test; for BigCrush, more.
• Replication on different seed/platforms, time dependency control.

6) RTP/volatility: simulations and tolerances

Design RTP vs Observed RTP (from simulations/production).
Tolerances: usually ± 0. 5–1. 0 pp on large volumes (specified by the terms of certification).
Check volatility profile (standard deviation of profit/spread by outcome clusters).
In the report: confidence intervals, volume of simulations, generation of outcomes strictly through a certified RNG call.

7) "Fair Play by Design" architecture

Isolation and integrity

RNG in TEE/container; access to the state is closed; calls are subscribed.
Immutable/WORM outcome logs, timestamp signatures, integrity control (Merkle chains).

Transparency

Held games: hash of the result ± the possibility of post-verification.
Provably Fair (optional): server-seed/client-seed/nonce scheme for P2P/crypto scenarios, with public verification.

Integration

API proxy with anti-tamper (HMAC/TLS-pinning), limits, repetition protection.
Separate signature keys for the dev/stage/prod environment; prod keys are strictly prohibited in tests.

8) Entropy, seeding and reseed (politicians)

Sources: TRNG (if any), OS (e. g. ,/dev/urandom), network/timing noise (with caution).
Seed ≥128 -256 bits, event log "seed/reseeded" with causes (for example, start/timer/low entropy).
Reseed by call count/timer/entropy alert guaranteed does not degrade the flow (mix-in with crypto-mixing).
Degradation detectors: p-value monitoring on a sliding window, alert for anomalies.

seed  = KDF(TRNG()          OS_entropy()          boot_salt)
state = DRBG.instantiate(seed)
every T or N calls:
mix = KDF(OS_entropy()          health_check())
state = DRBG.reseed(state, mix)
output = DRBG.generate(state, k)
log(WORM, timestamp, reseed_reason, counters)

9) Managing game versions and releases

Each RNG/game version has an identifier and a hash; CI/CD forms SBOM and evidence package (hashes, signatures).
Canary/Blue-Green releases in prod are prohibited for mathematical parameters; only "atomic" updates after laboratory validation.
Any RTP/model change → recertification and regulator notification.
Storing previous versions and reports in WORM storage ≥ the required period.

10) Role of operator vs studio/provider

Studio/Provider: Designs RNG/math, passes certification, publishes certificates/reports.
Operator: controls the integrity of integration, versioning, audit logs and RTP consistency in the game catalog, provides the regulator with access to reports.

11) UX transparency and trust

On the game page: RTP, certification date/laboratory, certificate/build hash number.
Fair Play section: simple explanations of RNG, RTP, references to public certificates (if policy allows publication).
Notifications when RTP/version changes (release notes inside the directory).

12) SLO Metrics and Compliance

13) RACI (roles and responsibilities)

14) Checklists

Before sending to the laboratory

• RNG documentation: schema, sources of entropy, reseed policies.
• Game math: Design RTP/volatility, pay tables.
• Collected build with hashes/signatures; SBOM.
• Internal battery runs (NIST/Dieharder/TestU01) on test samples.
• WORM logs are enabled; archive artifacts created.

Before release

• Certificate received (GLI/eCOGRA/other), versions and hashes verified.
• RTP/certificate are displayed in the game directory (UX policy).
• RTP drift monitoring and RNG health-checks are configured.
• Fixed a plan to roll back and freeze controversial games.

Annual/change

• Recertification or Addendum on change.
• BigCrush/NIST retest on fresh hardware/OS.
• Audit supply chain and signature keys.

15) Incidents and investigations (playbook)

Signals: player complaint, abnormal RTP drift, health-checks dips, hash out.

1. Freeze games/pool, snapshot of RNG logs/states.

2. Internal tests: 10 ^ 6-10 ^ 7 outcomes, fast NIST/Dieharder batteries.

3. Check seed/reseed logs, entropy, TEE/signatures.

4. Escalation to laboratory/regulator; temporary suspension of payments on disputed rounds if necessary.

5. Post-sea: root cause, fixes, retests, communications, policy updates.

16) Implementation Roadmap (6 steps)

1. Policies and design: select DRBG/TRNG, describe seeding/reseed, define Design RTP/volatility.
2. Implementation and isolation: RNG in TEE/container, call signatures, WORM logs.
3. Internal tests: NIST/Dieharder/TestU01 on large samples, regressions.
4. Certification: submission to GLI/eCOGRA/iTech/BMM; assembling the evidence package.
5. Production monitoring: RTP drift, health-checks RNG, alerts, compliance panel.
6. Recertification and improvements: annual cycle, incident analysis, crypto practice upgrade.

17) Frequent mistakes and how to avoid them

There are no seeding/reseed policies → document and log each event.
Mixing prod/dev keys → strict segregation, rotation, prohibition for dev on prod-artifacts.
Reliance on "theoretical RTP" only → simulations and production monitoring are required.
The lack of WORM → nothing to prove honesty retroactively.
Hidden RTP/ → certificates reduce trust and risk the license.
Patch without recertification → violation of conditions, high regulatory risk.

Result

RNG certification is not a one-time "paper," but an ongoing process: strict cryptography and entropy, rich statistical tests, provable integration with the game, unchangeable auditing and transparent UX. By building "Fair Play by Design," you turn honesty into a competitive advantage and a foundation for long-term product sustainability.