Accusation of cheating keno game

I am doing a review of SmartSoft Gaming. One of their games is called Slot Bingo, although it has little to do with bingo. It is simply a pick-15 keno game.

First, let me present my return table for the game.

Catch	Pays	Combinations	Probability	Return
15	10000	15,504	0.000000	0.000000
14	1000	2,325,600	0.000000	0.000000
13	800	137,210,400	0.000000	0.000017
12	500	4,310,693,400	0.000001	0.000325
11	400	81,903,174,600	0.000012	0.004937
10	200	1,009,047,111,072	0.000152	0.030412
9	100	8,408,725,925,600	0.001267	0.126716
8	50	48,650,485,712,400	0.007331	0.366572
7	40	198,344,287,904,400	0.029890	1.195589
6	20	572,994,609,501,600	0.086348	1.726962
5	10	1,168,909,003,383,260	0.176150	1.761501
4	5	1,660,382,107,078,500	0.250213	1.251066
3	4	1,595,269,083,271,500	0.240401	0.961604
2	2	981,704,051,244,000	0.147939	0.295878
1	0	346,917,972,996,000	0.052279	0.000000
0	0	53,194,089,192,720	0.008016	0.000000
Total		6,635,869,816,740,560	1.000000	7.721578

The bottom right corner of the table above shows an expected return of 772%.

That seemed fishy so I played five games and found that the numbers on my cards were hitting much less than would be statistically expected. So I made a video of playing 20 consecutive games, which appears below.


Direct: https://youtu.be/TNNhu_OW1tg

In the 20 games with 8 cards each I had 187 hits.
The probability of any given number on a card hitting is 20/80 = 1/4.
The expected number of hits is thus 20*8*15*(1/4) = 600
My results were 413 hits short of expectations.
The standard deviation on the number of actual hits is sqrt(20*8*15*(1/4)*(3/4)) = 10.61.
That makes my results 413/10.61 = 38.94 standard deviations south of expectations.
Excel says the probability of being 36 standard deviations south of expectations is 1 in 1.75 *10^299. It goes off the charts after that.

I submit for the consideration of the forum this game isn't playing fairly. Can anyone find any fault in my math? Does anyone feel that the game calling itself a "slot" gives them moral right to do what they're doing?

Finally, can anyone with a more robust calculator, perhaps Mathematica, tell me the probability of being more than 38.94 standard deviations from expectations?

I welcome all comments.

It looks like Lucky Seven has the same "feature". Also the "?" doesn't seem to work.
It would appear to break UK rules (they would need to add something like odds are not as displayed).
The logic is similar to video poker having to behave like a regular pack of cards.

Quote: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/Machine-standards-category-B3-and-B4.pdf

If a gaming machine offers a game which is recognisable (e.g. Poker, Blackjack, Roulette) and is described as such by title or visual presentation, and the chances of winning differ from an equivalent real game, then this must be made plain to the player either via the artwork or help menus. In any event the rules of the simulated game must be transparent to the player.

Quote: charliepatrick

It looks like Lucky Seven has the same "feature". Also the "?" doesn't seem to work.
It would appear to break UK rules (they would need to add something like odds are not as displayed).
The logic is similar to video poker having to behave like a regular pack of cards.

Quote: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/Machine-standards-category-B3-and-B4.pdf

If a gaming machine offers a game which is recognisable (e.g. Poker, Blackjack, Roulette) and is described as such by title or visual presentation, and the chances of winning differ from an equivalent real game, then this must be made plain to the player either via the artwork or help menus. In any event the rules of the simulated game must be transparent to the player.

Thank you. Here in Nevada a visual representation of playing cards or dice must follow natural odds. There is no disclosure exception. Although this is a keno game, I doubt it would be allowed here, even with a disclaimer.

SmartSoft Gaming, who makes the game, is out of the country of Georgia.

I welcome all to play the game yourself at the SmartSoft Gaming web site. It is liked under bingo & keno games.

Here is my new page on Slot Bingo.

Here’s my brief results and review:

I played 10 games, 80 boards. I'm not sure why anyone playing would select anything other than the full 8 boards - unless they were playing their last couple bucks. I mean, GEL. By the way, what is a GEL? Is that what they call the money in Georgia? Anyway...

In total, I got 14 twos, 8 threes, 2 fives and 1 ten, for a net of exactly zero. I didn’t keep track of the zeros and ones since they both lose.

With a net zero, the degen in me said I had to play one more, and got 2 twos, and 2 fours, for a net profit of 6 units.

Anyway, I wish the game play was a little faster, but I guess they were trying to simulate the speed of live keno, which seems to suggest that they should be following the rule of having statistical results similar to the actual devices.

Bottom line, it was interesting, but unless you're a Keno player, I doubt you'd want to play it. Then again, without the option of picking your own numbers, why would a Keno player be attracted to it?

Note, maybe that's the Bingo connection. In Bingo you get boards that have the numbers already selected. No option to pick your own numbers.

Also, kudos to this company for immediately asking if you want sound, rather than requiring the user to find the option to turn it off. I wish more companies would do that.

Quote: Wizard

Thank you. Here in Nevada a visual representation of playing cards or dice must follow natural odds. There is no disclosure exception. Although this is a keno game, I doubt it would be allowed here, even with a disclaimer.

That is not 100% true in Nevada. I was able to put dice symbols on reels of mechanical slot machines and I was not forced to equally weight the die. I think it is only true in the representation of the game itself. If I did a craps game they would expect true dice probabilities but on a slot machine it wasn't required.

Quote: DRich

That is not 100% true in Nevada. I was able to put dice symbols on reels of mechanical slot machines and I was not forced to equally weight the die. I think it is only true in the representation of the game itself. If I did a craps game they would expect true dice probabilities but on a slot machine it wasn't required.

Interesting -- thank you. I think the spirit of the regulation is a rolling/shaking dice representation should be fair.

I played it yesterday. My review and results are above.

But as I mentioned, I wasn’t keeping track of my single hits, since they were losers. So I wanted to play it again.

I couldn’t find it.

Is it possible they took that game down as a result of the article and this thread??

I analyzed 3 of your 20 games on your video.

I think the 8 cards of 15 each are indeed filled randomly.

In general, numbers from 1 to 80 will appear 0 to 5 times each in the 8 sets of 15 numbers with a frequency that seems to be consistent with random selection.

HOWEVER: any number that appears 3 or more times in your 8x15 numbers are NEVER chosen as a winning number.

In the three games I analyzed
- 26 numbers appeared 3 times in an 8x15 grid -there were never chosen as a winning number
- 15 numbers appeared 4 times in an 8x15 grid -there were never chosen
- 3 numbers appeared 5 times in an 8x15 grid -there were never chosen

That's 44 numbers that were never chosen because they appeared 3-5 times in the 8x15 grids.

About 65% of the numbers that are chosen as winners appear zero times in the 8X15 grids,
About 25% of the numbers that are chosen appear once in the 8X15 grids,
About 10% of the numbers that are chosen appear twice in the 8X15 grids,

These numbers are so regular that it appears to be by design. (Which it most certainly is.)

Quote: gordonm888

These numbers are so regular that it appears to be by design. (Which it most certainly is.)

Is this illegal?

Quote: heatmap

Is this illegal?

Of course its illegal. I'm just trying to figure out the algorithm they are using to bugger the game.

They first randomly pick the 8 grids with 15 numbers each.

For every number 1-80 they count how many times each number appears in the 8x15 grids.

Then they choose the winning numbers from those numbers that appear 0, 1 or 2 times on the grids with this weighting:

65% chance of picking a number that appears 0 times.
25% chance of picking a number that appears 1 time.
10% chance of picking a number that appears exactly 2 times.

Its a cheat. Absolutely.

Quote: gordonm888

Of course its illegal.

I would not be so sure of that if it is an internet offshore casino.

Quote: DRich

I would not be so sure of that if it is an internet offshore casino.

i apologize that this is a poker video, but it kind of mixes well with what we just talked about. its a video from 2012 but the man is saying their hands are exactly what they should be which is why it isnt random.

The video suggests that the results are too close to normal. If you play 19002 hands the average number of hands that starts with a specific pair is 1/221 * 19002 = 85.982 (say 86). The StdD = SQRT(Npq) = SQRT(19002/221*220/221) = SQRT (85.593) = 9.252 (say 9). Thus you'd expect to get between 77 and 95 most the time. The figures for AA,KK,QQ,JJ,TT were 86,90,79,80,91. So these seem reasonable to me.

I'm guessing what he's trying to say is that you'd expect to see more widely distributed numbers occasionally. That's true but it's also quite possible not to see them over such a small sample.

Quote: charliepatrick

The video suggests that the results are too close to normal

Quote: gordonm888

These numbers are so regular that it appears to be by design. (Which it most certainly is.)

sorry what? i know im dumb but

Quote: Wizard

I am doing a review of SmartSoft Gaming. One of their games is called Slot Bingo, although it has little to do with bingo. It is simply a pick-15 keno game.

I welcome all comments.

Quote: Wizard

I welcome all to play the game yourself at the SmartSoft Gaming web site. It is liked under bingo & keno games.

Am I the only person who can’t find the game?

The weird thing is, I DID play it on Thursday but haven’t been able to find it since.


FYI, that website/company is screwed up.

The contact is form doesn’t allow the fields to get data, and the email address provided is invalid. 🤔

To provide an update, I sent them an Email (to the address on their web site, which worked for me) explaining my findings and giving them a chance to respond.

I think they won't mind me saying that they said some of the games, including Slot Bingo, were still works in progress and not available for actual release yet. He didn't say they would remove the game, but obviously they did.

While they would make a gaffed game to begin with should give players some pause, I respect them for removing the game and responding in a civil and friendly manner. Normally when I make such accusations, I get threated with a lawsuit.

Quote: Wizard

To provide an update, I sent them an Email (to the address on their web site, which worked for me) explaining my findings and giving them a chance to respond.

I think they won't mind me saying that they said some of the games, including Slot Bingo, were still works in progress and not available for actual release yet. He didn't say they would remove the game, but obviously they did.

While they would make a gaffed game to begin with should give players some pause, I respect them for removing the game and responding in a civil and friendly manner. Normally when I make such accusations, I get threated with a lawsuit.

.

Mike, did you bet real money on this game? Or just in ‘practice’ mode or something? If you lost real money did you request a refund?

In the review you wrote:

"The web site also has a game called Bonus Roulette, in which the player may parlay winnings on a bonus wheel. The table below shows the slices on the bonus wheel. The lower right cell indicates an average return of 100% on the bonus wheel. As long as you're gambling, why not take advantage of an opportunity with no house edge?"

This looks like the game itself has no advantage, but this is not the case. It's a second spin of the roulette game, much like odds in Craps or Red/Black card on even some slots. No third spin is possible so the overall RTP is 98.65%. It's a fancier French Roulette with two spins.