What is a random number generator (RNG)?
A random number generator (RNG) is the physical or electronic mechanism that produces the unpredictable values a game turns into results: which card, which pocket, where a crash round stops. Each value is independent of the last. Kenyan regulations require the RNG used for games of chance to be certified by the regulator or its approved agent.
Definition
An RNG is a source of values that cannot be predicted in advance and show no usable pattern. In a software game it is a program, often fed by unpredictable physical input; in a physical game the same job is done by a wheel, a shuffled deck or a ball blower.
The Gambling Control (Licensing) Regulations, 2026 define the term, in the context of national lottery games, as "a certified physical or electronic mechanism that produces random outcomes". Regulation 34 of the Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations, 2026 likewise lets a bingo licensee select numbers using a random number generator or an approved manual device.
What it does in a game
For each round the game asks the generator for one or more values and maps them to an outcome through its rules. The animation that follows, such as spinning reels or a rising multiplier, displays a result that has already been determined.
Two properties matter. The values must be evenly spread over their range, so no outcome is favoured beyond what the rules state. And each value must be independent of the others, which is why the idea that a result is "due" fails, as the guide to the gambler's fallacy explains.
What it does not do
The RNG does not set the price of the game. The house edge comes from the paytable applied to the random values. A perfectly random generator and a game that costs 5% of every stake sit together without contradiction.
How Kenyan rules treat it
Regulation 45(2) of the Conduct of Gambling Operations Regulations, 2026 states that the random number generator used for all games of chance "shall be certified by the Authority or its approved agent". The process is described in the guide to how RNG testing and certification work in Kenya.
Questions and answers
Does the RNG decide how much a game pays back?
No. The RNG only supplies random values. The game rules and paytable decide what each value is worth, and those rules set the return to player and the house edge.
Can an RNG be predicted or influenced by how I play?
A generator that has passed proper testing produces values that cannot be predicted from earlier ones, and it takes no account of stake size, timing or past results.