Evidence-First in Gambling: Managed Releases with Signed Events

Evidence-First Releases: About the Concept

With this approach, every modification of an entertainment product is supported by facts and logs, not speculations. This makes the launch of gambling solutions a controlled, verifiable, fully documented, and risk-free procedure that maximises the operators’ benefits.

Such a tool has been used in FinTech, insurance, government services, and other industries where the cost of failure is particularly high. Over time, the innovation has spread to other sectors of the economy, including the online casino vertical.

Today, the concept is applied in many areas of the entertainment sphere. This includes the creation of content (slots, maps, or arcades), business scaling, and expansion of the betting platforms’ functionality.

Let us look at the principles on which the model is based.

Feature Flags As a Mandatory Attribute of Changes

All innovations are controlled through these soft, manageable switches. They help operators understand, even during the development stage, which solutions will be beneficial and what should be avoided.

Instead of immediately activating a mechanic or bonus for all players, casino owners can:

• present the release, but with some temporarily unavailable functions;
• launch the product for a limited number of users.

Feature flags become the switches used to configure selected mechanics (bonus rounds and special symbols). In this case, the options already exist in the system but remain hidden until they are activated manually.

Functions can be enabled for:

• a small percentage of Internet traffic (from 5% to 25%);
• certain countries or markets;
• selected segments of players (beginners, VIPs, high-rollers, and others).

Any innovation is first tested in a live and dynamic environment, protecting entrepreneurs from all kinds of risks and regulatory concerns. Business owners prefer a secure and stepped launch and only then scale the solutions.

Signed Release Events

In this case, every action is recorded in a digital document. It specifies the build version, the date and time of activation, as well as the percentage of traffic it applies to. Specialists also define a list of metrics associated with the product and the conditions for stopping testing.

Signed virtual events cannot be changed or deleted retroactively. This ensures accuracy and full compliance with legislative requirements.

Predictable Rollout and Rollback Scenarios

Thanks to the Evidence-First Releases approach, the presentation of new features is no longer a chaotic and uncoordinated process. All operations are carried out according to pre-prepared scripts that can be repeated at any moment.

Rollback is launched when:

• key metrics deviate from the norm (for example, the conversion rate reduces or the audience outflow increases);
• feature flag releases reach the error limit.

The system automatically returns the game to its default state. Manageable switches change in minutes, without downtime, failures, or developer participation.

The Importance of Evidence-First Releases for Operators

This approach is a structured, transparent, and controlled way to modify entertainment content.

Let us look at the solution’s key advantages.

Compliance with Legal Requirements

Even today, the world’s leading jurisdictions (UKGC, MGA, etc.) expect entrepreneurs to:

• store detailed logs of all changes to gambling products;
• transparently manage bonuses, mechanics, and betting limits;
• immediately respond to errors and system failures.

Evidence-First Releases help comply with the rules established by gambling commissions. The approach facilitates complex audits, reduces the risk of fines, and increases the regulators' trust.

Secure Scaling

Online casino owners can introduce new features gradually, without presenting them to all Internet traffic at once. These include changes to the bonus program, deposit and withdrawal options, as well as responsible gambling tools.

The launch via feature flags and controlled rollout allows for testing user behaviour on a small percentage of traffic (for example, 1–5%). The updated settings are then extended to 15–20% of customers before becoming available to all visitors to the iGaming platform.

Reduced Operational Risks

In the entertainment industry, the cost of error is especially high. Thus, the incorrect accrual of bonuses may lead to financial losses, and function failures in slot machines can cause mass complaints and the outflow of the audience.

Applying the Evidence-First Releases approach makes it possible to detect and eliminate any inaccuracies in the presented product.

Automatic metrics and triggers perform the following tasks:

• monitor anomalies in the gambling system;
• launch rollback scenarios;
• protect the solution from the “domino effect”, when even seemingly minor mistakes can lead to a large-scale disruption of the online casino’s work.

Comfortable and Secure Development

Many specialists are responsible for the timely implementation or update of features. These are DevOps programmers, QA engineers, marketers, compliance managers, risk department staff, and many others.

The Evidence-First Releases mechanism facilitates interaction between all participants in the process, enabling everyone to work quickly, smoothly, and effectively. This makes the presentation of new content unified and fully controlled.

The team receives clear and structured documentation with the dates and reasons of updating, as well as planned metrics, responsible parties, and other parameters. Professionals do not have to act “blindly”, as all rights and obligations are already described in the detailed instructions.

Who Uses Evidence-First Releases in Gambling

Today, this approach is applied in many areas: from the initial development of content and financial systems to the interaction with players.

Major Brands

Bet365, Entain, Flutter, Kindred, and Betsson were the first to adopt FinTech and Big Tech practices. The reason for these innovations is quite simple. International providers handle the colossal amount of Internet traffic, so they simply cannot make mistakes.

The list of solutions that market leaders have begun to use includes:

• expanded feature-flag platforms;
• full release logging;
• automatic rollback triggers;
• comprehensive A/B testing.

Casino Software Vendors

EveryMatrix, BetConstruct, Kambi, and other suppliers integrate Evidence-First Releases directly into the core of their platforms.

This approach accelerates and simplifies the implementation of new features, protecting operators from technical failures and lengthy program settings. Entrepreneurs can more quickly undergo audits and appropriately interact with players and regulators.

B2B Content Providers

The manufacturers of digital slots (Pragmatic Play, Relax Gaming, Yggdrasil, and Playson) work on individual Remote Game Servers (RGS).

Thanks to Evidence-First Releases, developers can perform the following tasks:

• incorporate new mechanics via feature flags;
• test changes on a small pool of operators;
• analyse slots for key triggers (abnormal wins, invalid balances);
• present fast and accurate products.

The Main Things about Evidence-First Releases in Gambling

Key aspects that entrepreneurs should take into account:

• According to this approach, companies are required to document and digitise any changes to the operation of iGaming platforms or individual slots. Signed release events must be stored in special logs and protected from hacking and retroactive interventions.
• The tool allows for the quick and secure integration of new functions, bonuses, and mechanics. Initially, changes are tested on a small percentage of Internet traffic and then become available to all players.
• The advantages of this concept include safe scaling, comfortable and secure development within the team, and reduced operational risks. The availability of logs is also one of the key requirements of regulators.