Game recovery (interrupted rounds)

Game recovery is the certification requirement that a round interrupted by a dropped connection, a crash or a platform restart is still resolved correctly: the outcome already determined in play stands, and the stake and any win settle exactly as the game rules dictate. GLI-19, the technical standard most regulated online-casino markets certify against, defines a game as interrupted when its outcome remains unresolved or cannot be properly conveyed to the player — and requires the platform to hold the wager, restore or resolve the round, and update the account. A technical fault must never silently void a bet or change a result.

What counts as an interrupted game

GLI-19 (§4.16.1) defines a game as interrupted when the outcome remains unresolved or cannot be properly conveyed to the player, and lists five triggers: loss of communications between the gaming platform and the player's device; a platform restart; a device restart or malfunction; abnormal termination of the game client; or a game-disable command issued by the platform itself. The definition is outcome-centric — it does not matter what failed, only that the result of a committed wager has not yet reached the player.

The money is held, not lost

Wagers tied to an interrupted game that can be continued must be held by the platform until the game completes, and the player's account must reflect any funds held that way (§4.16.2). In practice that is why a balance can show money locked to an open round after a crash: the stake is neither settled nor returned until the round resolves, and the resolution — not the disconnection — decides where it goes.

How an interrupted round must resolve

The platform must provide a mechanism to complete an interrupted game, and the game must be resolved before the player may start another instance of the same game (§4.16.3). Resolution follows three paths. Where no player input is needed, the game may simply return in a completed state, with the game history and balance reflecting the finished round. Where a single-player game needs input — a blackjack decision, a bonus pick — the player must be returned to the exact game state immediately prior to the interruption and allowed to finish, unless superseding recovery rules are disclosed to the player in the game rules or terms. In multi-player games, where one player cannot act in the allotted time, the platform completes the game on their behalf under the published rules, updates balances, shows the player which decisions were made for them — and one player's disconnection must not block the others from settling.

By game type: who resolves how

The three paths map cleanly onto game families. A slot's base spin and a scratch card's reveal need no input, so they auto-settle with history updated. Blackjack or video poker mid-decision is the single-player input case: the game restores to the moment before the drop. A crash round settles under its published rules — a pre-set auto-cash-out that the round reached still pays, and an un-cashed bet rides to the bust point fixed at round start. Peer-to-peer poker and bingo follow the multi-player path: the hand or draw cannot wait, so the platform acts for the absent player and discloses it afterwards. Live-dealer games must additionally publish their procedures for interruptions of the video, data or voice feed (§4.18.2).

The audit trail: game recall

Recovery leans on 'game recall' — the player-facing replay the platform must provide (§4.14), showing for the last game(s) the date and time, the final outcome, funds at start and end of play, total wagered and won, the results of any player choices, and any intermediate phases such as gamble features; bonus and feature recall must cover at least the last fifty events. Recall is how a disputed disconnection is settled from evidence rather than memory. Alongside it, if the platform disables a game while rounds are in progress, players must still be permitted to conclude their current game (§4.15.1).

Worked example

Key facts

Sources (2)