Why it is important to store logs of all game events

Game events are not only spin/win. This is the whole chain: authorization, bets, provider webhooks, wallet debits/credits, bonus activation, RG limits, KYC/AML signals, network anomalies, game build versions and RNG parameters. Full logging turns the platform into a system with provable honesty, fast dispute resolution and manageable risks.

1) Why store logs of "everything"

Honesty and reproducibility. Replay of a bit-to-bit round by 'round _ id', seed/nonce and 'build _ hash'.

Sorting out disputes in minutes. We compare the logs of the provider, wallet and client → the final verdict.

Antifraud/AML. Velocity, graph-connections, pass-through, multi-accounts, structuring.

Responsible Gaming (RG). Checking limits/timers, self-exclusions, "cooling."

Compliance and licenses. Immutable logs, retention, access audit.

Product and performance. TTS funnels (time-to-spin), FPS/latency, PSP/KYC failures, bonus conversion.

Financial summary. Matching debits/credits with PSP reports, searching for "quiet" discrepancies.

2) What events to capture (minimum set)

Gaming: 'game. round. started/settled ', features/bonuses, multipliers,' build _ hash ',' rtp _ table _ version ',' seed/server _ nonce '.

Money: 'wallet. debit/credit`, `payout. initiated/settled`, `psp. webhook. received`.

Payment statuses: 'payment. authorized/captured/failed/refunded ', 3DS/SCA transitions.

User: logins/logouts, device change, RG limits, self-exclusion, DSR requests (GDPR).

Security: IP/ASN anomalies, brute force attempts, WAF triggers, role changes.

Operations/versioning: releases, feature flags, migrations of schemes/payment tables.

Observability: p95/99 API, errors, queues, GC pauses, WebSocket establish-rate.

3) Correlation: a single "thread" of the event

Use stable identifiers and throw them through all layers:

'trace _ id'is the end-to-end trace of the request.
'round _ id'is a unique round at the game provider (RGS).
'txn _ id'is a unique purse/PSP money transaction.
'player _ ref '- player alias/token (without PII).
'build _ hash'is the build version of the game/client.
'event _ id'is the unique identifier of the event itself (for deduplication).

💡 Rule: Each event contains all known correlation keys at the time of recording.

4) Immutability and integrity (WORM/signatures)

WORM/append-only storage for final logs (cloud "immutable buckets" or specialized systems).

Cryptographic protection: signatures/hash chains of batches; verifiability by a foreign key.

KMS/HSM: signing and encryption key management, rotation, auditing operations.

Schema versioning: evolution of fields without overwriting old events.

5) Retention and access level

Retention: hot 90 days (incident analysis), warm 12-24 months (operational analytics), archive 2-7 years (license/tax requirements).

Segregation: game logs from the provider (RGS), money logs from the operator, but with links to each other.

Access: RBAC/ABAC, JIT rights for investigations, immutable read/export audits.

PII: keep aliases; communication with real PII - separately, with field encryption.

6) Event diagram (example)

json
{
"event_id": "evt_01HQ…",  "event_type": "game. round. settled",  "occurred_at": "2025-10-17T09:12:45. 384Z",  "trace_id": "trc_9f7…",  "round_id": "rnd_7a2…",  "player_ref": "plr_f0c…",  "operator_id": "op_123",  "game_id": "g_slots_mystic-777",  "build_hash": "sha256:ab39…",  "rng": {"seed":"h_…","server_nonce":"n_…"},  "bet": {"amount": 2. 00, "currency": "EUR", "lines": 20},  "result": {"win": 12. 40, "features": ["free_spin"], "multiplier": 6. 2},  "wallet_links": {"debit_txn_id":"txn_d_…","credit_txn_id":"txn_c_…"},  "integrity": {"batch_hash":"sha256:…","signature":"base64:…"}
}

Identical principles are for'wallet. credit`, `payment. captured`, `rg. limit. updated ', etc.

7) Data flow and storage

Collection: events in Kafka/PubSub with hard keys (by'round _ id/txn _ id/player _ ref ').

Online storage: column format (Parquet/ORC) with partitioning by 'date/operator _ id/game _ id'.

Serving layer: indexes/materialized views for fast replays and investigations.

Archive: object storage with WORM policies, encryption and integrity checking.

8) Log security

Encryption: TLS 1. 3 "on the go," AES-256-GCM "in storage," separate keys by domain (games/money/security).

Secrets: Secret-manager (Vault/KMS), automatic rotation, prohibition of secrets in the code.

Availability: multi-region replication, DR teachings for restoring logs and replays.

9) Logs and Investigations (SLA)

Case management: alert → case with an auto-selection of events by 'trace _ id/round _ id/txn _ id'.

SLA for response: e.g. 2 hours for payment dispute, 24 hours for regulatory request.

Export artifacts: PDF/video replicas, signatures, control hashes.

10) How logs help businesses

Reduced tickets: transparent history of payments/bonuses/limits.

A/B experiments: TTS measurement, click-through, feature success.

FinOps: cost of traffic/payment methods, CDN hit-rate, $/1000 spins.

Content quality: distribution of winnings, feature frequency, "cold" games.

11) Frequent errors

Changeable logs. Any edit kills the evidentiary power.

No correlation. Events are not connected 'round _ id/txn _ id' → investigations drag on for days.

PII mixing. Pseudonymize; store communication separately and encrypt with fields.

No deduplication. Repeated webhooks/retrays = duplicate events and money.

One cluster/region. Loss of logs in an accident = regulatory risks.

No schemas. Free Form breaks reports and searches.

12) Log maturity metrics

Covering critical paths with events (registratsiya→depozit→igra→vyvod).

The proportion of events with the full set of correlation keys.

Case search time by'round _ id/txn _ id '(p95).

Replay round time and SLA response to the dispute.

Degree of immutability (WORM control, verified signatures).

DR recovery success (RPO≈0 for round logs).

13) Implementation checklist (save)

Event Type and Schema Directory (JSON Schema/Protobuf)
Correlation keys: 'trace _ id', 'round _ id', 'txn _ id', 'player _ ref', 'build _ hash'
Thread: event queue (Kafka/PubSub) with keys and deduplication
Storage: Parquet/ORC, partitions, indexes; hot/warm/archive
WORM/append-only, signatures and hash chains of batches
In-transit/in-storage encryption, KMS/HSM, key rotation
RBAC/ABAC, JIT access, read/export logs
DR Procedures and Replay Recovery Drills
Round replay and round _ id ↔ txn_id'
Retention policies and GDPR processes (DSR, anonymization)
Search/replay dashboards p95, share of closed SLA ≤ cases
Support/compliance documentation, response templates

14) Mini-FAQ

Do I need to store raw RNG data? Enough inputs for replay (seed/nonce/version). Raw samples - according to the provider's policy.

Where to store "truth" by outcomes? Game Provider (RGS); the operator has links and money logs.

How to combine GDPR and logs? Pseudonymization, field encryption, retention, and with DSR, selective removal of the bundle with PII.

Do logs affect performance? With streaming recording and column archive, no; bottlenecks are more common in parsing/querying.

Can I edit an error event? No, it isn't; correctly - record the compensating event with reference to the original one.

Storing logs of all game events means having a provable history of each round and penny, managed security and compliance, fast support and mature analytics. Build unchangeable, correlated, secure logs with understandable retention and replay tools - and your platform will become more transparent to the player, more reliable for the regulator and more efficient for business.