Every single time that you play casino games, the house (the casino platform) has an advantage over you. This is how the whole gambling industry works and is something that we should know.
But how do you know which is the advantage that the casino has over players? Is it possible to estimate the advantage they have? Yes, it is possible for users to get detailed information about it. This advantage is called the Return to Player (RTP) rate.
Every single game has an RTP rate that is shared by the game provider and assigned to a specific game. In this guide, we will share with you all the details you should have about RTP rates. Moreover, we will get into all the information about the RTP rates for slots.
🤷 What exactly RTP is?
The so-called Return to Player – or RTP – is the percentage of money that will get back to players over long periods of time. On average, these slot machines and games will pay back between 88% to 99% of all the funds that users wager in a certain period of time.
For example, if the RTP is 95%, that means that, in the long term, you should expect to receive $95 for every $100 wagered. It is important to understand that this is simply a percentage that reflects the return of money to a player on average. On average, you are expected to get 95% of your funds back.
Now, you can be very lucky, hit a multiplier, and make a 10x return. You can also be a player that has very bad luck and loses 50% of your funds. However, the return to player is set at 95% and you should expect to be close to that level in the long term.
The RTP is variable and it will be linked to a specific game and its version. Some games can have different RTPs depending on their version. Therefore, you should definitely know that understanding how the RTP works will play a key role to be able to plan your gambling strategies in a specific casino.
The return to player is also a good thing to consider when trying to clear a welcome bonus out. If you have to complete certain wagering requirements when you request a bonus or prize, knowing the RTP would be a key thing to help you clear the bonus with the best possible results. We will get into more details in the next sections.
Finally, if you know the RTP, you also know which is the casino’s edge. In the long term, with an RTP of 95%, the casino has an edge of 5 percentage points. That means that they should expect to earn $5 for every $100 you play, on average.
🔎 How to find out the RTP?
If you were thinking that finding the RTP value was as easy as playing a game then you were wrong. Indeed, it might require you to search on the website or sometimes on the official site of the game providers.
The easiest way to find the RTP numbers is by checking the information of each of the games offered by the casino. Usually, this information is added close to the game title where you can get more details about the game that you are playing.
At the same time, you can also check the info box that you can find inside each of the games. Some game providers will share this information there. Hence, it is always a good thing to read the details provided by software developers as it could include valuable RTP information.
However, there are some things to take into account. Some online casinos do not share this information. Indeed, it will be very tricky for you to find accurate information about the actual RTP using only the information shared by the online casino.
But what can you do to get an approximate idea of which the RTP is for certain games? What customer support agents will usually tell you is to search on the website of the game developer. That could be a useful thing. However, you should know that the information shared by the game developers might not necessarily be the RTP information that the online gambling site is using.
In some cases, the RTP could be accurate, but in some other cases, there are different RTP values for the same game. That means that it becomes impossible to know which is the correct return to player value for a specific game offered by an online casino.
✔️ What slot RTP can be considered a good one?
As we mentioned in the introduction of this article, the return to player or RTP could fluctuate between 88% and 99%. You will not find games with a higher RTP as it would mean that the casino is not earning any money on these games.
Most slot games will have an RTP close to 96%. This is considered to be a good return to player compared to other games that might have an RTP of 92% or 93%. You can also find some games with higher values, which is something that would sometimes be difficult to find.
It is worth pointing out that when you select a game you should also take into consideration the RTP value. On one hand, slots can have great soundtracks and graphics, however, their RTP might not be so high. On the other hand, you can find slots with a higher RTP but with poorer soundtracks, graphics, and game themes.
It is up to you to find the game that would offer you the best game experience but at the same time a relatively good RTP. As mentioned before, 96% could be considered a good RTP. Playing games with an RTP of 88% might not be the best idea if you want to focus on earnings and winnings.
A game with great graphics, themes, jackpots, bonuses, and an RTP of 94% could also be a good option for you as a slot player. That being said, this is something that is quite personal and that would change according to your game and gambling preferences.
💰 RTP and bonus wagering
Understanding how the RTP works is definitely important. Why? One of the reasons is related to activating (or not) bonuses with wagering requirements. When you activate a bonus with wagering requirements attached, you should analyze whether it is worth taking the bonus or not.
In some cases, it might be better not to take the bonus as the casino will push you to play more and risk more of your funds to clear the bonus out. When a bonus has wagering requirements attached, it means that the winnings that you get might not be withdrawn if you don’t bet the funds a minimum amount of times.
A reasonable wagering requirement is 25x. More than that would mean that the casino is pushing you to lose money rather than enjoy the platform with a fair bonus. Indeed, experts believe that it might be better not to offer bonuses rather than offering a bonus with a large wagering requirement attached.
But let’s get into an example of how a large wagering requirement might not be beneficial to users. If a casino is offering a bonus with 40x wagering requirements, then you should know that with a standard RTP of 96%, you will end up losing 4% of your funds in the long term. Every $100 wagered, you will get back $96 on average.
If the casino is offering a match-up bonus of 100% of the funds that you have deposited with a 40x wagering requirement, then let’s make the counts. You will have to bet $100 forty times in order to wager the whole bonus. That means that you will have to place a total bet of $4,000. With an RTP of 96%, you will end up losing $160 in the long term. Therefore, the match-up bonus of $100 would not be worth it with a 40x wagering requirement and an RTP of 96%.
This is why it is very important to understand which is the RTP of each of the games. In the previous example, you would have to search for a game with an RTP of 97.5% in order to clear the bonus without losing your own money. If you don’t have the RTP information, then it might be quite difficult for you to analyze these things and decide whether to activate a bonus or not.
🕹️ Who controls the RTP?
But who controls the RTP? Is the casino in charge of deciding which RTP is offered to players or will software providers set the RTP? Basically, the RTP rates are defined by the game provider itself. Casinos usually share the information of the game provider of the games they share on the platform.
Therefore, if you see that a slot has been developed by Pragmatic Play, then you should know that this game provider has defined the return to player rate for this specific game and not the casino.
But take into consideration that the same game might have multiple RTP settings. This would highly depend on what the casino decides and which is the casino management position in terms of RTP and games that they list on their platforms. That means that if a game has several versions with a different RTP, it is up to the online casino to decide which is the RTP value that they select.
That being said, unless you find proprietary games developed by online casinos, the return to player value will always be decided by the software developers with some exceptions when it comes to the version of the game offered on some online platforms.
⚙️ Can casinos modify the RTP for slot games?
This is another topic that is worth discussing. As we suggested in the previous section of this post, casinos cannot modify the return to player value of slot games. As a matter of fact, only game developers will be able to decide the RTP of a specific game.
But there are two exceptions that we should take into consideration. The first exception is that game providers can create two (or more) versions of the same game with different RTP values. Therefore, if the casino is not offering the RTP information, then you will not be able to know if you are playing the slot game with the highest or lowest RTP.
Therefore, the online casino will have the last decision when it comes to selecting the return to player value offered by the game provider.
The second exception is linked to proprietary games. Some online casinos that do not have a license might struggle to sign partnerships with some of the most popular game providers. That means that it would be necessary for these online casinos to create their own games or use unlicensed software. In some cases, the games will simply be bad copies of original games.
In this case, the online casino will be able to decide which is the RTP value they offer to users. If you find no information about the return to player percentage in these types of casinos, this should be considered a red flag. Online casinos should always display the RTP information, even more, if they are the ones developing the games.
Make sure that you talk to customer support agents and request information about the RTP of each of the games if this information is not already added to the game details.
👩 Do live casino games and table games also have RTP?
Every single game has an RTP value. The RTP percentage value of game categories can drastically change. For example, live casino games and table games will have an RTP that is close to 99% (in most cases).
If you have paid attention, due to the fact that the RTP value is quite high for these two categories, you will not find very good promotions and bonuses linked to these types of games. These games are usually excluded from bonuses and promotions that have wagering requirements attached, as it would be much easier for players to wager their funds without losing money.
Every single game offered by an online casino has an RTP percentage that would not only define how much a player is expected to get in return for their funds but also which is the house’s edge. If the casino has an edge of 1%, then it would be much more difficult for the platform to make money.
With an RTP of 96% that most slot games have, the casino will have a 4% edge, which is a standard value that would make both players and the casino management happy. It is up to you to decide which games you play using these online gambling platforms.
🛡️ What about provably fair games?
There is an additional category of games that is called “Provably Fair.” These provably fair games are games that let players check and verify the results of the bets they have placed. It is usually not possible to do so with traditional games or slots.
However, thanks to the development of these games, it is now possible for users to verify the results of their bets. In this way, you as a player will have the opportunity to be sure that the casino is fair with you when it comes to the results displayed on the platform.
Provably Fair games enter the table games category for online casinos. This happens because they have RTP values that are close to 99%. Hence, it becomes more difficult for online casinos to make money with these games.
That being said, there are other provably fair games that have a smaller RTP percentage. That means that these would give a larger house edge. This advantage that the casino has is the only way the casino has to make money for the services that they offer to players.
Some of the most popular provably fair games include Dice, Crash, Plinko, and many others.
🎰 Which slots have the highest RTP?
It is now time to share with you the slots with the highest RTP values that you can find at online casinos. There are different games that will have quite high RTP values considering they are slots and not the table or live casino games.
In the next sections, we share with you the top 5 slots by different game providers that have the highest return to player value and that you can start playing right away.
Jokerizer by Yggdrasil (RTP 98%)
Let’s start with Yggdrasil and Jokerizer. Jokerizer is considered to be a high-quality game with unique graphs and soundtracks. The animations provided by Jokerizer will make the whole game a great option for players that want to combine a high RTP value with a very entertaining game.
Jokerizer by Yggdrasil includes 10 play lines with 3 rows and 5 reels. The theme is quite attractive and it will also let you play with an auto-bet function. This would make the whole game even more entertaining, letting you enjoy the graphics and a smooth playing time.
Finally, you should also know that you can hit some juicy bonuses depending on the results you get when spinning the reel. Make sure that you check the details of this game to learn more about it.
Marching Legions by Relax Gaming (98.12% RTP)
Marching Legions by Relax Gaming is considered to be a high-volatility game with a high return to player value that will give you hours of fun if you know how to set up your spins. This game will bring your emotions into play as you might experience some profitable spins followed by some losses.
No matter your bet, you will definitely have a great experience with this game. Thanks to its high RTP, you can enjoy many spins with relatively good results and game options. Relax Gaming knows what players want and they make sure that they offer it with a game with a high Return to Player value.
1429 Uncharted Seas by Thunderkick (RTP 98.63%)
If you like to play long hours and avoid hitting large losses, then this game with relatively low volatility will offer you all you are searching for. Thunderkick released 1429 Uncharted Seas with an RTP of 98.63%, which is very high for a slot game.
Despite the fact that his slot game does not have extremely large bonuses, you can be sure that you can play longer periods of time with your funds making sure that you are slightly above or below your initial funds. 1429 Uncharted Seas by Thunderkick will be a great option for players that want to have a first experience with online gambling.
Blood Suckers by Netent (RTP 98.63%)
Netent is known for its great games and Blood Suckers is one of them. This popular game provider has created a slot game with an extremely high RTP value that will give you fun moments. Thanks to the fact that it has a very high return to player percentage and low volatility, it will be a great option for those players that want to make sure that they extend their playing time as much as possible.
This game has 5 reels and 25 different play lines with relatively stable wins and losses. Hence, this could be a high-quality game if you want to enjoy some of the most reliable slots.
Kitty Cash by 1x2gaming (RTP 97.86%)
1x2gaming has created a simple and fun game with a high return to player value. Kitty Cash slot includes 5 reels and 3 rows and it would let you hit many free spins if you are lucky. With a mix of cats, dogs, fish and food bowls, you will be able to enjoy an exciting experience. With its 97.86% RTP, you can expect to play for longer periods of time than using a standard 96% RTP slot.