Detailed Reference for Slot RTP (Return to Player)

The term “slot RTP” (Return to Player) has certainly come up more than once if you’ve ever played slots or seen others play online slots.

So, what precisely is RTP? How does it change the way you play? Is it a key factor when deciding which slot machine to play? After a gaming session, you might also want to learn how to calculate your own RTP.

This detailed guide will provide you with this knowledge by decomposing all of the words into understandable examples.

You will leave knowing exactly what the term means, how RTP is determined, and how it impacts your play.

What Does RTP (Return to Player) Really Mean?

Think of the RTP as the opposite of the house edge at the casino. RTP, which is paid back to players over the course of a game, is a percentage value calculated based on the total amount gambled.

The crucial point to keep in mind in this situation is that the computation is based on the total amount wagered. These terms are sometimes confused by new players with “actually paid earnings,” which refers to winnings that have been withdrawn and compensated by the casino.

That is untrue. The amount wagered overall and the amount given back to players over this time period are used to calculate the RTP.

The possibility that the player will choose to withdraw this money is not considered in this calculation.

How are slot machines’ rtps determined?

Where does an RTP figure like 96.8% come from, and what does it mean to you if you see it in a slot machine’s paytable or game rules?

The figures provided by online slot developers are expected or theoretical values based on extremely long-term play with enormous sample sizes. This is the first significant differential.

Very few slot machine companies provide actual real-player RTP figures based on real money play alongside these theoretical values in the paytables or game regulations. In terms of player transparency and the public release of accurate monthly RTP figures, Play’n GO is a market leader.

Prolonged Investing

Long-term play is the term used to describe millions, if not billions, of spins during which every single winning combination, bonus round feature, maximum win, and other aspects of a certain slot game would have been recorded.

The slot is also put through a rigorous inspection process to make sure it passes all RNG (Random Number Generator) testing as well as internal and external QA inspections.

The machine may be verified to return to players (within a minimal tolerance) a specific percentage of the money wagered on it after millions of spins, giving us the RTP value.

This is not some enigmatic character that will astound or surprise the developers. Before being issued to casinos, the mathematicians will have tested and validated that the slot has the house edge they have specified throughout development, or is quite close to it.

Nevertheless, just because a slot machine promises a 96% RTP doesn’t mean you’ll achieve that value in a small number of spins or over a short play session.

The likelihood is that, over time, your actual RTP will approach this promised level if you stick with a slot machine and play it millions of times. But is it worth it in the end?

RTP for a victory

In order for us to succeed as slot players, our individual RTP must be higher than this figure and larger than 100%.

As huge wins during play can raise your actual RTP to far over 100%, which effectively indicates you’re winning on the slot overall, which is, quite simply, what we all want, this is where factors like slot variance and volatility come into play.

The RTP percentage of a slot machine essentially tells you how big the house edge is, or how loose that machine is, and whether it offers you enough value for your money to play.

Online slots often offer rtps between 95% and 96.50%, with a few exceptions having rtps of 97% or higher. You can see our best picks for these machines in our list of the top 10 slots with the highest RTP.

Slots with progressive jackpots have an additional portion of the RTP (5%–10%) that goes toward the jackpots, which reduces the RTP in the main game even more.

TIP – We prefer video slots with an RTP of 95% or above when it comes to online slotgacortp, with a few exceptions for games that we truly enjoy playing and have an RTP that is somewhat lower.

It could be time to look at some similar themed slots with similar gameplay and bonus features that offer a higher RTP if the declared RTP figure is less than this sum.

It’s up to you which slots you play, but the best way to approach gambling is to make an educated choice!

How Is RTP Calculated?

Let’s say you wish to determine your own RTP% after engaging in a certain slot machine game or a whole session at an online casino. In such a situation, this is feasible with some advance planning and preparation.

To make this calculation simple, make a note of your starting balance or first deposit, the total amount wagered, and the final ending balance.

Calculating RTP

Using a straightforward set of examples;

We deposit $100 at the casino and play our preferred slot machine 100 times with $1 bets. This indicates that a total of $100 has been bet.

Given that we earned $95 back from a $100 total bet, our RTP in this case is 95%.

$95/$100*100 = 95.00%

Longer play sessions, like in Example 2.

If the scenario were to be repeated, we would start with $100 and $1 for each spin, but we would play 1000 spins this time. This results in a $1,000 total wager.

If the total comes to $95, that means that after placing a wager of $1,000, we have only lost $5.

You might be surprised to see that the RTP in this instance is 99.5%, higher than it was in the previous one.

We wagered a total of $1,000 and earned a total of $995 in return because the calculation is based on the whole amount wagered. Since we started with $100 and ended up paying $95, we know this is correct.

To be sure the math is correct, ($995)/$1,000*100 = 99.50%

A productive slot session

In our third scenario, we make the identical $100 deposit and give ourselves 1000 $1 game spins. Yet, this time, our final tally of $250 shows that we have prevailed overall. What is the RTP for this round?

We made a total of $1,000 in bets, and we won a total of $1,150. We made a $100 deposit and ended up with a $250 balance, an increase of $150, so we know this is correct.

Hence, the RTP for our successful session is ($1150)/$1000*100 = 115.00%.

Understanding Key RTP Concepts

Please take your time as you read through these calculating examples. The most crucial factor to keep in mind when calculating your own RTP is that each of these summaries is based on the total amount wagered.

The final RTP% is most significantly impacted by this setting. You are far better off checking your actual money balance because RTP does not accurately show how much money you have gained or lost.

It informs you if you came close to or went above the slot machine’s declared RTP value.

Indicating whether you had a very lucky session (over 100% RTP) or a terribly unlucky one (a low value, such as 50% RTP), it may also give you a sense of how close to “expected” the slot was playing.

What Benefits Come from Knowing the RTP?

Understanding how it is calculated and being able to apply that knowledge is a considerably more beneficial tool for a player than being able to calculate your own RTP after a slot session.

Recognizing this value and deciding whether or not to take a risk on a particular machine are crucial skills for slot gamers.

In the future, if you come across a slot with a 90% RTP, take a moment to reflect on this post and what you’ve learned before moving on to a slot with a much higher RTP.

RTP Considerations in Addition

Be aware that while online slots may have similar names and visual appearances, casino operators may have the freedom to set them up differently. Whether you triumph over them or fail to do so has no bearing on this.

It is a predefined sum that has been predetermined. It is yet another reason to monitor the RTP of the slots you are playing at a specific casino and ensure that they are set to the highest or default RTP setting.

The RTP of a slot machine is influenced by both the base game and the bonus rounds. On the websites of game producers, you can find these precise values if you wish to go deeper. These numbers give a good understanding of the volatility and potential of a machine, especially if bonus rounds and free spins make up a sizable portion of the slot’s RTP.

To make sure that slots are operating correctly, governing bodies and licensing regulators pay close attention to how players interact with them. To ensure that the values are close to the theoretical RTP statistics over the whole player base, they do as indicated.

A nice example of these RTP calculations can be seen on the UKGC website, where they explain how RTP is evaluated broadly and take into account a slot’s volatility and volume of play (number of spins) when assessing how well a slot is truly performing.

Similarly to this, 91% of RTP slots are forbidden at casinos with an MGA license, with a minimum of 92%.

Be aware of websites that label slots as “Hot” or “Cold” and base their recommendations on RTP; without full disclosure of the total number of spins (and money wagered) played on these slots, these values are essentially useless.

The historical performance of any slot has no bearing on how it will play for you because online slots are made to be random.

Calculating the overall RTP value of an online casino is very different from calculating the RTP of a single slot machine. Many online casino software offer this sum as the sum of all of their games, however, American online casinos haven’t started using this method yet.

It’s a good idea to have a backup plan in case you need to switch to a different computer or device. But, unless you plan to treat every game equally, this number won’t be very helpful to you. Nonetheless, the listed legal casinos provide a selection of games with an average RTP of more than 96%, according to their slot providers.

Conclusion

A slot machine’s Return to Player value is a great indicator of whether it offers long-term value for the money.

The lower the house edge and, consequently, the longer you can play this slot machine without burning a hole in your bankroll, the higher the RTP value.

 

But, RTP is only one of several essential indicators to consider when selecting the finest slots to play; other factors to consider include the variance, volatility, and bonus features on offer, as well as the gameplay and features that appeal to you!

Make informed decisions about which slot machines to play by using the theoretical RTP value, and be on the lookout if your favorite online casino suddenly reveals that these figures have increased or decreased!

It’s a good ability to be able to compute your own RTP, but don’t draw too many inferences from it. Comparing your RTP value to theoretical RTP figures on a slot game with a small sample size, even if your sessions are only a few thousand spins, isn’t very useful.