Since the advent of online casinos, nearly 30 years have passed. The first company to successfully transfer gambling entertainment online was Microgaming, which launched its platform in 1994. Of course, that site was far from today's high-quality online casinos, but it marked the beginning. And a few years later, as the internet became faster and more accessible, many operators followed Microgaming's example.
For a long time, the online gambling industry operated without strict control from regulatory authorities. This was due to the complexity of regulating the digital space. Today, the risk of being deceived by a gambling platform exists only if a user registers on a fraudulent illegal site. Licensed casinos that have obtained regulatory permits operate under clear rules. One of them is the presence of a certified random number generator.
The outcome of each spin in slots is determined by the RNG, which randomly arranges symbols on the reels. To make it easier for users to assess the profitability of a particular slot, providers introduced the concept of Return to Player (RTP).
What is it
RTP is a parameter expressed as a percentage and fixed at a certain value by slot developers. It reflects the machine's payout rate and shows how much money the machine will return to users out of the total amount of funds invested, with the remaining percentage constituting the casino's and provider's revenue. For example, with an RTP of 95%, players will receive that portion as payouts, while the remaining 5% will be divided between the gambling platform and the developer.
Thus, the casino always remains in profit. On the one hand, this is good because the platform is guaranteed to earn its revenue and has no reason to deceive users. However, the downside lies in the mathematical model itself. Regularly playing a slot with a payout rate of less than 100% makes it difficult to stay in profit in the long run.
RTP is a general indicator. A parameter of 95% does not mean that a player will receive 95 cents for every dollar wagered. Payouts occur randomly, so one person may lose their entire deposit while another hits the jackpot on the first spin.
In practice, to verify the existence of a fixed payout percentage, one needs to make tens of thousands of spins on the same slot.
Thanks to RTP, every user of a casino has a chance of receiving payouts at any time. To ensure randomness in prize distribution, slot developers introduced an additional characteristic called volatility. Thanks to this, the results of two separate segments of spins on the same machine can differ significantly. The user cannot influence the outcome of the spins, creating additional excitement.
Types of Volatility and Their Impact
In short, volatility is the riskiness of a slot machine. It is closely related to variance—the deviation of actual results from the expected value, with RTP playing the role of that expected value. Volatility directly affects the frequency and average size of winnings. For convenience, providers use three levels of riskiness.
- High: Prize spins occur rarely, but their average size is quite high. High-volatility slots are suitable for risk-taking players.
- Low: Payouts occur frequently, but their size is noticeably smaller and often does not even cover the cost of a spin. Low-volatility slots are suitable for users who want to stretch their session to the maximum and avoid risks.
- Medium: The so-called golden mean in terms of frequency and payout level. These slots maintain a good balance and leave chances for big wins.
Volatility is not directly related to RTP, but a correlation can be observed between these two indicators. The higher the payout percentage, the lower the average level of prizes. However, sometimes slots combine riskiness with good returns, so this dependency does not always hold true.
Factors Affecting RTP
The percentage of payouts set by the provider for their slots directly depends on the requirements of regulators and the legislation of the country where the machines are distributed.
RTP takes into account not only regular spins but also all additional mechanics: bonus rounds, jackpots, free spins, etc.
If a slot has a too low payout percentage that goes beyond the regulator's requirements, it cannot obtain a license. The RTP of modern slots averages between 85% and 97%. The minimum value is set by the laws of countries. For example, in Russia, it cannot be less than 90%, and in Australia, it's 85%.
Within the specified range, the provider can set the RTP at any level. It all depends on the mathematical models and mechanics applied. Some developers (such as Endorphina) maintain approximately the same level of return in all slots, while others (like NetEnt and Betsoft) vary it from 90 to 98%.
The gambling platform itself cannot influence RTP. Since the slots are hosted on developers' servers, online casinos have no access to their code, and it is impossible to change the parameters of the machines. A kind of exception is slots with dynamic RTP, where the provider allows the platform to independently choose one of the proposed RTP levels.
Which RTP Slots Are Better
Obviously, slots with higher returns are more profitable in the long run. However, the choice is not as straightforward as it seems at first glance. Various factors can influence it:
Duration of playing in one slot: RTP becomes noticeably evident only after thousands of spins on a machine. Within a single session, the user won't feel the difference between hypothetical 90% and 95%.
Bankroll: The smaller the player's budget, the riskier it is to choose slots with low payout percentages. Due to increased volatility, there is a risk of quickly losing the deposit.
Users need to compare the return percentage, bankroll, and volatility. An optimal RTP for regular play can be considered around 93%.
