There is only really one thing you need to know when choosing just which slot machines to play, and that is the RTP of each slot, for that is going to give you a very good insight into whether you are likely to have a long slot playing session or a very short one.
Online casinos can manipulate RTP of their slots. Barely making the list of top 10 slot with the best RTP is Quickspin’s Big Bad Wolf. Based on a well-known fairytale, this game can be quite exciting with little pigs turning into wilds and symbols cascading on the reels. Of course, with high RTP.
However, I do know and fully understand that it can get very confusing for first time and even some experienced slot players to get their heads around what RTP’s are and how they can and will affect the type of slot playing experience you will have, and that why I strongly advise you to read through the following guide.
Below you will find out everything there is to need to know about slot machines RTP’s, and once you know which slots do payback more than any other slot, then you will have some of the best slot playing experiences when playing those slot games.
Best RTP Slots
| Game | Software | RTP |
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- Best Online Casino By Country. Although most casinos online are inherently international, some of them specialize for certain markets. If you’re looking for the best casino for your country or area, you’ll find it on this page. The CasinosOnline team reviews online casinos based on their target markets so players can easily find what they need.
- The best way to demonstrate Actual RTP is to use an example, such as a casino overseeing the RTP for the Starburst slot. The Theoretical RTP is 96.1%, and the operator wishes to test this figure against the end of the month which has just concluded.
- Player opinion about a particular online casino largely depends on their personal experience. When lucky, they have a positive impression. But if they don’t win the satisfying a.
- By the way, the casino game with the highest chance of winning is Blackjack (average RTP: 99.5%), closely followed by Craps (average RTP: 98.6%) and Roulette (RTP between 94.6 and 97.3%). If, on the other hand, you are looking for an online casino with the best payout rate, you will find it in this guide!
What Does RTP Stand For?
The very first thing you will need to know is just what does RTP stand for, and it simply means Return to Player, and is a vital piece of information for anybody that is thinking about playing real money slot machines in any playing environment.
The RTP of each slot is going to let you know just how much of all players combined stake money played through any slot machines is paid back out to players as winning pay-outs, and the figure will be presented to players as a percentage.
It is important for you to fully understand however that the RTP of any slot machine is how much that slot machine will pay back over the long term, and bot the short term, and that therefore means that when playing any slot you could win or lose, and whether you will or not will be determined at random by the random number generator each slot machine has attached to it or built into it.
Many players will simply call the RTP of a slot machine the pay-out percentage, it is both the same thing, and the savviest players are of course going to be looking for that important information when they are playing at any casino site or on any casino app, for it will give them a true insight into just which slot machines are going to pay back more to players over the long term.
Each slot machine as mentioned is completely random, so never expect to achieve the exact RTP a slot machine has been set to pay-out to players on any one single session, as you would achieve a much lower one or a much higher one, dependent on just how lucky you are when playing.
So you now know just what RTP stands for, let me now pass onto you another very vital piece of information and that is just where to look to find the RTP’s of any slot machines you fancy playing, as they can be listed or published in one of many different places.
Where Can I Find Slot Machine’s RTP?
You will of course have to have some idea of just where to look to find the all-important pay-out percentages of any slot machines that you are thinking of playing, and with that in mind allow me to point you in the right direction as to where most casinos and slot game providers list their slot machine pay-out percentages.
The first place that you will often find the RTP of each slot machine is on the pay table of that slot, so give the pay table button a click and look there. If you do not find it listed on a slot games pay table then look at the help files attached to the slot as that is often where some players prefer listing their slot machine RTP.
Failing that you should take a look over the casino sites website at the casino site that you are thinking about playing slot games at, as many Gambling Commissions and Gaming Authorities now force their license holder to list the pay-out percentages of every single slot machine that they have on offer on their respective websites, so that is somewhere else that you should be looking or that information.
How to Work Out the Single Session RTP You Achieved
If you want to work out what pay-out percentage you achieved when playing slot machines then you will be surprised at just how easy it is to do just that, you simply need to know how much you wagered when playing any one slot, and how much you won on that slot too during the course of your session.
Simply divide your winnings, that being the amount you were paid out during any one single slot playing session by the total amount you wagered on that session, and then do one of two things.
If you answer begins with a zero followed by a decimal point, then remove the zero and that decimal point and the first two digits you have left is your pay-out percentage of that session.
But if you end up with a number that begins with anything higher in value than a zero, for example 1 then remove just the decimal point from your answer and the first three digits you are left with is the pay-out percentage for that session, so for example 0.88992 would be an RTP of 88% and 1.9373 would be payout percentage of 193%, it is as simple as that to work out RTP’s.
Why Do Slot Machines Have Different RTP’s?
It is purely based on the way that a slot machine has been designed as to just what pay-out percentage it will be offering you over the long term, and as you have already found out and will continue to do when you look around this website, slot machines can be both low and high RTP’s.
Slot designers do have to take a lot of things into account when they are designing any new slot machines, such as the base game winning pay-outs that slot will be offering players and also the winning pay-outs that can be achieved via any bonus games and bonus features too.
But I do think that it is very safe and fair to say that the forward thinking slot machine designers are always going to be designing slot machines that have higher than average payout percentages, as players will like the way they win regularly when playing those slots.
However, a casino operator may have their own ideas as to just how much they want to offer by way of RTP’s on their slot machines, which is often why you will find some casinos offering slots with lower RTP’s than other casinos.
Can Casino Operators Adjust RTP on Their Slot Games?
It is all down to just which slot machine designers have supplied the slot games and slot machines at any casino site as to whether the operators of those casino can adjust and alter the RTP attached and on offer on their range of slot machines.
It is often the case regarding online and mobile slot machines that there will be serval different versions of those slot games available which whilst identical to look at will have one of usually three or four different RTP.
So it is perfectly feasible an possible that a casino operator will adjust the payout percentage son their slot machines, so that is something that you should be making a point of finding out based on just where you wish to play slot machines.
Land based casino operators do have as much control over the RTP on their slot machines as online and mobile slot machine operators, so do keep that in mind when you play in such a venue, as you may find one casino has set their slot machines to payback much lower amounts of cash than another local casino, it will all be down to their unique business model as to which RTP they choose to make use of on their slot machines.
Do Identical Online and Mobile Slots Have the Same RTP?
As you will soon discover when reading through this guide slot machines that are the same may have been set with a different long term expected payout percentage depending on which casino sites you are playing them at.
However, it is also worth me pointing out that you will often find online slot machines are also available as mobile slot games and you may be wondering whether there are any differences in the pay-outs that online and mobile slot app games have been set to payout to players at the same casino sites and on their apps too.
Well in most instances you are not going to find any different what so ever when playing online or mobile slots at one single casino site, but there are some slot machines that do offer a slightly lower RTP when you are playing hem on a mobile device or vice versa when playing them online.
That is why it is always going to be important that you double check the RTP’s of any slot machines you are thinking of playing either online or via a mobile casino app, to see if there are any different regarding the long term RTP’s those slot game shave been set to return to players.
Where Do Land Based Casinos Place the Best Slots?
Now, one very interesting thing that I would like to point out to you regarding slot machines that are found in a land based casino rather than online and mobile casino slot machines, is that the operators of those casino venues will often place their high paying slots, those with the highest and best RTP’s in certain locations on their respective gaming floors.
They do that for a reason and a good reason too, by placing a slot machine that has been set to pay out more of players stakes over the long term then by placing them in a busy area of the casino other players will often spot those slot machines paying out.
If other players do see a lot of slot machines paying out, then they are much more likely to want to play other machines in that casino, as they may feel their luck will be in like those players playing the higher paying slot machines located in those busy areas of the gaming floor.
So, when you do set about playing at a land-based casino venue keep in mind the best paying slots will often be where the most people congregate or pass by when wandering through the casino.
Do Slot Machines Have Higher RTP’s When New?
It can be the case that when some new slot machines make their initial appearance onto a land based casinos gaming floor they are going to be offering players some much higher pay-out percentages and RTP’s than they will do once those slot machines have become established.
What I have often found casino operators will do is to increase the pay-out percentage son any new slot machines that they do roll out onto their gaming floors or a week or so whilst those machines are getting established on those gaming floors, then the RTP’s will be lowered by those casino operators.
The reason they do that is quite simple to understand, slot players are always going to be very eager to play brand new slot machines and will end up playing them regularly if they do feel they are paying out well when they first try those slot machines.
By setting the RTP’s on new slot machines nice and high then players will like the way they play and pay when new and are much more likely to want to play them again at a later date, when unbeknown to them their RTP’s have been lowered back down.
Are There Any Laws Surrounding RTP’s?
It is all dependent on just where a slot machine is located as to whether there are going to be any laws surrounding the operation of those slot machines, much more so in regards that RTP’s that they can be set to pay-out to players.
Take for example when you are on a cruise or are on a ferry, as soon as the ships get 3 miles away from land they are then in international waters, and as such they can set their slot machines to return any RTP they want.
As such you are often going to find slot machines available on a shop are going to return some very low pay backs when compared to casinos that are available on land, so keep that in mind as you are always going to want to get the maximum winning chances when playing such slot machines.
Fruit machines on he other hand which are a type of slot machine can legally be operated with some very low pay-out percentages, and I have come across many jurisdictions where they are no laws in place what so ever regarding what RTP as a minimum a slot machine must pay-out.
Why Don’t All Casinos List Their RTP’s?
Only those online and mobile casino sites that are licensed in a certain country that requires by law for them to publish the payout percentages of all their slot machines are going to be guaranteed of publishing those RTP’s somewhere.
Some casinos may have their own unique and exclusive slot machines and may not want players to know what the RTP’s of their slot machines are, much more so if they are very low RTP’s, and that is something you should always keep in mind.
I have also often found out that when playing in some land based casino venues you will find it impossible to get information on just how high or just how low the RTP’s are on any of their slot machines, and as such you will have to take it on trust or simply guess whether they have set their slot machines with some high payout percentages and RTP’;s or not.
I would therefore suggest you stick to playing online at casinos that do publish all of their slot machine and slot game RTP’s so you have some idea as to which ones you should be playing, those being the ones with the highest payout percentage of course.
Can RTP’s on the Same Slots Differ at Different Casinos?
RTP’s can and most certainly will vary depending on just where you set about playing them, even slot machines that are the same ones, so that is something else that you are always going to have to be aware of when it comes to you selecting where to play.
As mention previously you are going to find the pay-out percentages of all slot machines available online or at a mobile site published on the websites of casinos that are fully licensed and regulated, so I would strongly suggest that you stick to playing at those casino sites.
If you play at a casino site that isn’t licensed anywhere, and there is always the risk that you could do, then you may find that the slot machines do not have published RTP’s and that means they could offer the very lowest possible payout percentages.
Slot Rtp
In fact, some players have experience slot playing sessions playing at some unlicensed casinos that do not pay anything out to players of their slots, so stick to playing at any of our featured casinos, all of which do hold a full and valid gambling license.
Are RTP’s Lowered When I Play with a Bonus?
When you sign up as a new first time player of any online or mobile casino site, you are of course going to be offered some form of bonus, and you may be wondering whether when you are playing with bonus credits that will have any effect on the RTP of the slot you can play at those casino sites.
It is not the case that a casino can lower or increase their payout percentage quickly and whilst for example a player is part way through playing with a casino bonus in their account, as the slot needs to be taken offline and the new software fitted.
But one thing is important to note, and that is those casino sites, both online and mobile casino sites and apps that always tend to offer huge valued deposit match type bonuses to their players are much more likely to have the very lowest RTP’s attached to their slot machines.
Best Rtp Online Casino Real Money
Take for example Real Time Gaming software powered online and mobile casino sites, I am aware that the operators of those casino sites can opt to have one of three different RTP’s attached to their slot machines, that being a low, mid ranged and high RTP.
Those that do tend to offer their players lots of very high valued deposit match type bonuses are going to often be the casinos that have opted to have the very lowest possible RTP’s on their entire range of slot machines.
They do of course do that so that when giving away to their players high valued bonuses all the time, they are still going to have a fair chance of winning those bonus credits off players, along of course with the deposit those players made into their account to claim those bonuses with in the first place.
Are Some Slot Providers Famed for Low RTP’s on Their Slots?
It never ceases to maze me at just how low some slot machine designers have chosen to set on their slot machines, for at the end of the day slot players are a very savvy bunch and are always going to be making a beeline to play slot machines that they know do have high payout percentages.
However it is fair to say that it is only going to be the fruit machines that you will often find in pubs and clubs and amusement arcades that have terribly low RTP’s attached to them, and some of those paybacks can be a shockingly low as just 72%.
If you ever set about playing fruit machines or for that matter any type of slot machine that does have a payout percentage that very low then you are not going to get much play time out of your bankroll and will often find your slot machine and fruit machine playing bankroll will not last every long at all too.
So, the only really is on you to stick to playing only those slot machines that have pay-out percentages that have been set nice and high, so make sure that is something you can always make a point of doing.
What Other Casino Games Have RTP’s?
You may be wondering, if you can look up the RTP’s of any slot machines, and then track down and get stuck into playing the highest paying slots with the best paybacks, whether it is possible to look up the RTP’s of any other casino games that you may occasionally also fancy getting stuck into playing too.
Well, when you set about playing video poker machines for example you will discover that they are a type of casino game too that do have their own unique pay-out percentages, and once again you will need to track down the ones that offer the highest paybacks.
Keep in mind though that it is the pay table attached to such games that will determine just what the long term expected pay-out percentage and therefore the RTP of those types of games will be.
You will also find that when playing other casino games such as Keno games, they too will also have their own set of RTP’s., however you will need to be aware of the fact that each number grouping you can choose to have on your Keno card will have its very own long term RTP attached to it too.
What is an Average Slot Machine RTP?
One final question that you may have and that is just what is an average RTP regarding slot machines, and that question is important for you will need to know what to look out for when you are comparing the pay-out percentages of any number of slot machines wherever you are thinking of playing.
I would say that from experience slot machines that have a pay-out percentage of between 94% and 96% are those that do have an average RTP, and as such to become much savvier slot player then do make sure that you always track down those slots that have a pay-out percentage of 96% only.
If you do not heed that advise, then you will find when playing most slot machines, you will not get much play time out of your bankroll and may also find your bankroll being eaten up very quickly too.
If you’ve been playing slots for any length of time or have just been watching streamer play slots online, you’ve probably heard the term RTP mentioned more than once. Even if you have no idea what it means, it is clear that this elusive RTP is an important factor for slots. In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know about this concept, how it is integrated with slots, and how it should influence your decision about what games (not) to play.
RTP in a Nutshell
RTP stands for Return To Player and it describes the amount a slot pays back to the players over a large number of spins, usually expressed as a percentage. For example, a slot with RTP of 97% will give back €97 for every €100 that goes into it. So, this piece of information basically explains how much you can expect to lose playing a particular slot game.
It is important to understand that this number is calculated based on a huge number of spins, usually millions. So, over a short session of a few hundred or a few thousands spins, everything can happen, which is exactly what makes slots exciting. A game that would pay back exactly €95 back after 100 spins played at €1 would hardly be entertaining to play.
RTP in Slots: Complicated Math Behind the Scenes
Setting up RTP for a slot machine is a complicated process and it gets harder the more elaborate the game is. If there are many features and a large number of paylines involved, game developers need to figure it all out in such a way that, when it is all said and done, the game returns exactly the percentage expected.
In a nutshell, though, a slot is always programmed in a way to give back the percentage of the total money that goes into it. The distribution of the RTP can vary, which we will discuss in a moment, but at the end of a day, a slot with 98% RTP will give back 98 percent of all the money that goes into it over an infinite number of spins.
Variance & RTP: Two Similar but Different Things
RTP is often mistaken for variance of a game (and vice-versa). Although these two concepts are usually closely related, they aren’t the same thing. We’ve already explained Return to Player and what it means in a nutshell. Let’s now briefly touch upon a variance.
Variance basically defines the way in which game’s RTP is realized. Lower variance slots are programmed in a way where you’ll have frequent smaller hits, which will help you keep your head above the water and play many spins without busting. Higher variance games usually have a lot of its RTP situated in bonus features and can provide some really big hits. However, to compensate for these big hits, these slots don’t have as many small to medium wins in the base game.
This is to say that not all slots with high RTP are necessarily very friendly on your bankroll. In general, games with higher are RTP are always a better choice than the ones with a lower percentage but if your game of choice is very volatile, you can go through many thousands spins before coming anywhere close to true RTP.
Land-based vs. Online Slots: Which Have Better RTP?
Most players who transition to online slots from land-based casinos or play online and brick and mortar venues soon come to a conclusion that online slots seem to play better. Although the gambling world is full of fallacies and wrong beliefs, this isn’t one of them.
Online slots do, in fact, play better in a large majority of cases.
Most slots online, even if it is the exactly same game, have significantly higher RTP. Land-based slots are usually set to return anywhere from 70% to 90%, with very few games ever going over 92%. Online, slots that are under 94% - 95% are usually considered bad and many of the newer games have RTPs north of 96%.
This isn’t some brick and mortar conspiracy, though. The reason why slots in physical venues are set to return less is because land-based casinos are limited in space so they have to make more money from physical machines placed on their floors to keep up with expenses and make profit.
Online casinos, on the other hand, can have hundreds or even thousands of machines available for play at any given time with no physical restrictions. Thus, they can afford to offer games with much higher RTP.
Truths and Myths About RTP in Slots
To wrap this article up, we’ll address some of the truths and myths about RTP in slots. Over the years, players have developed a number of ideas about how RTP works and what can and can’t be done so we’ll try to put some of these to rest.
Online casinos can manipulate RTP of their slots
This is not true. Online casinos don’t own the slots they offer for play. They merely rent the slots from game developers and games are usually stored on the developers’ servers, which means that casinos don’t have the kind of access required to change core settings such as RTP. Some providers do offer games with several RTP variations (like Play’n GO) but casinos can’t change a random game at will.
RTP is completely irrelevant for a single session.
This is both true and not true. While anything can happen in a single slot session and actual RTP of the game is unlikely to be reached either way, this piece of information isn’t as important. However, on average, a slot with 96% RTP will play better than the one with 85% RTP. So, while you can still win and lose on both, you’ll win more often on the game with higher RTP, so you’re better off playing that one.
Progressive jackpots influence real RTP of a slot.
This is true in most cases. Slots with progressive jackpots may have advertised RTP of 94%, for example, but a part of that RTP is usually realized through progressive jackpots. This means that, unless you actually win the jackpot, you’ll be playing the game with RTP significantly lower than what is advertised.
Extra: Top 10 Slots with Best RTP
Now that you know all that you need to know about RTP in slots, let’s take a look into some of the slot games that offer the highest Return to Player. These games aren’t necessarily your best choice if you’re after a big win but usually play pretty well and will give you a decent amount of play-time.
Mega Joker – up to 99% RTP
Mega Joker is a NetEnt classic slot with three reels and fruity symbols. Game’s RTP actually changes depending on the stake level you play at and to reach the best return, you’ll need to bet 10 coins. Additionally, there is a slight skill element to this game as you need to know when to collect the winnings from the Supermeter.
Jackpot 6000 – up to 98.8% RTP
Jackpot 6000 is another classic slot from NetEnt, quite similar to Mega Joker. You’ll also need to play this game at the maximum bet of 10 coins and study the Supermeter strategy a bit to reach the best possible returns. This is a good game for those players who like to be involved and actually able to influence their result at least to some extent.
Chess Mate - -98.7%
Chess Mate is a game from a relatively unknown developer, Multi Slot. This colorful and nicely animated slot offers 15 paylines, a couple of bonus features (including free spins with the win multiplier up to 9x), and very high RTP of 98.7%. Although the game isn’t available at many online casinos, it is definitely worth a try if you come across it.
1429 Uncharted Seas – 98.6%
Developed by Thunderkick, the 1429 Uncharted Seas slot is one of the older games from this developer. While this slot doesn’t bring anything spectacular in terms of graphics or features, its very high RTP of 98.6% makes it worth a few spins.
Monopoly on the Money – up to 98.1%
Developed by Barcrest, Monopoly on the Money is a slot themed after one of the most popular board games ever invented. In the base game, this slot has RTP of just 94% but it is the Big Bet mode where you should be looking as playing in this mode can give you RTP as high as 98.1%.
Bloodsuckers – 98%
The Bloodsuckers slot is another game developed by NetEnt but unlike the ones mentioned previously, this is actually a proper video slot with two different bonuses, 25 paylines across 5 reels, and very low volatility. If you’re into vampire-themed slots as it is, Bloodsuckers is well worth your time with its outstanding RTP of 98%.
Starmania – 97.87%
Created by NextGen Gaming, Starmania will definitely remind you of another well-known game that we don’t even need to mention if you’d ever taken free spins at an online casino. Set among the starts with colorful symbols on the reels, this 10-payline slot pays both ways and features RTP of 97.87%.
Kings of Chicago – 97.8%
Sic Online
We’re coming back to NetEnt and their Kings of Chicago slot, a game entirely based on poker. Instead of classic win combinations, you’ll get paid for making poker hands here, such as trips, straights, flushes, full houses, and quads. If you love poker and casino gambling, this game is a perfect combo for you, especially with its very high RTP of 97.8%.
Devil’s Delight – 97.6%
The final NetEnt slot to be featured in this list, Devil’s Delight comes with RTP of 97.6%. This nicely animated game with several bonus features and the entertaining Soul-O-Meter would be well worth a try even without this high RTP. With it, it is definitely a must-play.
Big Bad Wolf – 97.4%
Rtp Casino What Means
Barely making the list of top 10 slot with the best RTP is Quickspin’s Big Bad Wolf. Based on a well-known fairytale, this game can be quite exciting with little pigs turning into wilds and symbols cascading on the reels. Of course, with high RTP of 97.4% and low volatility, this game is a good choice if you’re looking to kill some time without doing the same to your bankroll.