Slot Machine Payout Percentages (RTP) explained

Playing slot machines in any playing environment can of course be exciting, and if the reels do spin your way you could win big at any moment.

However, as every single slot player will know, sometimes you can do no right when playing, and in no time at all your allocated bankroll could soon be swallowed up without you getting any winning spins and triggering a bonus game on some sessions can be neigh on impossible.

It is worth keeping in mind though, that each slot machine, and that includes online, mobile, and even land based slots, will have been designed around a long term expected payout percentage, and that is often referred to as the RTP of each slot.

RTP simply stands for “Return to Player” and it is displayed as a percentage and is the amount of all players combined stakes that should, over the long term, be returned to players as winning pay-outs.

Obviously, it does go without saying the higher the payout percentage or RTP the better, and therefore the savviest players will always be on the lookout for the RTPs of each slot and will religiously stick to playing only those that have been designed to payout more to players over the long term.

If you are new to playing slot machines then please do read on, for below I will give you a deeper insight into slot machine RTPs and payout percentages to help you in your own personal quest to get the best possible playing value.

What Was Your Single Session Slot Playing RTP?

Even though a slot machine for example could be designed to return to players a payout percentage of let us say 96%, that does not mean whenever you play that slot that will be the RTP of your session, in fact being completely random games, your single session RTP could be much lower or much higher than 96%.

There is a simple way to work out what payout percentage you achieved when playing any slot game over any period of time, and that will require you to work out how much your wagered in total of every real money spin you played off, and how much you were paid out too.

Once you have those two figures you simply divide your winnings by your total stakes and then you will know what RTP you did achieve.

As an example, let us say you won in total £174.50 and your stakes were £192.70, if you divide £174.50 by £192.70 you get 0.90, if the figure you end up with starts with a zero then just use the two figures after the zero and remove the decimal point, so in this example your RTP would be 90%.

If your winnings are higher than your stakes such as when you win £201.90 and your stakes were £194.30 then by dividing £201.90 by £194.30 you get 1.03, when the first figure is anything bar a zero just remove the decimal point and the two digits after that decimal point, and your RTP in that example would have been 1.03%.

Locating Slot Game RTP Information

Now, there was a time when all online and mobile casino designers kept the RTP’s of their slot machines a big secret, and they used to say they did not want their competitors to know just how much their games had been set to return to players.

As such, much like when you wander into most land based casinos or even amusement arcades you will never know, unless it is displayed on a slot or fruit machine just how high or low the RTPs are.

However, Gambling Commissions, especially the UK Gambling Commission made a ruling that all online and mobile casino sites that hold one of their gambling licences, must published somewhere on their websites, slot machines or attached help files of each individual games the long term expected payout percentages of each game.

Therefore, if you are a player based in the UK then you will be best advised to play at casino sites or via real money casino apps that are licensed in Great Britain, as that way you are always going to have access to each slot machines long term expected RTP information.

Choosing to play at licensed casinos anywhere else will often see you not having any access whatsoever to that all important information, and therefore you could end up playing slot machines that have the lowest RTPs which should be the ones you never ever play of course.

Never Forget Slot Machines Are Random

One final thing that I do feel is important for you to know, and that is all slot machines by their very design are games of chance and completely random.

Therefore, even when you do set about playing the slots which boast and have been designed with the highest possible RTPs you could end up losing and losing rather quickly.

There are some slot games that have additionally been designed to award players with regular winning pay-outs, via either base game spins or any additional bonus games they offer, and those slots are known as low variance slots.

If you do want to have lots of play time when playing slot machines in any playing environment, then look out for low variance slots which do have the highest payout percentages, as the frequency at which the lower valued winning pay-outs will be spun in and awarded to you should allow you to at the very least recycle your bankroll and winnings through those slots’ multiple times.

Plus, when playing such slots with say bonuses a casino site or app will make available to you and any additional comp or loyalty points you are awarded when playing in a real money playing environment, you will be getting even more play time and playing value.

However, at the end of the day it will always be down to luck and luck alone as to whether you do win big playing any slot machine in any playing environment.