What does RTP have to say for you as a casino player?

If you’ve ever played online casino games or even read through the slot game information which usually is to be found when clicking the paytable, you’ve probably come across the phrases “volatility” and “RTP” followed by a percentage below 100. So the questions still remains, what is RTP? What is volatilit? And what do the terms have to say for you as a player? This term may confuse many players, but we`ll try to cover it as much as possible for you to get a hang on it.

What is RTP?

RTP is short for “Return to Player”. This is an indication of how much you can expect slots to pay out in winnings set against the stakes set. Volatility, on the other hand, says something about how often, and the size of the winnings when playing a slot machine or other games. Most online slots these days will have an RTP around/or just over 96%, which is considered a good RTP for players. A slot machine with an RTP of 96% will pay out €9.60 of each set hundred dollars as winnings. The remaining four dollars are the rake or share of the house and the developer.

When new casinos include slots in their game library, they are obliged by the licensing authorities to disclose what the RTP is for each slot game. Here, some will be more open about the RTP than others. In any case, you will be able to find information about the game’s payback percentage under the reels of the game if you click on the information page of the game in question. The information page is often likely to be found together with the volume control and usually has an “information” symbol.

What does volatility tell you about a slot machine?

Volatility is a good indication of how a slot machine “behaves” and will say a little about what the outcome of the game will be. Here, a lower volatility will mean that you will win more often, but get generally get lower wins. If the volatility is higher, there will be longer time between wins, but once it goes in, you will win a lot bigger. A slot machine always carries a risk of loss, but also a chance to win big, should you get lucky and win some cash. Whether you like slots with higher or lower RTP, taste and pleasure have their place in casinos of good quality.

Once we are into slots, we can also mention that it may be worth investigating a slot machine’s volatility before choosing to take advantage of a welcome bonus as it is not insignificant what volatility there is on the slots you get the bonus for. If the game has a high volatility closer to 99%, the chances of you getting less value out of the welcome bonus the theory is harder to win big with a higher volatility. That is also why some games are restricted to play while playing with bonus money.

Can an online casino manipulate the RTP?

It is not uncommon for the more skeptical casino player to wonder if the online casinos are manipulating the RTP on their slots or committing scams, to lean the outcome in their favor. The fact is that online casinos don`t have any control over this, and they cannot adjust this themselves.

An online casino is only an intermediary of the games and is not itself the owner of them. The games are provided by an independent company provider that develops the slots and an important part of this development is the testing phase. During the testing phase, the slot machine is examined by a third party who makes sure that the game makes use of an RNG or Random number Generator which, via advanced algorithms, determines the outcome of a game as stipulated by licensing authorities. The RTP is calculated based on the results of a set number of spins on the new game. If the RTP turns out not to vote, the game’s must be adjusted to be within acceptable limits.