What is RTP and how it works in casinos

Cover image for article what si RTP in casino games.

Have you finally decided to find out more about RTP on casino games? Well, you have come to the right place!

In this article, our expert team compiled a guide and answered all the interesting questions about RTP, such as what is, why it is important in casino games, how it affects the outcome of the game, and not only that, we have made a list of the best online slots with the highest RTP.

Is that a useful list? You’ll find out soon enough!

So without complicating things, even more, we will start with an article to answer the most important questions about RTP on casino games.

If you were to ask for a brief explanation, what is RTP? The answer to your question would be something like this.

The RTP is an abbreviation for the phrase “Return To Player”, which is often found in online casinos and slot game reviews. RTP is expressed by numbers that describe the percentage of total money wagered on a particular online slot game, which will be returned to the player over time.

So how do you know which percentage of RTP on a slot is best for you?

What is RTP, and how does it work?

Here we will get to the core of today’s topic and explain in detail what it is and how RTP works on online casino games.

We have already mentioned that RTP means Return to Player and describes how much a slot or any other online casino game returns to the player after a longer period of time.

RTP is always expressed in a percentage (%).

Example: RTP at Mega Moolah is 88.12%. This is considered a very low RTP, considering that other slot games have an RTP of about 96%. But considering that Mega Moolah is a progressive jackpot slot this is quite ok RTP, because the percentage includes the amount of the jackpot.

To better understand this, we are going to take for example a popular online slot game called Mega Moolah.

Considering that this slot game has an RTP of 88.12%, that means that for every $ 100 played, the game will return $ 88 back to player.

It’s important to know that you can’t expect a $ 88 refund after every $ 100 played, of course that would be boring and predictible.

This percentage is calculated for a longer period of time and for a larger number of spins played, even up to a million.

This is exactly what makes the slot games exciting, because, after a short session of several hundred spins, RTP can brighten your day with a huge victory.

The percentage value of RTP does not refer to one session of the game but shows the hypothetical amount of money that will be returned to the player over a longer period of time (lifetime of a slot).

Casino games with a higher RTP will give the player back more over a longer period of time, than a game with a lower percentage of RTP. But this should be no tool to determine whether or not to play a certain game, and whether will that game be profitable or not.

Connection beetwen RTP and RNG at casino games

All online casino games that are regulated must use RNG, which is an abbreviation for Random Number Generator program. This software ensures fair play and guarantees that the outcome of each turn on the slot, each split in the card game is not rigged by the casino or game provider.

RNG programs are not affiliated with either the online casino or with the game providers but are usually a third party that is independent such as eCogra and they ensure fair play.

We have already said that RTP is a theoretical procedure that returns to casino games after a long time. But if RNG guarantees that all outcomes in casino games are random, the question arises as to how game creators determine RTP games. Which is a bit contradictory, isn’t it ?!

Namely, as of September 2016, online casinos must meet the requirements and monitor the actual amount of RTP games to make sure that the RNG is working properly. These RNG companies had to modify the RNG software so that all combination outcomes follow the RTP rate of each game.

This is done by taking the total increased turnover and dividing it with a total value of all payouts of a casino game or a slot machine. The result should be as close as possible to the amount of game RTP, if not, then the RNG software is analyzed and modified.

How to calculate RTP on casino games (house edge)

RTP is most common in slot games, where companies list the amount of RTP in addition to each slot title. However, not all companies come with information about RTP games. Many of these companies are hiding something and we would not recommend you to play their games.

Although they claim that companies like Microgaming, NetEnt, Play n Go will always show RTP, as well as all other features of the game. Also, most table and card casino games will not show you the amount of RTP in their game. In this section, we will show you how to calculate it, although the supplier did not show how much it is.

Most of these games instead of RTP will have information about the house edge. With this information, we can easily find out how much the RTP of a certain game is. Let’s look at the infographic below.

Here you can see instructions on how to calculate RTP on certain casino games.
Here you can see how to calculate RTP percentage on certain casino game.

If you look at the infographics, you will see that RTP is calculated easily if we know what the edge of a certain game is. But to make it easier for you, below we have calculated for you the RTP of popular casino games that game developers do not offer.

Casino gameHouse Edge percentageRTP percentage
Blackjack0.46%99.54%
Roulette5.26%94.74%
Craps1.41%98.51%
Poker3.37%97.15%
Sic Bo2.78%97.22%
Video Poker1.63%98.37%
Top 6 popular games and their RTP percentage.

The RTP and Volatility (variance)

These two terms are often confused, and beginners think they are the same thing. Volatility and the concept of Return to Player are very related, but they are not the same thing. We have already explained in detail what a return to a player is, now is the time to explain to you what the variance in slots is and how it is related to the percentage of RTP.

Volatility or variance in slot games defines the way in which RTP is realized in a particular game. There are three types of slot variance. Low, medium and high.

Low variance slots have been modified to give more frequent but smaller wins and are suitable for players with a lower budget because they will maintain the balance on the account and the game will last longer.

Although extremely high variance slots give less frequent bigger wins, and usually players will get a lot of RTP through bonus games in which they can expect really big winnings. The only downside to high variance slots is that there won’t be as many low and medium wins in the basic gameplay between bonus games.

Now you realize that not all slots with high RTP are good. You also need to pay attention to variance. and depending on your budget and the way you play, you can more easily recognize what to expect from the game. What do you know if you choose a slot with high RTP and high volatility, you will have to play a lot of spinas before approaching to RTP.

False theories about Return to Player

While analyzing and researching everything about RTP in order to gather the best and most accurate information for you, we came across a lot of comments, articles, blogs, videos and opinions about this term, such as what it is and how it is used.

Due to a lot of inaccurate information about RTP on the Internet, we decided to make a section at the end of the article about breaking myths where you can find out what is actually true and what is a lie. So let’s go.

Regulated and licensed online casinos can influence RTP in their games?

This is a complete lie. Licensed casinos cannot influence the outcome of the game, because in the first place, no online casino owns their game but buys or rents it from the game manufacturer. Even when they buy the game, it still remains on the manufacturer’s server, so casino owners do not have access to change game settings like RTP. Of course, if you play in dubious casinos that do not have a license or games from the right game vendors, then the answer to this question is different. But licensed casinos with original games cannot affect the outcome of RTP or any other game factor.

“RTP has no effect in a single game session?”

This is already a question with the answer yes and no. Since RTP comes after a million spins, it’s a matter of luck if it just hits you. In any case, if you rely on RTP, you should always choose a game with a HIGHER RTP percentage than a game with a lower one.

“The RTP percentage is lower for progressive jackpots “

This is the truth! The amount of RTP on progressive jackpots is often indicated as high, but the thing is that part of that RTP is lost through jackpots. Basically, if you don’t get a jackpot during the game, the amount of RTP on that game will be significantly lower than indicated in the game information.

Top 10 slots with highest RTP

Finally, when we have explained everything that is important and what you should know about RTP-return to the Player, it’s time to end this article with a list of ten online slot games with the highest RTP. These slots are one of the most popular ones at an online casino in Cana due to their wide range of features like wilds, scatter, bonus games, free spins, jackpots and a gamble feature where players can double up their winnings. See our list of the best slots with the double up feature.

RankSlot gameRTPProvider
1.Mega Joker99%NetEnt
2.Ugga Bugga99.07%PlayTech
3.Bloodsuckers98%NetEnt
4.Jackpot 600098.8%NetEnt
5.1429 Uncharted Seas98.6%Thunderkick
6.Jokerizer98%Yggdrasil
7.White Rabbit97.72%BGT
8.Dead or Alive 296.82%NetEnt
9.Sherlock of London96.3%NetEnt
10.Narcos96.23%NetEnt