What does the “return to player” of a slot mean?

3rd March 2016 Posted in Latest News by No Comments

return to player slot machine

When you read our slots reviews, you will often come across the term “Return to Player” or “RTP”.

This is a significant term that is used by slots developers and online casinos to show which percentage of all the money that goes into a slot machine will return to the player.

The RTP is mainly used on slots and gives you a quick and good indication how well a slot pays out. The higher the Return To Player percentage, the better the chances that you will win on that particular slot machine. High RTP = winning players! And a winning player is a happy player.

Slot machines at online casinos will, as a rule, have an RTP that lies anywhere between 94% and 99%. Vegas-style slots at brick and mortar casinos will have much lower RTP's, ranging from 85% to around 93%. Therefore, from a statistical perspective, you are much better off playing slots at an online casino.

Not only will your money last a lot longer, but your chances of turning a profit are also much, much higher.

Choosing a slot machine with an excellent Return to Player will make a huge difference on your results!

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How is the Return to player calculated?

To make things, a little bit clearer here is an example of how the RTP is calculated. If you were to play an online slot with a Return to Player of 96.5%, after 1,000 spins with a £1 stake per spin, you would have a balance of approximately £965.

In other words, 96.5% of your original bankroll would remain. The more spins you put in, the closer you will get to the exact percentage as all the statistical variances would be evened out in the long term.

In the short term, there is still a genuine possibility that you will get some big upswings and downswings. This is what we call good luck or bad luck. But in the long term, all these swings will even themselves out. The RTP is calculated over hundreds of thousands of spins.

How do you find out what the RTP of a slot machine is?

We firmly advise you to check out the RTP of a slot machine before you start to play it.

Most casino software developers will show the RTP in the specific slot game rules or pay out pages. Slots from WMS, Netent, Bally, Barcrest, Playtech, Yggdrasil and Thunderkick all show the Return to Player percentages in the game information.

Netent slots show consistently high RTPs on nearly all their slots. Thunderkick slots are also in the “good” to excellent range.

Which online slots have the highest Return to Player?

highest return to player slotThere are three slots with the highest Return to Player: Book of 99, Monopoly Big Event and Ooh Aah Dracula. These fantastic slots were both developed by Barcrest and offer players an incredibly high RTP of 99%. ‘

To be eligible for this 99% RTP you do first have to activate the big bet mode spins, where you stake £20 or £30 for five enhanced spins.

Both slots offer excellent features, beautiful graphics and exciting gameplay. We would count Monopoly Big Event as one of our all time favourite slots.

How do I know if an RTP is good?

As a general rule of thumb here is a rundown of how good a particular slot RTP is on a scale ranging from bad to superb:

  • 93% or less: bad RTP – avoid at all costs
  • between 93% and 95%: average RTP – only play if you enjoy this slot
  • between 95% and 96%: good RTP – great, safe to play
  • between 96% and 98%: excellent RTP – even better, highly recommended
  • higher than 98%: superb RTP – very rare, go for it 

Return to player tips & tricks

Playing an online slot with a good return to player percentage will vastly increase your chances of winning. However, there will always be upswings and downswings during any playing session on slots and never forget that slots are designed to make money for the casino. A high RTP is never a guarantee for player success.

Follow these tips and tricks to get the best out of slots RTP's:

  • Slots at online casinos always have better return to player percentages than those at offline casinos
  • Only play online slots at respected and trusted online casinos
  • Always check the RTP of a slot before playing for real money by reading the game rules
  • Check our top 15 of best-paying slots for a quick overview of the best paying online slots
  • Always play slots with an RTP of 96% or higher

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