What is RTP?

The RTP acronym stands for Return to Player and is a theoretical metric that describes the expected payback percentage of a certain game. Simply explained, a game with higher RTP percentage will give you a greater chance of you winning in the long run, compared to a game with lower RTP.

Generally speaking, when talking about casino games, “the house edge” is a commonly used term. For example, french roulette is said to have a house edge of 1.35%. This means that the casino expects to win that percentage of your bet each time you make a wager, in the long run. This is the fee that the casino charges for providing its services, and letting you gamble. At a poker table this fee would be called rake.

When speaking about slot games, RTP is the commonly used metric to describe the payout. This metric is on the opposite side of the house edge, which describes the casinos expected win in the long run. Let’s describe it with an example:

It is really important to understand the concept of “the long run”. When we mention this term we mean that this is the expected result over a huge amount of spins, like one billion spins. Shorter periods of time, or rather, smaller amounts of spins do not always end up close to the expected long-run result. And to be clear about this, 50 000 spins is considered a small amount in this aspect. A lot of unexpected things can happen when you gamble so you should make sure to never bet money you can’t afford to lose.

Being aware of the Variance and Hit Frequency metrics

As previously mentioned the RTP metric will tell you how much you’re expected to be paid back over time (in the long run) it can actually take a huge amount of spins to see numbers close to this theoretical number.

Why is that? It’s because when slot games are produced their mathematical formulas also decide how this payback amount should be paid out. This means that one game might pay larger sums (High Variance) but less often (Low Hit Frequency) while other games pay out smaller sums (Low Variance) more often (High Hit Frequency). And as is the case with progressive slots, one lucky player might take a lot of the total payback sum in the form of a Jackpot.

The Hit Frequency is a metric that describes how often a player will land a winning combination. This metric can be used in-game product sheets and displayed online for either any winning combination or a specific feature in the game like a specific Free Spins mode or bonus game. Let’s explain it with a simple example:

With that said, just as with the RTP it is important to understand that due to the randomness in the game, the outcome may differ heavily from this theoretical metric. It is unlikely, but not impossible that both the following scenarios can happen:

• You play 100 spins and trigger winning combinations 62% of the time instead of the expected 8%.
• You play 100 spins without any winning combination instead of the expected 8%.

This subject leads us into the statistical metric that is called Variance. At SlotCatalog you can see the Variance metric for games as well, classified as:

• Low
• Low-Medium
• Medium
• Medium-High
• High

Simply explained, the Low Variance games will pay smaller wins more often while the High Variance games will pay out larger wins less frequently. You can read more about our categorization of variance in the FAQ.

The random chance of winning and fair payouts

As discussed these metrics are very theoretical and these numbers are based on millions of spins. The important thing to know is that your outcome in a game, whether it’s above or below the expected results, is subject to change as they are governed by the Random Number Generators, also known as RNG. The Random Number Generators make sure that the results are unbiased. Simply put:

This means, every spin is independent and does not have any connection to previous spins by you or other players. Any talk about hot and cold slot machines (machines that just paid out etc) is just a myth unless the game plays at a different RTP level than the base setting. You can find out more about this in later in this article under the topic: About games with several different RTP levels or settings or in our Hot and Cold section where you can see live data from a couple of casinos.

What you should know about RTP for progressive slots and jackpot games

When it comes to progressive slot games or jackpot slots the Return to Player payback can be divided into two different types. One part of the RTP is the base game payback, which you get paid by landing winning combinations when playing the base game. The other part of the RTP in a progressive slot is the jackpot payout, which is only paid out by hitting a jackpot. As Jackpots are usually big wins it means that in reality, there are very few players who get a large piece of the Jackpot payback part.

Looking for a wider selection of high RTP casino games of different types? Head over to our section of the Best Ranked Games and select your preferred filters and sort by RTP.

What is the standard RTP of slot games?

When talking about the standard or average RTP of slot games, the number 96% is often mentioned. But let’s not take anything for granted, instead, we’ll have a look at some actual data.

How is the RTP for a slot game decided?

The Return to Player metric for a slot game is based on the math fundamentals in the specific game. Due to the math formulas in the game, the payout will be at a specific level over a substantial amount of bets.

So how is the RTP metric displayed by game providers and online casinos decided? The theoretical RTP parameter is set from the simulation of 1 billion rounds on the game server. To get a license from a gambling authority the game provider should pass the certification process and an independent auditor should check game server simulation. This audit then verifies that the announced RTP is correct.

Some gambling authorities have enforced regulations to have the actual RTP monitored over time for released and initially verified games as well. They do this to make sure that the game metrics that are published are accurate so the players have the best information possible. One example of this is the United Kingdom Gambling Commission, you can read more about it in their article Live RTP performance monitoring of games of chance.

Is it true that the RTP can differ for a game?

Yes, this is the case with some specific games and some game providers. We’ll go into the details of the different cases here, and give you recommendations on what actions you can take to make sure you are properly informed about the game you want to play.

Basically, in today’s slot game industry the RTP level of a game can differ based on four different factors:

1. As known by well-oriented players and people in the industry, some game providers certify their games at several different RTP levels, giving the operators a way to adjust the specific setting for their service.
2. Some games providers have produced games where the player is presented with an in-game choice that affects the RTP. This can be a character selection, mode selection or similar.
3. Some games have different RTP levels based on the player’s selected bet size.
4. Some games have different RTP levels based on the player’s selected paylines.

Staying informed about games with several different RTP settings

Some players have thought that because of regulation and game licenses the RTP metric is fixed for a specific game. This is not the case today. Several operators have started to license their games on several different RTP levels. In the case of Malta Gaming Authority licenses, games can be licensed as long as the RTP level stays above the 85% mark. A game can be certified for one level of RTP % or at several different levels.

SlotCatalog is of the opinion that it’s crucial that the online casinos are transparent about this towards the players. As more game providers get their games licensed on several RTP levels and provide the possibility for casino operators to choose what RTP level they want to run the games on, it’s important that players easily can find out what current settings apply to a specific game.

This is why we’ve collected data and put up information boxes for all games that have customizable RTP levels.

These customizable levels of RTP open up different opportunities for casino operators to go about their business. Some operators may lower the game RTP and spend some of the additional income on bonus promotions and improving other parts of their service. Others see the possibility to compete by offering their player a higher RTP, positioning themselves as a low-cost producer. An example of the latter is Unibet and their related brands which have spent a good amount of money on a Swedish Television campaign that promotes that they’ve raised the RTP to 98% on several slot games.

These changes in the industry also provide opportunities for game providers to brand themselves in a way that they see fit. For example, some challenging game providers have started to appreciate this opportunity. Some release games with above-average RTP and others have announced Fixed RTP as a counter-strategy to the recent customizable RTP levels.

Whatever directions individual operators and game providers choose to take we at SlotCatalog think it’s truly important that the industry is transparent about these settings, making them easily accessible and visible to the player. Without that, the trust between players and operators will fall substantially as we have already seen some real-world examples of.

As this is an important matter for the industry it would not be unreasonable if regulation authorities were to incorporate appropriate measures into the compliance guidelines, securing that the information is easy to find for the players. SlotCatalog aims to have RTP information for all games, but in-game start popups displaying the current RTP level as well as RTP changes depending on gameplay choices, bet sizes, and pay lines might be a better way for the industry to go about it.

Data on games with customizable RTP’s

#	Provider name	Total games	Games with RTP RANGE
1.	CT Gaming	449	392
2.	Play'n Go	299	225
3.	Pragmatic Play	337	205
4.	Red Tiger	224	190
5.	Merkur	247	137
6.	Habanero	151	121
7.	IGT	253	112
8.	Incredible Technologies	75	47
9.	Wizard Games	107	44
10.	Play Labs	179	42
11.	FUGA Gaming	43	30
12.	Spinomenal	241	29
13.	Nolimit City	58	28
14.	Leander Games	99	26
15.	Retro Gaming	26	22