The Same Slot Can Have Different RTPs. Here's Why
You visit a new casino and you open that slot that you've liked for years. The visuals and sounds look the same. But when you hit that INFO button, you realize the RTP is 94.25%. You ask yourself if you're dreaming because the game had a 96.21% RTP at the online casino you last played at.
Both figures are real and belong to that same game. This is the case with niche and the most popular slot machines. And we'll show you why that's the case in this article.
Game Providers Make More Than One Version on Purpose
A gaming studio like Pragmatic Play or Play'n GO doesn't sell its slots to one casino. It sells them to thousands of online casinos available in several countries.
Every country takes a different cut. For context, taxes in Peru are much lower than the figures in developed nations such as Sweden or Australia.
So, if a game shipped with one RTP from a developer, a casino would earn well in some countries and lose money in others.
To avoid this, this game studio builds different RTP versions of a slot. One of the clearest examples of this is seen in Play'n GO’s Book of Dead slot.
This game has five RTP versions: 84.18%, 87.25%, 91.25%, 94.25%, and 96.21%. That's a 12-point difference between the lowest RTP and the highest RTP.
Most Book of Dead reviews tell you the game's RTP is 96.21% and don't go any further. But that's one version of the game, and you'd find the others when you check its RTP at other casinos.
Book of Dead by Play'n GO isn't the only game with different RTP variants. The same applies to popular slots from other big studios.
How the Casino You Play at Picks Its Version
The casino you hit PLAY at doesn't choose the RTP version of a slot based on vibes alone. It selects a variant that fits its costs of operations.
For example, if a casino site runs in a nation where it pays heavy taxes and large marketing fees, it'll choose games with lower RTPs. Doing this helps it to keep operations going without losing too much money.
On the other hand, a site that's fighting for a share of players in a very competitive market will do the reverse. It'll offer slots with their highest RTP figures to attract new players.
The bonuses you find at casinos also pull down on this lever. A casino that hands out huge offers like candy has to pay for them somehow. And the RTP setting is one of the silent ways it goes about it without raising eyebrows.
Think about this structure for a moment. That 300% sign-up deal you got is paid for by the RTP from spins you make with the bonus.
Most casinos don't have the time to choose varying RTP versions for the thousands of games in their lobby. Most times, they plaster a number that favors them on all titles.
Why the Games Look and Play the Same
This is the part so many people find confusing. The art, soundtrack, reel setup, and bonus rounds will stay the same. The studio doesn't have to rebuild the game from scratch to introduce a new RTP. All it has to do is load up a new math table that determines the frequency of hits you get during play.
Think of two card decks with identical faces. One deck has four aces, while the other holds three with a low card swapped in for the fourth. Deal from either deck and play won't feel different. But if you play all night, the deck that has three aces will quietly eat up more of your money.
You'll often hear multiple players saying a slot game pays better at site A but pays out worse at site B. And sometimes, their assumption about the difference in payout is correct.
But feeling it during a session is just a correct guess at that time. A bad run on a slot with the highest RTP possible is similar to a bad run on that same game on its lowest RTP. So, you can't just trust your gut. The only place you can spot the true returns of a slot is in its INFO section.
How Niche and Popular Slots With Low RTP Can Cost You
RTP doesn't promise anything special at the moment but in the long run. When you play a slot with a 96% RTP, the math says the game will give you back $96 for every $100 you wager.
But this doesn't happen within a few spins. It's spread over the millions of spins made by players around the world.
So, what does this all mean? You could play a game on its lowest RTP setting this evening and get a win that dwarfs all your returns on that game's high-RTP version. This goes the other way too.
The gap in different RTP versions starts to show up when you consider a lot of play. Let's say you play slots at $1 per spin, 600 spins hourly, two hours a week. That's $1,200 per week. Over the course of 52 weeks, your total bet would be $62,400.
If you play a game with a 96.21% RTP, the site keeps 3.79% of everything you bet. 3.79% of $62,400 is about $2,364. This is what you give back to the casino in a year.
Let's go even lower. Play the 94.25% version of that same slot, and the casino keeps 5.75% ($3,588). Hit play on the 84.18% variant and the house keeps 15.82% ($9,871).
These figures are from a single slot game with the same graphics, soundtrack, and icons. But a difference of over $7,500 exists between its highest and lowest RTP versions.
With the math, it shouldn't surprise you why many players are always on the lookout for slots with the highest RTP.
Finding the Version Before You Hit SPIN
To know the RTP of a slot, hit the i or INFO button. The rules area will come up when you do this. Scroll to the end of the page and you'll find the live RTP number stated there.
We recommend doing all checks in the slot's real version. Don't do it in the demo variant as most providers often load the default number into this version. And if you can't find the RTP of that slot, treat it as a game that isn't transparent and skip.
Comparing Casinos Based on the Number That Matters
Pick three of your favorite games and check their RTP figures at two legit casinos. Add a third slot nobody talks about and look at the RTP. This is a must-do this as most sites set high RTPs on their most popular slot machines and a low number on everything else.
Repeat this process after six months. Casinos switch their settings every now and then. So, the RTP figures you saw last year might be different this year.
Parting Shot
A developer decides a game's visuals, sounds, and pace. However, online casinos drop the gavel on one vital aspect: the RTP.
What a site does regarding these numbers shows you how much it cares for its members. It's always best to play at sites where the majority of games have high RTPs. That way, you can receive decent returns during your adventure.
