Whether you are a slots professional or a novice, eventually you will come across the abbreviation RTP. It stands for Return to Player and represents an important part of the jargon for both online and land casino slots. Although the question What Does RTP Mean doesn’t influence the gameplay and the actual odds of winning, some people like to know its meaning and the science or logic behind it. So let’s make a take on providing some context behind the Return to Player conundrum.

What Does RTP Mean for Slots?

First off, every slot game has to display its Return to Player theoretical outcome. The reasons for this decision by gaming authorities in Europe is part of the measures that have been taken towards ensuring that slots games are audited, verified and in line with the prescribed standards. Ultimately the reason is to keep all slots games free from unfair practices, cases of which have been registered in the early beginnings of online slots and online casinos, and on and along their path of reaching the shape and form that they have today.

The RTP being stated by the casino and within the slot game’s paytable allows the players to decide if they want to play the game, or how long the would if they were to play, because certain information can be derived from the theoretical outcome percentage. The Return to Player theoretical outcome states the percentage that the game shall return back to the player across an indeterminate number of spins. That is roughly what does RTP mean which is also related to the question of what are the odds of hitting a jackpot on a slot machine.

RTP As a Guideline

Depending on the popularity of a title, a single slot game may have a dozen, few hundred or thousands of players each week, so it is impossible to say how the Return to Player percentage may pertain to a specific player’s take on the slot game. But if players want to play a slot game for a longer period of time, they may get a glimpse of the RTP outcome. Nevertheless, the Return to Player can be taken purely as an advisory benchmark.

Let’s say you’ve picked a slot game and you are playing it for a period of time during which you have made 1000 bets of 1 pound. The theoretical Return to Player says the slot game has a Return to Player of 96.00%. That means that you may get back £960, however, no one could guarantee that that would be the case. The casino nor the software developer behind the game could issue any guarantees that this will be the actual outcome. And that is not so bad.

Return to Player In Theoretical Terms

So what does RTO mean in theory? This is is actually the who idea behind slots machines. You may not get that £960 back because it is a payout in theoretical terms, but you may get more. Say, at a given period of play you may win some £300 of that £1000 that you have played on the same slot, however, it could be so that one of the subsequent terms may deliver a payout of £4000 or even the game’s regular or progressive jackpot, which may be a sum of five, six or even seven figures.

Another look of the Return to Player theoretical outcomes on any given slot game could be passed through the view of the casinos. In other terms, the RTP of a slot determines the threshold of the house edge. If a slot game has a Return to Player outcome of 95.10% it means the house edge is 4.90%, which translates to 95.10 cents for the player on every pound spent and 4.90 for the casino. But before assuming that this is the rule that follows every turn on the slots, consider the previous paragraph.

The casino will always have the edge against the player, otherwise there wouldn’t be any casinos, both online and land based. The casinos provide the entertainment, while the RTP provides the players with a knowledge about the volatility of the slot. If a slot game has a Return to Player of 91% it means it is pretty volatile, meaning, there will be very few winning combinations for the player. On the other hand, the slot game will skim all of the winnings for the casino.

A Generally Accepted RTP Average

Slots with a lower volatility will churn out winnings for the players, and depending on the wager per spin, the player may come out pretty all right from a sitting on the slots, resulting in an exciting game that puts the player back to even terms, or walking out with some winnings. But there is no way to predict how a turn on the slots may shake out because of the random number generator and the Return to Player theoretical outcome. Still there are some general directions that point towards the ‘quality’ of the slot game which is solely in regards to the volatility, that is, the possibility of generating winning combinations at a certain frequency or rate, in answering the question What Does RTP Mean.

There isn’t a way to determine what the clear-cut average Return to Player is, simply because there are just too many online and land based casino slots. However, there is a general notion about what represents a good average in that regard. Slots that are available online have a higher RTP theoretical outcome than land casino slots. The reason is simple. Online casinos cost a lot less money to run, compared to the overhead of land casinos. In the end, the online casinos pass the savings on to the players in the form of welcome bonuses and favorable Return to Player amounts. Perhaps that succinctly answers the question what does RTP mean.

Some Above-Average RTP Slots

So what is average for a land casino is not even near to the average of an online casino, which hovers between 95.00% and 96.00%. Anything that is above the 96% line is considered a medium to low volatility slot and these are popular with online casino players, but not always necessarily. There are slots that are 95% (Book of Dead) and even lower that the players enjoy to play. Some of the most popular slots on the Internet are at 96.00% and above, such as Starburst (96.10%), Fishin Frenzy (96.12%), Gonzo’s Quest (96.00%), Double Bubble (96.20%) and so on.

To experience these and other high RTP slots, check out some slot reviews and claim a casino welcome bonus with bonus money and free spins.


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