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Some say that, in order to succeed at casino games, you need a combination of luck and skill, and, to a certain extent, that assumption is true. However, luck and skill aren’t the only two things that matter. To maximize your profit and make the most out of casino games, you need to be careful what online casino you choose and pay attention to the terms and conditions. In this day and age, more and more players realize that online casinos are superior to physical ones, not only in terms of game variety but also in terms of bonuses and promotions. But there’s another thing that you need to consider when choosing an online casino: the RTP. As important as it might be, RPT is known to many players, so here’s all you need to know about it.
What is RTP?
RTP is short for Return to Player – in simple terms, the reward that an online casino offers you when you play slots. For example, if an online casino’s RTP is 95%, that means they give back $95 for every $100 the players deposit. Although it’s often confused with variance, RTP is a different term. While RTP is the amount that goes back to the players, variance is the way in which the RTP is determined. For example, a lower variance means that you’ll get smaller wins at a higher rate, while a high variance means that the casino offers big hits, but rarely.
How is the RTP established?
From the outside, online slots look like fun but there’s a lot of complex math behind them. It’s up to each casino game developer to decide how high the RTP rate should be, but it also depends on the country’s legislation. For example, in countries that have recently legalized gambling or countries that had previously been skeptical of online gambling, such as the Asian market, legislation requires casino platforms to have a certain minimum RTP. As a result, that online casino must work with a game developer that has the requested RTP.
Why does the RTP matter?
Why should you choose online slot machines with the highest RTP? It’s simple. Because the higher the RTP is, the bigger your potential returns. Of course, playing a slot game with a high RTP once doesn’t guarantee you a win, but, even so, it’s better to play slots with a RTP of 97% than a RTP of 85%. And there’s another reason why online slot machines with a high RTP are a good idea: because they’re an excellent indicator of reliability. Of course, you should keep in mind many factors before trusting an online casino platform but between an online casino with a low RTP and one with a high RTP, it’s usually better to choose the high RTP because it shows that the casino cares about its players’ returns.
Do online slots have a better RTP than land-based ones?
Online casinos are superior to land-based casinos in many ways, including the return-to-player rate. The difference is actually significant. On average, physical casinos will set their RTP anywhere between 70%-90% and anything above 90% is quite rare. Meanwhile, the average RTP in online casinos is around 95% and the best online casinos offer even as much as 97%. Finding a physical casino with a 92% RTP might make you feel that it’s your lucky day, but online, a 92% RTP is too low to matter. There’s quite a big difference between the two, so be careful when switching from land-based to online casinos.
One might wonder why online casinos are able to offer such high RTP or even think that the RTP in online casinos is too good to be true, but it’s all connected to the infrastructure. Physical casinos are limited by space. They only have the space for several slot machines and those machines can’t physically fit too much money, so a RTP over 90% would simply be too impractical. Meanwhile, online casinos don’t have these physical limitations, so they don’t have to worry about how many games they are able to offer or what RTP they can afford.
A higher RTP is just one of the many things that make online casinos better. Because they’re not limited by infrastructure, online casinos can also offer a higher variety of slot games, including slot games based on interesting themes, such as the Guns and Roses slot. At the same time, online casinos also offer better bonuses and promotions, such as free spins, which boost the chances of winning big while investing as little as possible from your own pocket. Most of the time, physical casinos can’t keep up with these perks, which has led many to believe that online casinos are the future of gambling.
Other interesting facts about RTP
One of the most common misconceptions people have about the RTP in online casinos is that casinos can manipulate the RTP however they want, but that’s actually impossible. The RTP isn’t set by the casino, it’s set by game developers, and casinos need root access if they want to change it. It’s possible to find online slots with RTP variations but online casino operators can’t drop the return-to-player rate from 95% to 90% between games.
Another important thing you should know about the RTP is that it can be influenced by progressive slot games. For example, if a casino says that their RTP is maximum 97%, then that RTP could only be achieved if you play progressive jackpot slot games and, if you play regular slot games, the RTP could drop a bit.
Last but not least, keep in mind that, as important as the RTP might be, a high RTP won’t make much of a difference if you only play a single session. Of course, anything can happen but, most of the time, you have to play several times before you can gain a noticeable profit from that high return-to-player rate.