What is a good RTP for a slot?

What is a good RTP for a slot? The bands

Return to player is the share of all money staked that a slot is designed to pay back over a very long run. If a slot has an RTP of 96%, it returns £96 per £100 staked on average and keeps £4. Most mainstream online slots released in recent years sit between about 94% and 97%, which is why 96% has become the usual dividing line between good and ordinary.

How much difference one RTP point makes

The cost of play is total staked × (100% − RTP). That makes RTP comparisons easy to put into money. Imagine you play 20p spins for an hour at a steady 600 spins, staking £120.

• At 97%, the average cost of that hour is £3.60.
• At 96%, it is £4.80.
• At 94%, it is £7.20.
• At 92%, it is £9.60.

Over a single hour, the difference between a good and a poor RTP is a few pounds and easily swamped by luck. Over a year of regular play, it adds up to the price of several nights out. That is why RTP matters most to people who play often.

Real slot RTPs, from high to low

Reviews of Blood Suckers, Mega Joker and Mega Moolah explain how each one’s return is made up. For a longer list of high-return games, see best payout slots.

Why jackpot slots often have a lower RTP

On a progressive jackpot slot, a slice of every stake feeds a prize pool that might reach millions. The base game’s RTP is lower because that slice isn’t paid back in regular wins; it is held for the jackpot winner. For almost every player, the jackpot part of the return is never seen, so the practical cost of play is closer to the base figure. A low RTP on a jackpot game is a fair trade only if the jackpot is the reason you are playing.

Is RTP or volatility more important?

They answer different questions. RTP tells you the long-run cost. Volatility tells you how bumpy the ride is on the way. In a single session, volatility usually has the bigger effect on what you experience: a 96.21% high-volatility game like Book of Dead can end a £20 budget in 60 spins, while a 96.09% low-volatility game like Starburst might stretch it to several hundred.

A good approach is to shortlist games at 96% or above, then pick the volatility that suits your budget and patience. Our guide on how to compare slot volatility shows how.

How to check a slot’s RTP before you play

Many slots are released in several RTP versions, and casinos choose which to run. A game advertised at 96.5% might be running at 94.5% where you play. UK rules require the RTP to be available before you commit to gamble, so you can always check.

1. Load the slot and open the help, rules or “i” screen.
2. Search the text for “RTP”, “return to player” or “theoretical return”.
3. If two figures appear, read which applies to the base game and which includes any jackpot or optional feature.
4. Compare with the developer’s published figure; if yours is lower, you are on a lower version.
5. If you play the same game regularly, check the figure at each casino you use.

Our step-by-step guide on how to find a slot’s RTP has screenshots of where the figure usually sits, and slot RTP versions explains why the numbers vary.

Using RTP to judge a bonus

RTP also tells you what wagering will cost. With 10bet’s welcome bonus, a £25 bonus wagered 10x means £250 of stakes. On a 96% slot, the average cost of that play-through is £10, so the expected value of the bonus is roughly £15 before any caps. The same calculation on a 94% game gives a £15 cost and £10 of value. Spins with no wagering have no play-through cost at all. Our wagering explainer with examples runs more scenarios.

Common misunderstandings about RTP

• “96% means I’ll get £96 back from £100.” Only on average over a huge number of spins; one session can go much higher or lower.
• “High RTP slots pay out more often.” RTP is about amount, not frequency; that is hit frequency.
• “The casino sets my personal RTP.” The version is chosen per game, for every player, and shown in the rules.
• “RTP changes during the day.” It is fixed for the version running and can’t be quietly altered while the game is live.

Where to play with offers you can measure

PlayOJO gives new UK customers (excluding Northern Ireland) 80 spins at 10p on Big Bass Bonanza, a 96.71% RTP slot, after a first deposit of at least £10, with winnings paid as cash and no wagering. 10bet offers a 100% match up to £25 on a first deposit made within 7 days of signing up, wagered 10x on slots within 3 days, with bonus winnings capped at £1,000. Both are 18+ and further terms apply.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Set a deposit limit before you play: how to set limits. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.