RTP Versions - Why the Same Slot Pays Differently at Different Casinos

How one slot ends up with several RTPs

A slot's maths is a table of symbol weights and pays. A provider can build more than one table for the same game and let the casino pick. The graphics and features stay the same; only the long-run payback moves. The provider sheets we read show four ways this happens:

• Tiered versions. One game in several settings a few points apart. Hacksaw Gaming does this for Le Bandit, Wanted Dead or a Wild and Chaos Crew 2: roughly 96%, 94%, 92% and 88% each.
• Market versions. A setting labelled for one country. Money Train 3 and Temple Tumble list a 90% version for Germany, and Pond of Plinko an 86.11% German build.
• Bet-mode RTPs. One setting, but a separate figure for each way of playing. Pragmatic Play lists the ante bet and each buy option on its own line, and Pine of Plinko pays 96.48% in the base game, 96.78% with Scatter Boost and 96.94% on the bonus buy.
• Jackpot splits. Mega Moolah games publish a base RTP plus a share that feeds the progressive jackpot: Juicy Joker Mega Moolah lists 86.73% plus a 5.30% contribution, 92.03% in total.

The first two change what the casino keeps. The third depends on what you choose to play. The fourth moves part of the return into a prize that very few players win.

What a lower version costs in dollars

The house edge is 100% minus the RTP. Multiply it by what you wager and you have the expected cost over a long run. Here are Hacksaw's four published versions of Le Bandit, per C$1,000 wagered:

The lowest version costs more than three times the default for the same play. C$1,000 of wagering is not much: at C$1 a spin it is a thousand spins, and a bonus with a 35x requirement on a C$100 bonus asks for C$3,500. At 88.36% that requirement has an expected cost of about C$407.40; at 96.34%, about C$128.10. Our wagering calculator takes the RTP as an input for this reason.

These are averages over a very long run. A single session can end far above or below them, whichever version you play, and a high RTP does not make a win more likely on the next spin. What the version changes is the price of playing over time.

The bet-mode differences are much smaller. In Gates of Olympus Super Scatter, the ante bet lists 96.55% and Buy Super Free Spins 96.49%: a gap of C$0.60 per C$1,000. Those are worth knowing, but they will not change your evening the way an 88% setting can.

How to check the version at your casino

The casino's own copy of the game is the only reliable source, because the casino picked it. Before the first real spin:

1. Open the game in the casino's lobby, then its menu, info (i) or rules screen.
2. Look for a line called RTP, return to player or theoretical return. Some games list one figure per bet mode or buy option.
3. Compare it with the default in the table above. If it matches a lower version, you know the price; decide whether to play it, pick another title or try another casino.

Do not rely on a demo for this. The free demos on our pages are the providers' own, and a provider's demo can run a different setting from the casino's copy. Do not rely only on a provider's web page either. For Sugar Rush 1000, Pragmatic's game page shows 96.00% while the in-game rules give 96.53%, and Print Studios' own site prints 93.48% for Pine of Plinko against 96.48% on Relax Gaming's game page. Where sources disagree, we list both figures on the review.

Some games in the table show a dash for other versions. That means the provider's sheet and in-game rules we read list one figure only, not that no other version exists. If the info screen at your casino shows a number below the default, the casino is running a lower version.

RTP is one part of a slot's character. Volatility decides how the return is spread between small and large wins; see our guides to volatility and how slots work, and the high RTP slots list.