What Does RTP Mean In Gambling?

Ever wonder if some casino games are just built to lose more money than others? Well, yes.. they actually are!

What determines how severe this is, and how much of a "house edge" the casino takes, is the Return To Player (often called RTP for short).

RTP in gambling is a measure of how much you can expect to get back, on average, over millions of spins on that game.

Now, of course, you won't actually be playing millions of spins on a game, but this is how the RTP is calculated by a computer when casino games are regulated.

Let's look at an example:

A slot with an RTP of 97% would mean that, on average over millions of spins, for every £100 you spent on that slot, you would expect to get back £97. In other words, the casino would expect to make £3 profit on average for every £100 you spent. This margin of 3%, is the casino’s house edge.

Why Is RTP Important?

In a nutshell, you don't want to play a game where the casino has a large edge over you, when you could instead be playing a good game with a higher RTP.

This is particularly crucial when you're doing an offer from a casino. It can be the difference between getting terrific value out of a promotion, or getting no value at all.

The higher the RTP of the casino games that you use, the higher the returns you'll achieve on average. Remember that this isn't a guarantee for every single spin and every single offer; after all, casino games' payouts can vary a lot on a spin by spin basis. But, in the long run, it makes all the difference.

Let's say you're completing casino offers with Outplayed and you keep having a choice between a 94% RTP slot or a 97% slot for your qualifying wagering.

If you were to wager £10,000 a year (about £27 per day), then the average difference in returns here would be £300. That's £300 extra profit in your pocket just by playing a more favourable game!

I'm sure you can now see how crucial it is to play the highest RTP games available.

What Counts As A Good RTP?

It's all well and good that you now know what RTP is all about, but how do you really know if a game's RTP is good in the grand scheme of things?

This is where the terms of the casino offer come into play - if you have a list of 5 eligible games that are available for the promo, there's no point picking a different game, even if it does have a high RTP. You wouldn't want to play a game that doesn't even qualify to earn your free rewards!

In general, table games (e.g. Blackjack or Roulette) have a higher RTP than slot games. So if you can play them for an offer, then you should jump at the chance. They've got a very low house edge and are low variance games (which means your profits/losses won't be swinging around all that much).

Slot RTPs can massively vary from slot to slot; they can range anywhere from 80% to 99%. You're usually aiming for a game above 96% RTP to use for casino offers, but it can all depend on the value of the rewards and how large the wagering is. That's where Outplayed is a saviour since we work out all the fine details of the value and display it clearly.

Here's a table of some of the best RTP games you can play. They're very commonly used for profitable casino offers:

This is just a very small selection of games that are out there. Another thing to keep in mind is that the same slot can have different RTPs at different casinos; we'll talk more about that later.

RTP That Goes Towards A Jackpot

Some games will have a portion of the RTP that goes towards a progressive jackpot. This is a jackpot that continues to get larger with every spin anyone does on that slot across all casinos. As you can see below, they can reach a hefty amount!

Slot providers like Playtech or Red Tiger will only have a small amount of the total RTP going towards a jackpot (around 0.5%-1%). Other games, like Mega Moolah will have a whopping jackpot contribution of 5%+.

You'll want to avoid playing games with large jackpot contributions for casino offers if you can help it, since a sizeable portion of the payouts are going towards a prize that's incredibly hard to win.

Would You Ever Want To Find The RTP Yourself?

First of all, when we post a guide to a casino offer at Outplayed, we'll always give recommendations for games with a high RTP. So for the most part, you won't actually need to go through the trouble of finding it yourself; we do the hard work for you!

There can, however, be exceptions. Sometimes you'll want to find a specific game RTP for yourself. Perhaps it's for an "invite only" offer that you've received in an email, or maybe you just want to try a different game from the ones we've suggested.

Some sites will have an "info" section that shows the RTP before you open the game. Be warned that the casinos don't always get the RTP right on these pages. The RTP found after loading the game will always be the correct one.

The same game on a different site won't necessarily have the same RTP. In particular, NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Play N' Go and Red Tiger slots can vary drastically, which is why it's important to double check before playing! Don't just assume that Starburst has a 96.09% RTP because it did at another casino.

How To Find The RTP Of Casino Games

Casino games are required by law to specify the RTP somewhere within the game's settings. However, finding this isn't always easy at first glance. But don't worry, here are some general things to keep an eye on:

Look out for question marks ?, i symbols, "help", "settings", cog symbols, paytable as things to click that might reveal the RTP to you.

Below, you will find specific instructions on how to find an RTP with certain game providers. It's not an exhaustive list of all providers, after all, there are so many of them! But you will find all the main ones, and particularly the game providers most commonly found for casino promotions.

NetEnt

Click the question mark > Scroll to 'RETURN TO PLAYER'.

Mobile: Tap three lines > Swipe to question mark > Tap question mark > Scroll to 'RETURN TO PLAYER'.

Common NetEnt slots for offers: Starburst, Steam Tower, Blood Suckers.

Red Tiger

Click HELP > Scroll down to the bottom.

Mobile: Tap HELP > Scroll down to the bottom.

Common Red Tiger slots for offers: Rainbow Jackpots, Blood Suckers Megaways, Cash Volt.

Evolution Live

Click question mark > Return to Player

Mobile: Tap three lines > Tap Help > Tap Return to Player

Common Evolution Live games for offers: Infinite Blackjack, Lightning Roulette, Crazy Time.

Playtech

Hover over cog symbol > Click Help > Scroll down to the bottom.

Mobile: Tap three lines > Swipe to Help > Tap Help > Scroll down to the bottom.

Common Playtech slots for offers: Golden Tour, Age of the Gods: God of Storms, Halloween Fortune.

Blueprint

Click three lines > Table symbol > Click arrows until you find game rules.

Mobile: Tap three lines > Table symbol > Tap arrows until you find game rules.

Common Blueprint slots for offers: King Kong Cash, The Goonies, Fortunes of Sparta.

Pragmatic Play

Click i symbol > Click arrows until you find game rules.

Mobile: Tap i symbol > Scroll down until you find game rules.

Common Pragmatic Play slots for offers: Gold Train, Big Bass Bonanza, Book of the Fallen.

Microgaming

Click Help > Wait for pop-up to load > Click Return To Player (RTP)

Mobile: Tap question mark > Scroll down to the bottom.

Common Microgaming slots for offers: Immortal Romance, High Society, Couch Potato.

Eyecon

Click question mark > Scroll down until you find SLOT RULES.

Tap three lines at the top > Tap RULES & PAYOUTS > Scroll down until you find SLOTS RULES.

Common Eyecon slots for offers: Lucha Rumble, Rebets Splendour, Fluffy Favourites.

Greentube/Novomatic

Click MENU > Click PAYTABLE & INFO > Click arrows until you find RULES.

Mobile: Tap MENU > Tap PAYTABLE & INFO > Tap arrows until you find RULES.

Common Greentube/Novomatic slots for offers: Lucky Lady's Charm Deluxe, Dolphin's Pearl Deluxe, Book of Ra Deluxe.

ELK Studios

Click three lines (this may take a few seconds to show) > Click the i symbol for Rules > Click arrows until you find Game Rules.

Mobile: Tap three lines at the bottom > Tap i symbol > Scroll down to the bottom.

Common ELK Studios slots for offers: Wild Toro, Pirots, Kaiju.