source: pixabay.comWhen you play online casino games at fully licensed and regulated iGaming sites, each game has an average Return to Player percentage (RTP%) payout rate. It’s calculated by the amount of money players wager over a certain amount of time and how much money they receive back in winnings during that same period.
Take online pokies, for example. These games are computer-generated, and the predetermined results/outcomes that occur each time you hit the spin button are, in fact, produced by highly sophisticated mathematical algorithm software using Random Number Generators (RNGs).
Let’s dive straight in to reveal the simple reason why some iGaming players favour online pokies with high average RTP% payout rates.
Why do iGaming players favour slots with high RTP% payout rates?
Savvy online casino players prefer playing online pokies with high or above-average RTP payout rates because, mathematically speaking, they are more likely (but not guaranteed) to win on a pokie with a higher RTP payout rate than on a pokie with a low RTP payout rate.
With most mechanical fruit machines and pokies you can play at land-based casinos and other similar licensed gaming venues, you can expect anywhere from a 70% to 80% RTP payout rate, but at online casinos, the average RTP% payout rate for online pokies is much higher and often hovers around 93.00% to 98.00%.
It’s so much higher online because operators can afford to offer higher payout rates because they have fewer overheads. Online pokies use frequently tested RNGs to produce consistently random results, and despite the fact that advanced computer programs produce outcomes, the results are still fair and random.
It’s the same testing system that is used on free pokies and real money online pokies. When you hit the spin button, the reels only present the illusion they are spinning randomly. In fact, the results are already predetermined.
However, to ensure fair play, the results we receive are about as fair and realistic as possible because of the complex technology used in producing random outcomes with no discernible pattern.
How are online slot machine RTP% payout rates calculated?
Online pokie RTP% payout rates are calculated in several ways using various reliable testing systems. For example, there are many internationally accredited online casino testing agencies (non-profit organisations) whose role is to test the games to ensure players aren’t being cheated in any way and are getting a fair service.
Companies like eCOGRA (eCommerce Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance), Global Lab Limited, BMM Testlabs, Quinel Ltd, iTech Global Pty Limited, Technical Systems Testing (TST) and Gaming Laboratory International, to name a few, are independent and have no affiliation with the casinos. One of their many roles is to test the games on behalf of the players to ensure the integrity of the industry.
They use their systems to play millions, or sometimes billions, of spins in a short amount of time, and then based on the amount of winnings paid out in that time compared to how much was wagered, the results tell us the average RTP payout rate for that game for that period under review.
This is why you might find that an online pokie may have a 96.78% payout rate one month, and a 95.92% payout rate the next month, and so on. The results will be different almost every time. The average online pokie RTP payout rate most players are happy with today is between 93.00% and 98.00%.
Examples of how RTP% rates for online pokies are calculated
Let’s take the famous Diamond Mine Megaways online pokie and use this game as an example. If 10,000 players spend a combined total of NZ$200,000 on this game in a four-week period, and those same players received NZ$196,040 in winnings during that same period, the RTP% payout rate during this time for that pokie was 98.02%
Here is another example. If players spent a combined NZ$80,000 on the iconic Book of Dead online pokie from Play’n GO over a six-week period at any of the top-rated New Zealand casino sites featured on the reputable Casinos.com iGaming review site and received, on average, NZ$76,584 in winnings, it means this pokie’s RTP% payout rate during that time was 95.73%.
Some online casino players will only play online pokies with high (or above average) RTP% payout rates. In other words, they will avoid playing pokies with a 90.00% to 93.00% payout rate and stick to playing online pokies with a 98.00% or higher RTP payout rate. Although it’s a great tactic, playing pokies with high RTP payout rates doesn’t guarantee that they will win more.
Final thoughts
If you want to check the latest RTP payout rate for a game you want to play, you can generally find the latest information in the game’s paytable.
Alternatively, you can try to find the RTP payout rates by asking the casino’s player support for more information, or you can go to the official website of the testing agency that calculates the average payout rate for that casino.
On sites like eCOGRA, the results they find after testing the games to determine their average RTP payout rates are usually published online for everyone to see.
This is why today’s most trusted NZ casino sites are monitored by globally renowned online casino testing agencies, to ensure fairness and show transparency in their operations.
