100% RTP Slots: Might They Ever Become a Reality in Online Casinos?

Anyone that has ever frequented a casino may be familiar with the idea of the ‘house edge’, the margin applied to games to ensure that the casino can be profitable. Think about European roulette, where the house edge is 2.70% even on red/black bets. Why? Because of the presence of the pesky green zero pocket.

The same theory applies to online slot games, which have their own version of a house edge known as the Return to Player rate (RTP). This dictates that over a considerable number of spins, the player can expect to win the RTP of a slot game back on their stake: spoiler alert, this is always below 100%.

The RTP of online slots can range from as low as 85% to as high as 98%. The leading operators, like those reviewed and rated by gambling experts at https://legalcasino.uk/reviews/, offer slots with wide-ranging RTPs. They usually compensate for lower numbers in certain games by offering jackpots and other features.

RTP should also be considered in conjunction with volatility, which details how often a slot game pays out. High volatility slots tend to serve up winning spins more infrequently, but when they do come along, they tend to be of a higher value than the ‘little and often’ wins of low volatility slots.

Now, you may be thinking: why can’t online slots just have an RTP of 100%? That way, players would be able to win back all of the stakes they have wagered in a session.

The answer is, in theory, that they could, but don’t hold your breath for 100% RTP slots any time soon.

Crunching the Numbers

A casino is a business, and most businesses have one singular objective: to make money.

So, if they were to offer 100% RTP slots, they would break even in the long run. Not a recipe for commercial success.

There’s an argument that slot developers *could* create 100% RTP slots, while casinos could choose to add them to their lobbies – these games could attract new players, retain them for longer, and perhaps entice them to lower RTP slots in the future.

Some online casinos have actually run short-term promos to draw attention, offering things like No Zero Roulette, where the house edge on certain bets dropped to 0% – basically the table-game equivalent of a 100% RTP slot. But that version of roulette was only available as a limited-time promotion. As for true 100% RTP slots, though? None have appeared yet.

This idea can lead some players to erroneously come to the conclusion that slot games are rigged. That isn’t the case: all online slots come with a random number generator built in, so all spins are unpredictable and independent.

But over the course of thousands, if not millions, of spins, the game should be true to its stated RTP – something that is tested by independent auditors, who ensure that a slot delivers as it’s expected to.

Changing the Formula

There are other ways that developers could tweak the format to allow for 100% RTP slots. They could make the volatility incredibly high, which would increase the number of losing sessions that players experience due to the nature of randomness during a short gaming session.

The maximum bet amount allowed could also be capped, which would prevent players from walking away with huge wins.

Developers could also keep the theme of the game, its mechanics, and the available features and bonuses to a minimum; soon enough, logic would dictate, players would seek more entertaining slots, even if they come with RTP rates below 100%.

Maintaining the House Edge

Even if the most respected of slot game developers devised a 100% RTP slot, it’s unlikely that many – if any – casinos would agree to carry the title in their catalogue.

After all, a casino has an obligation to protect its profitability, which is maximized by slot games with RTP rates of 97% or below.

Inevitably, casinos will pay out big prizes to their luckiest of players. It happens every day; in fact, it’s happening right now at a casino somewhere around the globe.

To protect themselves financially, they have to utilize games that have a built-in profit margin – like roulette, blackjack, and, of course, slots.

So, while 100% RTP slots will remain on the wish list of players, it’s a wish that is never likely going to come true.