The payout rate is usually given as a percentage and indicates
the percentage payout of a particular game over a particular
time period. The payout rate is one difference
between land and online slots.
Slots at Online Casinos typically have payout rates
ranging from 89% up to 99.5% whilst Land Based Casinos
typically have pay out rates ranging from 65% to 85%.
This difference might not seem like much but it can make a
massive difference to you as a player.
Online Casino - 95% slots payout
example
For this first example an online slot game with a 95% payout
rate is being used, this is a typical figure for online casinos
(and many offer higher payout rates such as Intercasino
with 97.5% and SLOTLAND
with 98%).
If a slot is paying out at 95% and you were paying $10 per
spin you could expect to win back $95 for every 10 spins. This
would mean the casino had made $5 (or a 5%) profit.
Land Based Casino - 75% payout
example
If you were playing a similar game at a Land Based Casino again
at $10 per spin but this time with a 75% payout rate you would
expect to win back $75 for every 10 spins. This would mean the
casino would have made a $25 (or 25%) profit.
The Reality of payouts
In reality 10 spins would not be a long enough time period
to find out that the slots game in question was paying out at
the advertised rate. You could lose every spin for the first
10 spins, then lose half during the next 10 spins and then win
back 400% on the next 10 spins.
The truth is there will be times when a game is operating at
a much lower pay out rate than its norm and other times when
it operates at a higher rate you its at those higher payout
rate times that you want to be playing.
You are also well advised to play online instead of at a land
based casino, because the higher payout rates dramatically increase
your chances of winning and decrease the speed of your losses.
You might also find these pages helpful FAQs
and Jargon Buster.
