If slots are your jam, then RTP and volatility are essential for your online gambling experience.  If you’ve read our article about the types of online slots in Canada, you know that while there is always a risk when gambling, specific slots hold more risk than others.

We even touched on slots RTP and volatility, but how essential are they?  How do they affect which slots are better to play?  Here at Bonusninja, we aim to keep you updated on all your online gambling needs.

Let’s take a look at how slots RTP and volatility can help you make the most of your online gambling experience in a safe and enjoyable fashion.

RTP (Return to Player)

RTP means “return to player” or the percentage of money that goes into your pocket vs. the casino over time.  Some of the rates have to go to the casino so that they can make a profit.  However, slots RTP of at least 96% to 99% is the best to play for your money’s value.  When your money goes further, it means you can play longer.  Fun, right?

Let’s say you play a slot 1,000 times, and it’s $1 per play.  If the slot machine has an RTP of 96%, you should be accumulating $.96 for every dollar while the casino manages $.04 per dollar. It’s best to consider this a small entertainment fee, like going to the movies or playing minigolf. The casino makes some money, but you get most of the reward.

Slot RTP is higher for online casinos than land-based casinos because they don’t have to pay the same amount of overhead.  There aren’t dealers to pay, machines to maintain, or a large commercial building to keep up.  Because the overhead pay is low, RTP goes up, which allows the online gambler to win more. In summary, online casinos can offer gamers higher RTP percentages, and a larger variety of games.

According to the Montreal Times, most Canadian online casinos have a slots RTP of 97% to 99%.  That is pretty impressive considering that major gambling states in the US like Nevada and New York offer only 93% RTP for their slots in casinos.  Canadians seem to have a unique opportunity to have access to higher RTP online slot options in comparison to many other countries.

To find the RTP, click on info, and it should be listed there.  Also, on sites like eCogra – an internationally recognized testing agency for casinos – you can often look up a particular online game to find generic information about its RTP. As many games are subject to different country legislation, the game you are after might not yet be available for lookup on these big testing sites.

Volatility

Volatility refers to how often a slot pays out or how risky the slot machine is to play.  If a slot advertises a large jackpot, chances are it has high slot volatility.  It will pay low for many of your spins and take a long time to hit a big jackpot or win at all.  After quite a bit of persistence, you might hit a huge jackpot with a high slot volatility.  In a low volatility slot, you get more payouts, but in smaller amounts.  Your money might last longer, but in the end, you aren’t winning much money.

Like we said if the online slot says “win $1,000,000 and retire early,” chances are it is a high volatility slot.  While your chances of winning $1,000,000 are low, someone’s got to win it, right?  However, don’t assume the volatility of slots.  To find out the volatility of slots, you can click on the info button on most online casino slot games, and it will give you the necessary information.

How do RTP and Volatility Work Together?

Slot RTP and slot Volatility can work together, you say?  That’s right.

Of course, you always want to find a slot with a high RTP percentage.  That is more money that is going into your pocket than into the casinos.  If you have access to a big gambling budget you might want to play high volatility slots that offer an enormous jackpot as you will be able to be persistent in your gaming strategies.

If your cash flow is less, you might choose low volatility slots with a high RTP.  You’ll get more for your money with the RTP percentage being increased, and your money will go further since the payments come in smaller increments with low volatility.  Low slot volatility with high RTP might give a little less of a thrill, but in the long term are often more enjoyable for recreational gamblers.

So many Slots, So little time

We’ve given you some of the science behind the slots, and we’ve discussed some of our favorite online casinos in the past.  From Griffon to Betiton to LuckyDino, there are unlimited options for you when it comes to online casinos.

Many of them catch your eye with that “free spin” option that we’ve also discussed.  Whichever online casino you choose, you need to check out RTP and volatility on the specific slot you like to play.  We made a list of the highest RTP slots as well as high and low volatility games so that our readers can have a good place to start. Note tha online casino games change quickly, so we will do our best to keep this list updated and relevant.

High RTP Slots

The casino doesn’t always have to win.  In fact, with high RTP slots, you can get much more for your money every time you take a spin.  As many of our customers are looking for a fun gambling experience with a chance to get lucky and win a bit, let’s see which slots offer the highest RTP.

• Mega Joker Slot – With an RTP of 99%, it’s not hard to understand why Mega Joker is at the top of our list.  Created by one of the leading software companies for online gambling, NetEnt, Mega Joker works on a progressive jackpot.  You make your jackpot as you play.  The more you bet and play, the bigger the jackpot becomes.

• • Decide how many lines you want to activate.  If you bet on just one line, you have to get all of the matching symbols on that line to win.
  • Make the game more fun by betting more to activate the other five lines.  Now you are upping the ante and sure to win more.
  • Hit supermeter mode once you start maxing out your bets.  This is where you receive the 99% RTP and get the most out of the game.  The more you bet, the more likely you are to win.

• Kings of Chicago Slot – NetEnt strikes again with another high RTP slot that ensures money is coming back to you.  If you are a fan of video poker, this is the game for you.  Plus, it holds an RTP of 97.8%.

• • Instead of just one hand, play five hands of video poker with each spin. The more hands you play, the more you realize the games RTP.
  • Standard video poker rules apply where it takes a three of a kind to win, but some extra flair is thrown in with joker’s wild and scatter wins.
  • Scatter wins get you free spins and unlock a significant cash prize depending on the level of the scatter.

• Monopoly Big Event Slot – If you’ve played Monopoly by the Parker Brothers before, you know the drill with this one.  Here, the classic game of Monopoly meets a slot machine design.  With an RTP of up to 96% that can move up to 99% when you bet big, this is another solid online gambling slot made by Barcrest (now part of Scientific games).

• • Work to acquire as many properties as you can.
  • Activate the Big Event to get that 99% RTP and win even more.
  • Dancing wilds bring some extra fun to this one too.

• 1429 Uncharted Seas – Thunderkick outdid themselves with this slot that features a 98.5% RTP.  It’s like Pirates of the Caribbean meets slots.  All of the symbols are ships or octopuses, or fish of some sort.  We’re under the water with this one, but not with our chances to win.

• • Place your bet on up to 25 pay lines and then hit spin.
  • The ship is always wild, and it becomes even wilder when it lands on the middle row.
  • The free spins are what make this game unique.  The compass scatter controls how many you can attain.
  • Catch the mermaid and receive fifty times your bet.  Winning!

• Bloodsuckers Slot – This vampire-themed slot may be scary, but the 98% RTP brings us some relief.  NetEnt delivers a slot that shows a vampire’s true colors, and they aren’t pretty.

• • It provides a free spin feature and a pick your own style game.
  • While it doesn’t have a significant payout, the high RTP leads to lots of wins which means more playing time.
  • We enjoy the fact that the vampire bride scatters when it appears three or more times.  Who doesn’t love a vampire?

High Volatility Slots

Now we have our high RTP slots, but what about high volatility of slots?  High volatility is what you want to play if you’re going to win the big prize instead of racking up lots of little wins.  The payouts come few and far between, but when it arrives, there’s a chance it can be a big one. Here are some high volatility slots we found.

• Book of Dead – Play’n GO provides high volatility games, and this one is no exception.  The payout is significant once you unlock the free spin option.  There’s even a possibility to acquire unlimited free spins if you hit it just right.  With a maximum payout of 5,000 times your bet, that big win would feel good.
• Game of Thrones – It’s not just a fantastic television show.  This slot features all of the major houses that are vying for the iron throne.  House Baratheon holds the largest payout with up to 20,000 times your bet on the free spin option.  That’s some major take right there.  While you won’t see any celebrities or clips from the show, the background music from Game of Thrones plays while you spin.  It’s a nice added feature.
• 300 Shields – Taking it back to the Spartans, 300 Shields is easy enough to play.  Match three symbols and win.  The 300x multiplier has a payout of 17,000 times your bet.  That said, because of the high volatility of this game, it’s rather hard to come by.  Don’t stop trying, though.

Low Volatility Slots

Perhaps high rollers aren’t your thing, and you prefer smaller payouts more frequently.  Many operators offer options with a low volatility of slots.  Sometimes you just want to play for a long time without having too much at stake.  Thes slots are great for those who are more conservative with their gambling strategy, and want to maximize their entertainment value.

Some we mentioned, like Bloodsuckers, are great as low volatility slots.  Let’s find out which others fit that definition.

• Starburst – Another NetEnt creation, Starburst is probably their most popular slot.  Set in outer space, it’s relatively easy to follow, which makes it so popular.  With flashing lights when you win, it hits all of the casino-must haves.  You might only get a max of 500 times your bet, but you’ll win many small stakes along the way.
• Thunderstruck II – If there was a popularity contest among slots, Thunderstruck II would win the prize.  People love this one because it features several gods like Loki and Thor and offers a wide range of betting abilities based on your cash flow.  The small wins often come, which means your wallet goes further.  While big wins are rare, they are usually associated with free spins.
• Enchanted Garden II – Magical creatures and fairies over here, please.  Venture into the garden where wild, firefly, and fairy queen features await you.  Set your bet and play for hours without breaking the bank.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is RTP or Volatility More Important?

Truth be told, it really depends on how you like to gamble.  Some math shows that the volatility of slots matters more depending on your cash flow.  RTP can waver sometimes within a game depending on the free spins or bonuses.  Picking a game with a high RTP is always smart since you want more from your dollar than you give the casino.  It comes down to how risky you want to be with your money, and what sort of responsible gaming tactics you are following.

Do Online Slots Pay Real Money?

They do.  Depending on which game you play will determine the payout.  Check out our article all about the different types of currency within slot machines to get the full details.

How do you find a slot’s RTP and Volatility?

It’s usually as easy as clicking on info within the game.  If it’s not listed there, check out the eCogra website and search for the slot in question.

Can online slots be hacked?

Like anything else on the internet, online slots are not immune to being hacked .  Through malware, phishing, and password hacking, internet hackers find a way to mess with everything.

The best thing is to protect your gambling, just like you would the rest of your computer.  Use a router and purchase an excellent VPN or antivirus software to stop hackers from having access.

That said, online slot developers test their slots constantly before opening them to the world.  The hackers would need to figure out the random number generator scheme within the slot to hack them.  It’s not impossible, but it certainly isn’t easy.

Here at Bonusninja, we only recommend and trust reputable operators that do the necessary due diligence. While safety is never a guarantee, we do our best to find partners that invest in online security and safety.

RTP and Volatility Signoff

We’ve given you much to think about when it comes to slot RTP and volatility.  Hopefully, this will enable you to choose online games that better suit your playing style.  Whether you decide to risk it all on a game of roulette or go less risky with some online blackjack or video poker, the sky’s the limit.  Check out the Game of Thrones slot if it’s your favorite show or get lost in the Enchanted Forest II for some low volatility slots.  Pick your poison as they say and spin!

Here at Bonusninja, we will continue to provide our readers with the most up-to-date information on new online slots, and new operators who offer games of varying RTP percentages. With our review feature, players can leave comments to help us and other gamblers find the best opportunities to win. Through proper research, we find the best options for our gamers to remain safe and secure while enjoying the best of online casino slots gaming.