Return to player (RTP)
RTP (return to player) is the share of all money bet on a game that it is built to pay back to players over a very large number of bets, shown as a percentage.
Also called RTP, return to player, payout percentage
Every casino game has an RTP set by its maths. A slot with a 96% RTP is built to pay back 96 of every 100 staked, averaged over millions of spins. The other 4% is the house edge: house edge = 100% − RTP.
Example. You make 500 bets of 2 each on a 96% game. That is 1,000 staked in total. Your expected return is 960, so your expected loss is 40. You can run your own numbers in the house edge calculator.
What people get wrong. RTP is not a promise for your session. It does not mean you get 96 back from each 100 you deposit. Over a few hundred spins your result can land far above or far below the figure, and volatility decides how far. RTP also applies to every bet, so money you win and bet again is charged the edge again.
Some slots are supplied in more than one RTP version, and the casino picks which one it runs. Check the game's own info screen instead of a number quoted elsewhere.
Related terms
- House edge
The house edge is the share of each bet a casino expects to keep on average over the long run, equal to 100% minus the game's RTP.
- Volatility
Volatility is how much a game's results swing around its average, from small frequent wins at the low end to rare large wins at the high end.
- Expected value (EV)
Expected value (EV) is the average result of a bet if you could repeat it a huge number of times, found by weighting each possible outcome by its chance.
- Game provider
A game provider is the studio that designs and runs a casino game, which the casino then offers to players on its own site.
- Random number generator (RNG)
A random number generator (RNG) is the software that produces the unpredictable numbers a casino game turns into spins, cards and dice rolls.