How to Identify Whether a Casino Has a Strong RTP

Whenever I log in to my favourite online fruit machine websites to play the latest titles instead of my usual favourite hit titles like Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways, The Goonies: Jackpot King, Mega Moolah, Age of the Gods, Mega Fortune, Big Bass Bonanza, or Book of Dead, I always pay close attention to two key factors – return to player (RTP%) payout rates and variance (volatility) before deciding what to play.

I consider myself a seasoned pro as I have been playing regularly at online casinos for well over a decade now, and I have learned that these two key considerations essentially tell me how often a fruity will typically pay out, but more importantly, how big the house edge is over me.

Computer-generated content like blackjack, roulette, fruitys, scratchcards, video poker, keno, bingo, crash/arcade games, and slingo all use Random Number Generators (RNGs) to produce pre-determined outcomes, whereas live dealer titles don’t use RNGs.

Each title is programmed to payout a specific amount after X amount has been wagered. It’s known as the RTP% payout rate, and, mathematically speaking, the higher this number is, the better it is for people like me who play on these sites.

When it comes to variance, this tells us how big or small the average wins are and how often they are awarded. Each game you play has an average RTP payout rate and variance level. However, you can also find the average payout rate for entire websites, not just individual titles.

Still confused? Don’t be.

If you want totry out the best payout casinos and avoid low-paying sites, here’s how you can identify whether an iGaming site has a strong RTP% payout rate.

Why is RTP and variance important these days?

Based on my personal experience, RTP and variance are hugely important. They are the two most important factors I consider before deciding what to play. The RTP tells us the ‘expected’ payout in RNG titles for every $/€/£1.00 wagered over a period of time.

I’ve found that most RNG/computer-generated titles from market-leading software providers today have a 92.00% to 93.00% RTP payout rate (which is considered relatively low) up to 97.00% to 99.00% or higher (considered high). I tend to stick to playing ones with a 96.00% or higher RTP% payout rate because, mathematically speaking, they are more likely to pay than a fruity with a 93.00% or lower RTP payout rate.

Let’s take a quick look at a few examples of how RTP works.

If your favourite new online fruity is the brand-new Big Bass Bonanza: 3 Reeler online fruit machine from Reel Kingdom and Pragmatic Play, which was released in January 2025, you will find that the average RTP% payout for this one is 94.50%, meaning the ‘house edge’ for this one is 5.50%.

Another way for me to explain how it works is that for every $/€/£100.00 (or equivalent currency value) that you wager on this particular fruity, you should, mathematically speaking, receive $/€/£94.50% back in winnings.

However, it doesn’t always work like this because it’s the ‘average expected’ returns based on tens of thousands of people all live streaming and enjoying this game over, say, a four-week period. 

In other words, I might spend $/€/£50 on the Big Bass Bonanza: 3 Reeler and only win $/€/£20 back after hitting the spin button 50 to 100 times throughout the course of a day before trying another fruity, whereas you might only spend $/€/£5.00 or so and end up winning $/€/£100 or more with less than 10 spins played. It’s all random.

What I’m trying to say is that winning and losing in online fruit machines still boils down to good old lady luck. Sometimes, you will get lucky and win, and other times, you won’t be so lucky.

The important thing to remember is to gamble responsibly at all times. I’ve found the easiest way to do this is to use as many ‘safer gambling’ tools as possible. Deposit limits work for me, but you may find that session time reminders work best for you. You won’t know until you try.

Five trending online fruitys and their RTP% payout rates

Here are some more examples of RTP% payout rates in five other popular new online fruitys:

1. King of the West online fruity from Blueprint. RTP: 95.49%
2. Win Escalator online fruit from Red Tiger. RTP 95.09%
3. Wolf Gold online fruity from Pragmatic. RTP 94.09%
4. 9 Pots of Gold Megaways online fruity from GG. RTP: 94.15%
5. 1429 – Unchartered Seas online fruity from Thunderkick. RTP: 98.60%

What does variance mean in RNG content?

Variance works differently. For example, online fruitys that are less risky/less volatile, known as low variant or low volatility fruitys, will pay smaller wins more frequently.

In comparison, online fruitys that are riskier/highly volatile, known as high variant or high volatility fruitys, will pay bigger valued wins less frequently.

I hope this explanation makes it slightly easier for you to understand how online fruit machines work (and other computer-generated content that use RNGs to determine the outcomes).

It has made it easier for me to decide which ones might be worth playing, and I find that I stick to playing on low-variance online fruitys with high or above-average RTP% payout rates.

You can play these online fruitys using any decent-working PC or mobile device, and you can make desktop or mobile payments to top up your account in seconds using a range of tried and tested online payment methods, such as Visa, PayPal, and Trustly, provided you are at least 18 years old.

The other important thing to remember is that just because an online fruity has low variance and a high or above average RTP payout rate, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are guaranteed to win more than playing on a high variance fruity with a low RTP% payout rate.

Final thoughts

I’ve found that you can easily locate the RTP% payout rates for individual titles by heading to the paytable, plus you can also find the average RTP% payout rate for the entire website simply by looking at that website’s RTP and variance sections or by asking the friendly and professionally trained live chat support agents.

In other words, this kind of useful information is usually easy to find, especially on top-tier, legally permitted sites.

It’s much harder to find on unlicensed and unregulated sites, which must be avoided at all costs. Stick to playing on ones that are licensed by one or more mid/top-tier licensing authorities, such as the UKGC and Gibraltar Gambling Commissioner.