What RTP means, worked through with a number
Stake A$1,000 in total on a game configured at 96% and the game is built to return A$960 of it across the long run. The missing A$40 is the house edge: 100% minus the return. It is not deducted at the start or the end, it is spread across every spin as a small negative expectation.
Turnover is the word that makes the number useful. A$1,000 of turnover is not a A$1,000 deposit. A balance of A$100 played at $1 a spin reaches A$1,000 of turnover after 1,000 spins, and it does that by recycling wins back into stakes. The table below is the same arithmetic at the returns you will see quoted in game panels.
| Stated return | House edge | Cost per A$1,000 staked | Cost of 500 spins at A$1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98% | 2% | A$20 | A$10 |
| 96% | 4% | A$40 | A$20 |
| 94% | 6% | A$60 | A$30 |
| 92% | 8% | A$80 | A$40 |
| 88% | 12% | A$120 | A$60 |
Those are arithmetic from the stated return, not measured results for any particular title. Nothing on this site prints an RTP for a named game unless the studio publishes that figure itself, because a number invented for a review is worse than a gap.
The casinos behind the lobbies where you read the figure
The information panel belongs to the game, the configuration belongs to the operator. Full offer terms open under each row.
Bonus terms
Offer placeholder. Bonus amount, wagering, minimum deposit and eligibility are to be confirmed with the operator before publishing. 18+. T&Cs apply. Play responsibly.
Bonus terms
Min. deposit €20 | 125% bonus up to €1,000 + 100 free spins | 40x wagering on bonus & free-spin winnings | Bonus valid 7 days | Free spins credited over 4 days | First deposit only | T&Cs apply.
Bonus terms
18+ | New customers only | Bonus code BLISS | Min. deposit €20 | 120% bonus up to €500 + 125 free spins | 40x wagering within 14 days | T&Cs apply.
- #4
Bonus terms
Min. deposit €20 | 1st dep: 100% up to €500 + 100 FS | 2nd dep: 75% up to €2,000 + 75 FS | 3rd dep: 50% up to €2,000 + 75 FS | 4th dep: 25% up to €3,500 + 50 FS | 5th dep: 50% up to €2,000 + 100 FS | 40x-50x wagering on bonus & FS winnings | Bonus and free spins valid 3 days | Max withdrawal 5x deposit | First 5 deposits only | T&Cs apply.
- #5
Bonus terms
New customers only | Min. deposit €20 | 100% bonus on the first deposit up to €600 + 125 free spins (25 free spins daily over 5 days) | Wager the bonus within 7 days | T&Cs apply | 18+ | Gambling can be addictive.
- #6
Bonus terms
Welcome bonus 280% up to €3,200 + 800 free spins. Bonus winnings are subject to wagering and are capped at €500. The bonus expires after 5 days if the wagering is not met. One bonus per person. 18+. T&Cs apply. Play responsibly.
- #7
Bonus terms
New customers only | Min. deposit €250 | Deposit bonus 100% up to €5,000 + 100 free spins on Collapsed Castle (€0.20 per spin) | Free spins credited in 2 packs of 50 every 24 hours | Bonus wagering x25 (free-spin winnings x25) | Wagering to be met within 14 days | Bonus can be reactivated after 7 days | Bonus is not withdrawable until fully wagered | Bonus T&Cs apply.
- #8
Bonus terms
18+ | New users | Welcome pack across 3 deposits: 100%/80%/60% bonus, up to €2,500 in total + 300 free spins | Min. deposit €20 | 45x wagering | Max bonus bet €5 | Activate within 48 hours, valid 5 days | T&Cs apply | BeGambleAware.org
- #9
Bonus terms
18+ | New customers only | 100% deposit bonus up to €200 | Min. deposit €20 | 40x wagering | Max bet €5 | Bonus valid 10 days | Max withdrawal 10x the bonus amount | T&Cs apply | Gambling can be addictive.
- #10
Bonus terms
18+ | New players | Min. first deposit €20 (CAD/AUD: 15) | Bonus code FIRST | 100% bonus up to €1,000 + 100 free spins | 40x wagering on bonus & free-spin winnings | Max bonus withdrawal equals the bonus amount received | Max bet €5 while wagering | T&Cs apply | BeGambleAware.org
- #11
Bonus terms
Welcome bonus: 100% up to €1,250 on the first deposit (min. €20). The bonus must be wagered 30x with real money and is valid for 14 days. One redemption per player. 18+. T&Cs apply. Play responsibly.
- #12
Bonus terms
18+ | All deposits | Min. deposit €50 | Privilege Wheel: up to €700 bonus or 50 free spins on 3 Royal Coins / Lucky Streak 1000 | 30x wagering | Max withdrawal from free spins €300 | The prize must be activated with a min. €50 deposit | T&Cs apply | BeGambleAware.org
- #13
Bonus terms
Min. deposit €20 | 1st dep: 100% up to €1,000 + 200 FS | 2nd dep: 100% up to €200 + 50 FS | 35x wagering on deposit & bonus | 40x wagering on free-spin winnings | Bonus must be activated within 7 days | Wagering to be met within 10 days | Max withdrawal 6x the bonus amount | First 2 deposits only | T&Cs apply.
- #14
Bonus terms
Welcome package: 100% bonus up to €10,000 + 500 free spins, min. deposit €20. Bonus funds and deposits must be wagered 3x before a withdrawal is possible. Check whether your country is accepted before depositing. Full terms apply. 18+. Play responsibly.
- #15
Bonus terms
18+. New customers only. The casino welcome bonus of 100% up to €500 + 50 free spins applies on a successful first deposit after the bonus code is entered. Before any withdrawal a 5x wagering of the deposit is required, counting only sports bets at minimum odds 1.6 and casino bets without minimal or zero risk. Withdrawal limits and further bonus conditions apply under the general terms. 18+. T&Cs apply. Play responsibly.
Why the house edge is charged on turnover and not on your deposit
This is the part that surprises people. Say you deposit A$100 and play 600 spins at $1. Your stake total is A$600, whatever your balance reads at the end, because every win you recycle into another spin is counted again. At a 96% configuration the theoretical cost of those 600 spins is A$24, but the theoretical cost of a fast session that reaches A$3,000 of turnover on the same deposit is A$120, which is more than the deposit you started with.
So the two levers that change what a session costs are the return of the game and the amount you put through it. Stake size and spin speed both feed the second one. Autoplay on a quick title moves far more money than the same balance played slowly, and the return figure never moves to compensate. How the spin itself is produced is covered on the page about how pokies work.
Why the same pokie can show two different returns
Studios supply many titles in more than one configuration, and the operator chooses which one runs in its lobby. That means the return you read in a review of a game is not necessarily the return of the copy you are about to play. The figure that governs your session is the one printed in that game's own information panel, in that lobby, at that moment.
One figure per lobby, not one figure per title
If a page anywhere quotes a single RTP for a widely licensed game without naming the studio's own published figure, treat it as decoration. Open the game in demo mode instead: the information panel is identical in demo and in real play, and it takes about as long to read as the review did.
RTP does not describe a session: variance does
Two games at the same 96% can feel nothing alike. One pays small amounts often and drifts your balance down slowly. The other pays almost nothing for two hundred spins and then returns a large multiple of your stake in a single feature. The average is identical; the experience and the money you need to survive it are not.
| Return to player | The share of all stakes the game pays back over its full cycle. A long-run average, not a session forecast. |
|---|---|
| House edge | The remainder, 100% minus the return. The theoretical cost of the money you put through the game. |
| Volatility | How widely results scatter around that average. High volatility means longer dry runs and bigger rare wins from the same average return. |
| Hit frequency | How often any win lands at all, which is what makes a game feel generous or dead even when the return is unchanged. |
Those last two are why the return alone is a poor way to pick a game. The trade-off between them is set out in the volatility guide, and the mechanics that produce extreme variance, ways-to-win grids and hold-and-spin features, are explained on the Megaways page.
How to find the published return, step by step
- 01
Open the game in the lobby you will play in
Not a review, not a search result. Demo mode is fine, because the information panel carries the same figure as real play.
- 02
Open the information or paytable screen
It is usually the icon marked with an i, a question mark or three lines, and the return is often on the last page of the paytable rather than the first.
- 03
Read the exact wording
Look for a single percentage or a range. A range means the title ships in several configurations and you are being told which band, not which setting.
- 04
Check whether a jackpot is included
On pooled progressive titles part of every stake funds the prize. The panel states whether the quoted return counts that contribution, and the two figures can differ noticeably.
- 05
Write it down before you change lobby
If you compare the same title at two operators, the panel is the only evidence you have that the configuration is the same one.
What the return does to a bonus you have to turn over
A wagering requirement is a turnover figure, so the house edge applies to it directly. A A$200 bonus at 40x on the bonus is A$8,000 of turnover, and at a 96% configuration the theoretical cost of producing that turnover is A$320. At 92% the same requirement costs A$640 in theory. The bonus did not change; the game you chose to clear it in did.
That figure is an expectation, not a prediction, and variance can put you well either side of it. It is still the right sum to do before accepting an offer, and the full method is on the page about how wagering is calculated.
Check the return, then check the terms
The return sits in the game panel. The wagering, the bet cap and the expiry sit under each row of the comparison table in the operator's own words.
See the offerSo which pokies have the highest RTP?
Any list that answers that question with a leaderboard is answering it for a configuration it cannot see. What can be said honestly is the direction: a higher published return costs less per dollar staked, a 98% configuration costs half what a 96% one does over the same turnover, and the difference compounds the more you put through the game.
How to do that comparison yourself is on the page about the highest RTP pokies, the payout-percentage claims operators make are examined on the highest payout percentage page, and the titles with published figures are reviewed individually in the pokies section.
