Is a higher RTP slot better?

Is a higher RTP slot better? The short answer

A slot's RTP is the share of all stakes it's designed to pay back over a very large number of spins. The rest is the house edge. So a 97% slot keeps £3 per £100 staked on average and a 94% slot keeps £6. If you're comparing two games you enjoy equally, the higher-RTP one is the cheaper way to play.

What RTP can't do is predict a session. A few hundred spins are nowhere near enough for results to settle around the average, so a 98% game can empty a budget quickly and a 94% game can pay a large prize. Think of RTP as the price tag and volatility as how unevenly that price is charged.

What a higher RTP slot is worth in pounds

Expected loss is total amount staked multiplied by the house edge. The table applies that to £500 of total stakes, which is 1,000 spins at 50p, or what a £50 deposit can easily turn into once winnings are re-staked. RTPs come from the developers' published figures for the highest version of each game.

The gap between the top and bottom rows is £20 on the same amount of play. Across a year of regular sessions, choosing higher-RTP games is one of the few decisions that genuinely lowers what slots cost you.

How RTP and stake size change a £20 slot budget

Stake size multiplies everything. The next table shows the average cost of 100 spins at three stakes and three RTP levels, so you can see where a £20 budget goes.

At 10p, a £20 budget covers 200 spins before any wins come back, and the RTP difference is pennies. At £1, the same £20 covers only 20 spins and is more likely to run out on a cold streak, whatever the RTP. Stake choice usually affects how long a budget lasts more than RTP does; our answer on how long £20 lasts on a slot works through more examples.

Why volatility can matter more than RTP in one session

Two slots with similar RTPs can feel completely different. Dead or Alive 2 runs at up to 96.82% with high volatility and a published maximum of 111,111x the stake. Blood Suckers pays 98.00% with low volatility, and its top prize is 1,014x. The first is built around long losing runs punctuated by rare big features; the second spreads its returns into frequent smaller wins.

Wizard of Odds makes the same point in its slots analysis (opens in a new tab), crediting Dead or Alive's popularity to its volatility and top prize rather than its RTP. Neither style is better in itself. A low-volatility, high-RTP game suits someone who wants a budget to last; a high-volatility game suits someone who accepts losing the whole budget more often in exchange for a small chance of a large hit.

How often a slot pays is a separate figure again, usually called hit frequency. A higher RTP doesn't mean wins land more often.

Same slot, different RTP: check which version you're playing

Many studios release one game at several RTP settings and let each casino choose. That means the slot name alone doesn't tell you the RTP:

• Bigger Bass Bonanza: 96.71%, with 95.67% and 94.62% versions. On £500 staked that's an average cost of £16.45, £21.65 or £26.90.
• Big Bamboo: 96.13%, with a 94.13% version also available.
• Eye of Horus Megaways: 95.49%, with 90%, 92% and 93% versions also listed.

Wizard of Odds also notes that one title's RTP can differ between countries. The figure that counts is the one in the help screen of the game in front of you. Our answer on why some slots have different RTPs at different casinos explains how the versions work.

Jackpot slots: when the headline RTP needs a second look

Progressive slots split their return between the base game and the jackpot pool. Mega Moolah lists a base-game RTP of 88.12% excluding its jackpot contribution, so the base game on its own returns well below a typical slot, with the remainder paid out through very rare jackpot wins. Divine Fortune is listed at 96.59%, a figure that includes its jackpot contribution.

The effective RTP of a progressive also moves with the pot: when a jackpot has just reset to its seed value, the overall return is lower than when it has grown large. Contributions and seed values are covered in progressive jackpot maths.

Higher RTP slot myths

For the stake question in more depth, see do bigger stakes improve slot RTP.

How to use RTP when choosing a slot

1. Open the slot's help, info or paytable screen and find the RTP; the Commission's game information standard requires it, or another measure of your chances, to be available before you play.
2. Note whether the figure includes any jackpot contribution.
3. Check the volatility rating, if the developer gives one, and decide how bumpy a ride you want.
4. Pick a stake that gives your budget enough spins; at 10p, £20 is 200 spins.
5. Work out the average cost: total you expect to stake × (100% − RTP).
6. Stop when the budget is gone, regardless of what the RTP suggests should happen next.

Our slots strategy guide adds more practical points, and the slots hub lists the RTP and volatility of every game we cover.

UK rules that affect RTP and slot play

Under the Commission's RTS 3 standard (opens in a new tab), game rules, payouts and information about your chances must be available before you commit, and for games of chance that means the average theoretical RTP. Our page on UK RTP display rules shows where it usually sits.

Stake limits also cap how fast you can spend. Under the Commission's online slots stake limit guidance (opens in a new tab), adults aged 25 and over can stake up to £5 per spin (since 9 April 2025) and 18 to 24-year-olds up to £2 (since 21 May 2025). Spins must take at least 2.5 seconds, and autoplay and turbo spins have been banned since 31 October 2021. More detail is on our slot stake limits page.

Where to find high-RTP slots at UK casinos

We can't promise which RTP version a casino runs, so check each game's help screen and the casino's game lobby. These partner offers are slot-focused, and table and live games are often excluded or count for less towards wagering. 18+ and terms apply.

Casumo (Recro Limited, account 61549) gives new customers who opt in a 50% bonus up to £100 on a first deposit of £20 or more; wager the bonus 10x within 7 days, keep bets to £5 or less while it's active, and note the game, play and payment restrictions. 10bet (Blue Star Planet Limited, account 43173) offers new UK customers a 100% bonus up to £25 when they choose it at sign-up and deposit within 7 days, wagered 10x on slots within 3 days, with a £1,000 cap on bonus winnings and Skrill and Neteller deposits excluded.

Coral (LC International Limited, account 54743) offers new players 100 free spins at 10p each on selected slots after they deposit and bet £10 or more on slots between 1 October 2026 and 1 February 2027; the spins must be accepted within 48 hours and used within 7 days, and their winnings have no wagering. Paying in by Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, a prepaid card or certain debit cards won't qualify. The spins are on selected games, so their RTP depends on which titles Coral picks.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.