Social and sweepstakes casinos provide hundreds of high RTP slot machines to play. It’s good to know about slot themes, formats, and bonus rounds, but the RTP of an individual slot is also influential.
RTP stands for return to player, is shown as a percentage, and tells us what percentage of the amount played on a slot is returned to the players over time. That’s a basic description though, so I’ve compiled this guide to RTPs to see how they work at social and sweepstakes casinos.
What does RTP mean? Those letters stand for Return to Player. Whenever you see an RTP for the highest RTP casino slot machines, it is shown as a percentage. So, you might see a slot game with an RTP of 96.5%, for instance. I’ll use that example percentage to explain more about it here.
The basic meaning is that of every 100 Gold Coins (GCs) used to play the slot, 96.5 Gold Coins go back to the players. This means 3.5 Gold Coins are retained by the site providing the slot. This is known as the house edge. It’s easy to work this out if you have the RTP, as it’s the figure that makes it up to 100% overall. Conversely, if you know the house edge, you can work out the RTP too. Just remember that the two always add up to 100%.
Note that I’m talking about high RTP slot machines here as they relate to social and sweepstakes slots, so I’ll refer to it in terms of the in-house virtual currencies used at these sites. There’s a complete sweepstakes casino guide available to read if you need some more background on those sites before continuing. Here though, just bear in mind:
This is vital to understand when you’re looking at the best RTP slot machines at a social casino. Lots of players assume the RTP applies to each session of play, but that’s not the case. When you think about it, it couldn’t work like that. Slots have a range of prizes, from small ones to jackpots. No one would ever play a slot that gave back less than the amount played on it per session. Having the RTP calculated over the life of the slot means the following can happen:
Having the RTP calculated over billions of spins means each playing session introduces unpredictability. Each spin could produce anything from nothing to the jackpot. If a slot with an RTP of 96.5% always gave you 96.5 GCs or SCs for every 100 played, you’d never play it.
If you’ve done any reading on this topic already, you might have come across the idea of hot and cold slots. The idea is described as follows:
I’ll provide some examples here to make this easier to understand. Let’s go back to my hypothetical slot with an RTP of 96.5%. I do some research and discover the title hasn’t provided a lot of prizes over the last few days. This might make the RTP for that specific period very low - perhaps 2.9% for example. In theory, this could mean it is ‘overdue’ to trigger lots of prizes.
Conversely, I might look at another slot with a typical 96.5% RTP that is deemed to be hot - in fact, in recent days, it has hit 170% RTP. This means it has returned lots of prizes over those few days. Some players therefore believe it is due for a ‘cold’ period where it doesn’t trigger many prizes at all.
“However, there is no such thing as hot or cold slots.”
While all slots go through peaks and troughs in this manner - high RTP slot machines included - each spin is random and cannot be predicted. As we know, the return to player percentage is calculated across billions of spins over the life of the title. There will be times when a slot will drop lots of prizes and other times when it won’t. But again, this can’t be predicted.
The return to player percentage of a slot often gets mixed up with other slot metrics. There are two other elements you should know about, as they can influence the experience you have when playing a slot.
This comes in three types:
Volatility is about risk, so it’s wise to think about what sort of person you are and how much risk you like to take (or not). Many slots will fall into either high or low volatility play, so let’s see how that works here:
| Low Volatility Slots | High Volatility Slots |
|---|---|
| Lower risk involved | Higher degree of risk involved |
| Prizes tend to drop more often | Prizes can be harder to get, with periods of no prizes at all, and chances of getting several prizes in quick succession |
| Prizes tend to be lower in value | Prizes can be higher in value |
As you might suppose, medium volatility slots fall in between these two. I’ve spotted a few titles that give players the chance to set the volatility level, but those don’t appear to have caught on yet. I prefer low volatility games, especially if I am using Sweeps Coins, as I’ve got a better chance of landing a prize or two during the time I’m playing.
This refers to how often you can expect a prize to hit when you spin the reels. Some people call this the hit rate. Hit frequency ties in with the volatility, too. If a slot hits only 5% of the time, or roughly five times in 100 spins, that equates to a highly volatile title. Conversely, a slot with a higher hit rate of 20% will be much less volatile, as it’ll provide a prize potentially once in every five spins. These are estimates, of course, much as the RTP gives you a calculation over the life of the game, but it is useful information to know.
Yes - there are three possibilities that can influence the RTP involved for a slot. The following table provides the alternatives.
| RTP Type | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Fixed RTP | The RTP is set by the creator |
| Variable RTP | The provider gives social casino operators the chance to select an RTP for a title, usually taken from a series of three or four possibilities |
| RTP for a jackpot slot | The RTP for standard prizes is often lower to account for offering a jackpot; once this is added, the overall RTP becomes slightly higher |
Yes, you’ll find other titles to try at some social and sweepstakes casinos. You’ll often find table games such as blackjack and roulette to play, with some sites offering live social games too. Average RTP values for blackjack can be around 99.5%, while roulette averages often fall into the 97% bracket.
Over at Stake.us, a leading social and sweepstakes casino, you can play a range of Stake Originals too, where the following RTPs can be found.
| Stake Original Title | RTP |
|---|---|
| HiLo | 99% |
| Plinko | 99% |
| Mines | 99% |
| Dice | 99% |
| Crash | 99% |
| Keno | 99% |
| Blackjack | 99.43% |
| Roulette | 97.3% |
There’s an ever-changing mix of social games to play elsewhere, but here are some of my top picks for alternative sites offering some of the top social games to play.
| Social Game Type | Typical RTP | Available At… |
|---|---|---|
| HiLo | 99% | MyPrize.US |
| Plinko | 99% | Real Prize, Jackpota |
| Crash | 99% | Zula Casino, High 5 Casino |
This provides another way to figure out where to play. It looks at the range of RTP values across all the titles currently available, and is therefore subject to change, but here are some examples:
| Social Casino | Average RTPs for Available Titles |
|---|---|
| Stake.us | 95-97% |
| WOW Vegas | 96%+ |
| McLuck | 96%+ |
| Pulsz | 93-99% |
I’ll share some suggested titles below, but before I do that, I’ve got some pros and cons for you to think about.
I’ve provided brief reviews of five slots to play at three suggested social and sweepstakes sites. Play with Gold Coins first, and look for free Sweeps Coins options to collect too.
Created, experience ancient Greek myths in this slot, accessible at Stake.us, which has the following features:
This title comes from Hacksaw Gaming, and you can play it at Stake.us.
Popiplay has a generous RTP for this slot, WOW Vegas has this title lined up for you.
Another title, you can try it at Pulsz.
The first in a series of slots from Betsoft based on the “Take the…” title format. Playable at WOW Vegas, it has the following highlights:
My research indicates that several key developers have created slots that adhere to the minimum recommended RTP of 96% or higher. Here are some more examples. Remember to play with Gold Coins first, and when you change to Sweeps Coins, read the sweepstakes casinos redemption time limits applicable to any Sweeps Coins winnings you decide to redeem.
| Slot Title | RTP % | Slot Developer |
|---|---|---|
| Laughing Buddha | 96.64% | Habanero |
| Buffalo King Megaways | 96.52% | Pragmatic Play |
| Starburst | 96.1% | NetEnt |
| Blood Suckers Megaways | 97.66% | Red Tiger |
| Pixel Farm | 97% | Twist Gaming |
| Sweepstakes Casino Redemption |
| Mail In Sweepstakes |
| Playthrough at Sweeps Casinos |
| Sweepstakes Casino Purchase Methods |
| Claim Free Sweeps Coins |
| What Are Sweeps Casinos |
I hope this guide has given you a better understanding of the return to player percentages you’ll find attached to every slot you might play at social and sweepstakes casinos. While it only provides you with one fact about a slot game, it can help you work out which titles may potentially offer more prize potential, whether you’re using Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins. Even though only Sweeps Coins winnings can be redeemed for a real prize, the chance of receiving more Gold Coins during play can extend the time you’re able to enjoy social gaming, too. Make sure you read the sweepstakes casinos playthrough requirements if using those.
Social and sweepstakes casinos do provide lots of these slots to play, as you can see from the above lists. These sites are available in lots of US states, but check availability of each site in your state to be sure.
No - the return to player percentage merely indicates how much played on the title is returned to players over the game’s lifetime. They do not predict nor assure any winnings from using Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins.
This is one aspect to consider when choosing social games to play. Enjoyment is paramount, so it’s good to also compare slots to find ones that have a strong theme, along with offering potential bonus spins or other bonus rounds.
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