One of the essential technical attributes of the casino game for players is Return to Player (RTP). Meanwhile, the trend of multiple RTPs or RTP Ranges is becoming widespread. These changes are mostly perceived negatively by players because they often lead to a decrease in this attribute. In this article, we will discuss the issues of multiple RTPs and try to understand why they have become popular. Also, we’ll make a deep analysis of games with different RTP in crypto casinos. Let’s dive in!

What is RTP, and How is it calculated?

Return to Player or RTP is the percentage of total wagers returned to players as winnings. For example, if the slot has 96% RTP, this game will return 96% of players’ bets in a long distance. The remaining 4% is a casino profit or House Edge. 

It is important to understand that this is a theoretical number. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you will get back $96 if you wagered $100. It will help to understand this better if players are aware of the process of calculating this indicator.

When a gaming provider produces a new slot, it needs to be certified to be able to attend licensed online casinos. Some certifications include the minimum allowable RTP in the game. After programming the slot and calibrating the Random Number Generator, the developer runs a simulation of the slot gameplay. This simulation runs from a few hundred million to a couple of billion spins. The RTP is calculated from this number of game rounds and then is displayed in the game’s description.

Multiple RTPs (RTP Ranges)

RTP ranges are not a new phenomenon. It isn’t easy to trace its beginning, but some game providers have been offering different RTPs in their slots for years now. But lately, more and more developers are setting up multiple RTPs in old games, and new studios are already making this a rule. So why exactly does this happen? Let’s try to understand further.

Why do the RTP ranges become widespread?

At first glance, it may seem that game developers and casino owners have become more greedy and want to share their profits. Well, that’s definitely a case, but it’s not the main reason. The gambling business is becoming more and more expensive. More and more countries are legalizing online casinos and setting different levels of taxes. And this has a direct impact on RTP slots.

A casino is a business that will not exist if it does not bring in money. This is understood even by licensing authorities, and therefore they have to be flexible. In 2021, the Malta Gaming Authority reduced the minimum allowable RTP for licensees from 92% to 85%. This was primarily due to the legalization of gambling in Germany and the introduction of high taxes in the sector. Germany has not yet introduced its own regulator body, so for the first time allowed to operate in its market casinos licensed by the MGA, which met all the requirements of the German government.

As many slot developers try to cover as many markets as possible, they have to introduce different levels of RTP for various jurisdictions.

Return to Player Minimum Percentage 

I checked the minimum allowed RTP in jurisdictions where gambling is regulated, and it turned out that most of them have no limits at all.

RTP Ranges in crypto casinos

I was interested in the situation with RTP Ranges in crypto casinos, 100% of which either work without a license or work under a Curacao license. I analyzed 138 cryptocurrency casinos and checked which RTPs they have in the slots from the following studios: Play’n Go, Push Gaming, Nolimit City, TrueLab, Red Tiger, NetEnt, Pragmatic Play. The results of my little research are presented in the charts below.

Here are the available RTP ranges for these providers:

• Play’n Go: 84-96%
• Push Gaming: 90-96%
• Nolimit City: 94-96%
• TrueLab: 92-96%
• Red Tiger: 90-96%
• NetEnt: 90-99%
• Pragmatic Play: 94-96%

Crypto Casino RTP list