If there is one common concern that many new players share it is about the system being rigged. While no one can guarantee that every slot provider out there is running a clean show, it is easy to find the legit operators. Say what you will about gambling regulators, but they have done a fairly commendable job of cleaning up the industry and setting casinos straight.
To avoid rigged casinos, only use operators that are fully licensed and regulated by the UKGC for British Gamblers, or reputable European regulators such as the MGA. If a casino is regulated, they usually make this crystal clear on their site. If you can’t find licensing information, run while you can to the next casino on the list.
Contrary to popular belief, casinos do not have any influence over the games you play. They may have the option to choose from a range of predefined RTP settings if allowed by the developer (RTP should be stated in the help file), but the actual outcome of each spin is determined by a random number generator. Moreover, all casino games need to be tested and certified by independent agencies and are heavily regulated in the same way casinos are. When you play an online slot at your favorite casino, the actual slot is not hosted by the operator but has been embedded on the site in the same way websites allow you to watch Youtube videos without having to go to Youtube.
To ensure that the games are fair and comply with local laws, all casino games need to be certified by independent testing agencies. These agencies will simulate millions of spins, examine the random number generator, and thoroughly go through every aspect of the game.
Changing the RTP of a game would be both costly and time consuming given the fact that it would need to go through certification again, but there is nothing to suggest that the variance of a game cannot be altered. For example, by lowering the frequency of big wins while increasing the frequency of smaller wins, the RTP would remain the same while making it harder for players to land wins they would feel worth withdrawing. To the best of our knowledge, there is nothing that prevents a game developer from making such changes (correct us if we are wrong).
In the long run, this is statistically true. However it is not so clear cut in the short term. The thing about the return to player rate is that it is calculated using an enormous amount of spins. So in the short term, 100 spins might return 50%, or it might return 10,000%. That’s why some sessions are disappointing, whereas others strike it big within a few spins. That is the nature of gambling right there and the ups and downs of playing slots.
We have no idea what a slot will do next, even if it has just paid out a fortune. Remember, each spin is completely independent of everything that preceded it. Slots have no idea where the credits in your account came from so react no differently when spun using free spins or bonus cash. Cool fact, Mega Moolah jackpots have been won from welcome bonus free spins in the past. So, you can rest assured that bonuses are just as useful as cash when it comes to winning at slots.
Hot slots are those mythical money printing machines that spew forth coins just by looking at them. Cold slots are those frigid numbers that don’t pay out no matter what. As we have looked at in-depth, RNGs do not allow this type of behaviour. It doesn’t mean you can’t get on good or bad rolls, but each spin is independent of the spins that came before it.