Players card systems log how much you play, which lead to casino offers. Many players worry they do other things in the process:
I always wonder if you put your card in the machine, does it keep track, as to say if you win 20k, then it won’t let you win anymore after that?
Maria S.
Players card systems keep track of how much you bet and how much you win, so casinos know over time both your theoretical loss (how much you would be expected to lose over time given your gambling patterns) and your actual loss (what you actually lost, or won, on casino trips).
Players card systems cannot control the payout of the slot in any way – they’re there largely to just keep track of data so casinos know what type of player you are. Slot settings can’t be controlled by the separate computer systems that manage the players card data.
Various regulations put into place over the years determine when payouts can be changed. For instance, in Nevada, if you have credits in the machine, they can’t change the setting, regardless of whether during the session you won big or not.
But that’s OK, and casinos don’t need to do it anyway. Slot machines are among the most profitable games on the casino floor, and require less labor and effort than table games. So as long as there’s electricity to keep the games running, they don’t need to do much other than set them up and let them run.
Over the long run, they’re highly profitable for the casino, even if you win that 20k. And winners are an important part of the calculus – it gives them something to market, and something for players to strive for some day. On the other hand, choosing not to use the player card for fear of what the casino might be doing is a guaranteed loss of offers for a player, which can be 20% to 40% of your theoretical loss. That’s an expensive mistake to make, so this is why we (almost) always advise players to use their card.
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