In a previous Flip The Switch reel, I noted that the payback percentage of a slot machine is achieved over the lifetime of a machine. That raised a question from one viewer who wanted me to dive in deeper:
You said the lifetime of the machine, but that would have to be determined at the onset to be able to determine the 90% of the lifetime. Is a lifetime ten years? Fifteen years? And if so, what happens when that lifetime is over if it’s, say, ten years. Should they have been removed? I know some Dragon Links that have been in the casinos for longer than that. Is that why they have stopped paying because their lifetime of 90 percent has already been paid?
Tina F.
If Dragon Link machines stopped paying, people would stop playing them eventually as they realize their luck has run out, and they would be removed from casino floors due to lack of being played. The fact they’re still getting played, and occupying so much of casino floors everywhere, should be a hint that there’s not a cliff where payouts suddenly stop.
Another thing to consider is that percentage is a percentage for a reason – as more money goes in, more money comes out over time. So if a $1 million is wagered on a machine over time, that’s $900,000 in expected payouts at 90 percent. Raise that to $2 million and it doesn’t stay at $900,000 – that 90 percent is now $1.8 million. So there’s no “upper limit” before a slot machine stops paying.
So why is the lifetime aspect so important? Because slots have natural ups and downs by design. They can’t offer those $10,000 and counting grand jackpots (or $100,000 and larger ones in high limit) if there aren’t losing runs. But over the long term, the ups and downs will average out and get to that 90% payback average. The more spins taken, the more likely it will be closer and closer to the average.
That’s why there’s no shutdown period after reaching a certain age – slots can continue to deliver that percentage for decades, and in some cases they do! There are casinos that have machines that were on the floor decades ago and continue to work hard for the casino today, because they can continue to deliver that house edge in earnings back to the casino.
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