Today’s question reflects a common misconception some players have about exactly who can do what to a slot machine. It’s a bit lengthy, but we’re including the bulk of the question here because it offers a good illustrative example of what the player believes is happening.
I understand the random number generator (RNG). So how often can the casino change what the number refers to? Example: The RNG picks from a set of numbers say from 1 – 1000.
That random is regulated BUT! The pay chart it refers to is NOT. This chart also determines the payback percentage.
There could be several line hit possibilities. Keeping this simple let’s look at Winning the Jackpot.
The RNG PICKS #27. Now it looks at the payout chart. If the RNG is between the numbers 20-32, Jackpot.
Now the casino tightens up the chance of getting a jackpot. The RNG result needs to be between 25-29 to win the jackpot. Only Three numbers Win versus Eleven numbers to win on the other chart.
So again how often and when can the payout chart be changed?
Bobby B
The mistake in your example is you presume the casinos have that granular level of control over the odds of a particular payout occurring. They don’t have the ability to specifically control the odds of getting a jackpot.
The flaw in your argument is that the RNG is government regulated, but the reality is so are the games themselves. The range of payout options that are available to casinos are established by the game makers. When building each payback option, they establish the odds for each outcome occurring, and the totality of the outcomes is how the RTP is calculated.
After the game maker builds the game, it goes to a third party lab for testing, confirming what the slot maker claims they build bears out in a simulation covering billions of spins. Those third party tests are essential because games are then certified to follow the regulations by various gaming jurisdictions, who approve the games for being deployed in a given market. The third party testing is how it’s confirmed the game works as designed, and meets the regulations for that market. (Each market outlines which tests are required, and which companies’ testing will be accepted for certification.)
Casinos review what’s called a PAR sheet, which offers details as to the game’s payback, chances for hitting a jackpot, etc. If it meets what they’re looking to put on their floor, they’ll buy it.
Casinos have a single setting they can then choose from when it comes to the overall payback of a machine – which RTP they wish to set the slot. The underlying combinations, including jackpot odds, are all within that choice, which they can change at their discretion, but in practice rarely if ever changes.
It’s worth noting that the differences in RTP often don’t impact the chances of winning the top jackpot, which tends to be pretty low to begin with, and a small chunk of the overall RTP. So the odds are when casinos set the game up at a lower RTP, it’ll be more in the amounts of bonus payouts or bigger line hits, as opposed to that top jackpot.
Ultimately, the premise you’ve suggested fails because it presumes RTP isn’t regulated – it is, in a variety of ways, from the game design to the testing to the certification in various markets. Casinos don’t have unilateral control over how a slot pays back.
If anything, the slot makers have more control, and that’s good for us players, as it assures the game we see in one casino will be the game we see in another, because the game maker is able to maintain that consistency.
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