Our recent Facebook reels have certainly riled up the viewers! We recently shared a reel on Facebook where Brian discussed how slots don’t tend to have a honeymoon period. We got a number of comments, as well as discussion among people within the comments, about this one.
Let’s review each of them.
BS. I worked at Harrahs in 2009 – 2010, they would change the odds regularly depending on how the machine is played.
Michael B.
A lot has changed in the industry in 15 years. Harrah’s (now under Caesars) was notorious in that time period with conducting experimentation to see how players would react.
A famous story in a book featured the CEO of Harrah’s listening to players in an elevator talking about how they thought slots were tighter in one market vs. another, only for the CEO to know it was in actuality the other way around. So he surmised that players don’t understand the paybacks that well, and figured they could just lower the payouts accordingly.
But Harrah’s and Caesars has changed ownership multiple times, and different ownership means different philosophies. Slots themselves have evolved, and best practices have as well.
We can’t speak to the past, but we can speak to how things tend to work today. But like other outdated understandings like a need to max bet, it’s safe to assume things change. And based on our conversations, what you experienced, even back then, is also more the exception than the rule.
And even here it’s not that Harrah’s would necessarily set a new slot to pay better; chasing maximum profits is not the same as making new slots pay better. The simple reason is new slots draw curious players in – they don’t need higher paybacks to get people to play.
The casinos can 100% dictate the payout percentage of any slot machine. There is a legal range that they have to stay within depending on jurisdiction.
Zach M.
We never said that casinos can’t set the payback of a slot. However, they only can choose from the options a slot has available. If they want an option the slot doesn’t support, that slot is probably not going to show up on that casino floor.
But again, that doesn’t mean just because they can change a payout, that they are. Most casinos set the slots up when they first hit the floor to pay out within a range they’re comfortable, and tend to leave it alone. If they make a change, it’s probably once in a blue moon, based on third-party data on what setting tends to drive the most play.
But again, casinos don’t need to make payouts on new slots higher to entice players to try them. Just by nature of there being a new game, they tend to get tried by many players.
This particular comment yielded a reply from another reader:
That’s not true either. There is NO Law regarding payouts.
Robert M.
That’s not accurate. Most commercial markets, and many tribal compacts, establish required payout ranges. Sometimes it’s just a minimum (Nevada requires slots to pay at least 75%, whereas New Jersey is 83% and Maryland 87%). Some jurisdictions have maximums. Some regulations are governed per machine, whereas others reflect a percentage to be achieved across the casino floor.
Each game gets certified by a gaming commission, and part of its certification is that the payout options that are made available are achieved through enough plays and meet the market’s requirements.
But there’s plenty of markets that have regulations on this, and so while it’s fair to say not every market has these rules, it’s certainly not accurate to say there are no laws at all.
Most importantly, with more than 1,000 places to gamble in the US, including multiple destination markets like Las Vegas and Atlantic City, competition is also an important factor – most casinos have to compete at this point, and that means they can’t get away with payouts or offers that are far outside the norm, as many gamblers are comfortable shifting their allegiances when they think they’re not getting a good gamble.
Have a question? Submit yours here!
