Social media content creates challenges sometimes on what’s real and what’s not. A recent topic has begun flowing into our question box thanks to a YouTube video (we won’t link to it because it has inaccurate information) making a pretty bold claim:
Is this true that casinos have to display their Return to Player (RTPs) on the screens of every slot machine starting 1 Jan 2026 and has Vegas casino owners in a panic?
Yoshiko R.
And
With the upcoming US regulation changes in 2026, All slot machines will be required to post RTP percentages on each machine. Will this also be the case for Video Poker Machines & Other Machines like Video Roulette, Machine Craps, etc.?
Joseph H.
Before we begin, if you are new to the term Return to Player, or RTP, this article will be helpful. In summary, RTP is what a machine is expected to pay back to players, listed as a percentage of the amount wagered, over its lifetime. So a machine that is set to pay 90%, over the lifetime of the machine, will pay $90 for every $100 wagered. (This is not a constant – that’s how jackpots and losing streaks are possible. But play enough spins, over enough time, and it’ll approach that number.)
Now, onto this specific question. The supposed change, according to the content source we reviewed that seems to be the source of this, was an executive order by the President early in 2025. A funny thing though – there’s no industry articles or conversation about this, unlike the “was it or wasn’t it” that the One Big Beautiful Bill introduced, for instance, around the handpay jackpot limit.
So no, this one isn’t true. But since we like to be thorough, a few things about this topic.
First, regulations when it comes to particular requirements tend to be handled at the local or state jurisdiction level. So that means the rules that are followed can and do differ in each location. We haven’t heard of any jurisdictions in the U.S. requiring this within a particular machine (data reporting will often be at a casino or regional level), but we do know other countries, such as Australia and the UK, have regulations that can differ and impact this.
Second, when regulations do change, they often factor in the case that machines were released before such regulations were introduced, and will often reflect that in the regulations.
It would be virtually impossible for 20 year old Double Diamond machines to have a software update to reflect this, and it would be cost prohibitive for casinos to remove machines that can’t be updated, and for game makers to have to update every game they ever made.
So often there’d be some sort of a grandfather clause, or some way to do it without having to refit the old machines. There’s precedent for this, such as regulations changing how picking bonuses worked on slots in Nevada, but allowing games that came out before the regulation updates to stay as they were.
Finally, the video in question making the claim was playing off a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) many players have about slot payouts and how newer games are harder because of higher volatility. It was more than 40 minutes in length, and went on an unwieldy path that was probably AI-generated content that is designed to play to player fears about how these games work and make money.
The answer is much simpler, and if as a player you are concerned or don’t feel comfortable, we understand, but suggest a form of entertainment you can feel more confident about. There’s no reason to enter a scenario where you believe you’re going to be taken advantage of, especially when it comes to something that’s supposed to be fun.
The reality is casinos are built with games that make money for them. Changes are made all the time, in public, that show when casinos are making changes that benefit them. 6:5 Blackjack, 000 Roulette, lower denomination slots with lower RTP, a $25 cheese pizza (as a friend of ours recently shared) – these are all changes that happened before our eyes over time in the casino. The simpler answer is almost always the more likely, and that’s the case here.
Joseph also asked about other games – because their payback information can be discerned from the payouts on offer on games like video poker, blackjack, roulette and so on, while casinos aren’t obligated to declare the RTP of those either, they do by default by confirming what each outcome pays. There are ways to take that information and look up the expected long term payback of a given bet online, so that will offer help to players of those options.
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Back in the 90’s casinos would sometimes advertise the payback %. Bally’s (now Horseshoe) had Bally Ballons slots. One line, 3 real, $3 max bet (had to be max for certain payouts). Big neon signs above the slot bank 98% Payback. They were always croweded. I put $20 in and a couple handle pulls later got 3 ballons but not on a payline. Paid $1000! Had they been on a payline I think I would have won $10,000. Fun times.
We know exactly what you mean Amy! They had the same machines at Bally’s in Atlantic City, and we took a picture of the sign when it was in place with the high payback listed. We still see casinos using it as a marketing tool, but most machines still won’t have it in the U.S. today.