RTP at online casinos: what does it actually mean?

RTP stands for Return To Player: the long-run average percentage of wagered money that a slot returns to players. A 96% RTP slot pays back 96 cents per euro wagered over millions of spins. The other 4% is the house edge, structural income for the casino.

House edge

House edge = 100% − RTP

A slot publishes its RTP; we compute house edge as 1 minus RTP.

Why that number is not what you keep

RTP is a statistical long-term average. In a single session your actual return can range from €0 to many multiples of your stake. The 4% the house keeps is real, but it is extracted gradually via variance, not per spin.

How RTP shapes bonus EV

When you clear a bonus by wagering, the house edge determines how much of the bonus you lose in expectation. Our bonus calculator uses each casino's declared slot RTP to compute expected loss during wagering. A 1% RTP difference changes the EV of a bonus meaningfully.

Same terms, two RTPs: €100 deposit, 30× wagering on €200 of bonus plus deposit, which means €6,000 of rollover.

94% RTP slot

6% house edge · €6,000 total wagering

Effective bonus€100

Total wagering€6,000

Expected loss (6%)€360

EV−€260

97% RTP slot

3% house edge · €6,000 total wagering

Effective bonus€100

Total wagering€6,000

Expected loss (3%)€180

EV−€80

Three percentage points of RTP make €180 of difference in expected outcome. That is why BonusWijs uses the actual slot RTP per casino, not the theoretical 96%.

Where to find a casino's RTP

KSA-licensed casinos are required to publish their average slot RTP, either on the operator page or in their responsible-gambling section. These published figures can be lower than the standard provider RTP, because operators can configure their own RTP within the game maker's margins.