Casino slot machines online are the most popular form of entertainment. There are literally thousands upon thousands of different ones out there in the market and an average online casino can hold between 500 to 1,000 slot games alone.
The enjoyment of slots also comes with big payouts, but despite the interest and passion for the slot games, not many players actually know how they are made and what sets the losers apart from the winners.
Therefore, we are taking a look at how online slots are built and how winners and losers are made.
Introducing slot machines online
So, what are online slots? Let’s take a look at the basics to familiarise readers with the online gaming option just in case there are a few that have not yet played these games.
Slot machines online are the same as slot terminals that you find in casinos, bars, and amusement arcades. Online, they are built in the same way. Visually, you have 3 to 5 reels, each reel contains a mix of symbols or icons, players must spin the reels to process the game’s outcome. A winning result comes from matching the symbols across 3 or more reels.
Slot games come with many features, the most popular two being the bonus round and the jackpot.
The bonus round is an additional gaming feature that gives players a chance to winner more frequent or higher sums of money than they would in a single spin of a base game. The jackpots, of course, now present multiple prize options to be won.
Slot games online are plentiful and diverse, there are many big titles out there and every slot made has a cash payout to drop.
What is the attraction to online slots?
Why slots? We asked online gaming expert Ingerlise Dalen, who also happens to be editor in chief of www.norskonlinecasino.info, one of the leading casino comparions sites in the Nordic region, what – in her expert view – contributes to the perennial attraction of these games.
“It’s a strange supply and demand system. Slot games are forever being produced week on week and there are so many prizes to pay out, but the interest comes from seeing how you can keep on discovering different methods to play. Our data suggests that players are continuously looking for the next new trend when it comes to slots, and this is why they turn to professionals like us for information and guidance.”
The development of slot machines
Both slots online and slot terminals are built the same way, the programming principle that is. Online slots run off of an algorithm called the return to player or RTP for short. The RTP is a percentage-based payout calculator, so a typical slot with an RTP score of 95% will payout 95% off all the money put into the machine and 5% of that will be the casino’s profit.
The rule of thumb here is all about the level of money going into the machine. This is why when you play in a bar or arcade if someone’s watching you play and you do not win, they suddenly jump on the machine, it is because they are aware that you have been filling the levels of the machines up to get closer to the necessary RTP levels for it to payout.
Slots online work in the same fashion no matter the currency being played, you can use Bitcoin, Dollars, or Pounds, the amount is pivotal to the payout.
It’s at this stage it should be made clear that casinos are global platforms. The jackpot of any one game is not limited to the one casino. If you have a slot being used in 100 casinos online and each member of that casino has 100,000 players playing it at the same time as you, the odds begin to stack up.
Casino data management
Now, the algorithm is installed by the developer, like Microgaming or NetEnt, the programming is the same and approved by gaming regulators. They deem the games to be fair because they will payout. But there is more at play than just the slot itself. The games are linked to casino management tools, every casino online has them, so there is no escape.
These tools store gaming data, more specifically, your gaming data. Casinos can see what you play, how often you play, how much you have won, lose and regularly deposit. It knows your favourite titles and when you will be back online to play. This hub of data is connected to the slots, so the information is fed back and forth. Player data at this level helps to define who wins and who loses. It is all about how puts in the most to fill the RTPs will get their percentage of money back sooner than those that do not spend, or play are frequently.
Now, there is a fairness to this, if you put in 100 coins to play and some other player wins by only spending half that, then where is the fairness Now, this isn’t a day-to-day occurrence here, the payout balancing happens over time.
Most players give up too soon to see the trends. If you deposit 500 and lose it all, the instinct is to panic, have regret at the decisions you made and then give up, but remember the RTP is there as a reminder that you will get a large percentage back.
This unawareness or caution to gaming leads to the online slot being stigmatized as being fixed, when the reality is, slots will pay you a good percentage back in winnings and they are approved and tested games that are deemed fair by independent bodies and regulators.
