While some people think it’s just an urban legend, it is true that casinos must adhere to payout percentages. A payout percentage is the rate at which a game will return a part of the deposits, directly to the players. It’s a good idea to look at payout percentages when you are trying to make decisions on where to place your gambling bankroll. However, each state’s payout percentages vary.
Typically, slots have a payout that will land anywhere between 75% to 98%. While this is standard, there are still times when players will have no luck, or have better than usual luck on the slots. These percentages don’t mean that each player will get this type of return. It simply means that over a specified period of time, the machine must overall pay back a specific percentage. So, it may not be one person who reaps those rewards.
A term called “house edge” can also impact payout percentages. The house edge is an amount that the casino will keep for themselves. The house edge is also calculated over time and can be something quite small like 1%. Of course, even at that small of a percentage, with many players wagering, a casino can quickly make a good profit.
To get more information on specific state payouts, players can research whatever state they’re in. For example, in Nevada, the slot payout percentage is 75%, but in New Jersey the slot payout percentage is 83%. Obviously Nevada has the most casinos, so they don’t have to have higher payout percentages. People will still come there to play. But, states with fewer casinos, looking to boost their casino revenue, will often have those higher percentages for players to enjoy and be enticed by. Each casino is legally obligated to state their payout percentages and make them available for the public to review. Each state’s Gaming Commission should have the details, as well.
Something to note is that while there are state minimums, casinos can also make their payout percentages higher than that minimum. If the casino needs business, they may be legally required by state to have a 75% payout percentage, but they may offer their players 85%, just to bring in more business. Once their payout percentage is set, however, they must go back and reapply with the Gaming Commission of the state if they wish to lower or raise it again. This means, it’s not a day to day payout benefit that will be changing often.
