Casino Payback

Casino payback is a term that refers to the percentage of money played that is paid back to winning players. Payback percentages are commonly used when talking about slot machines, though the term can apply to other games such as video poker.

All casino slot machines are scrupulously designed and tested to ensure that the casino pays back a specific percentage of money. The “payback percentage” is the portion of the money that is put into the slot that is eventually paid out to the player.

For example, with a payback of 95%, the casino would retain about 5% of all money put into the slot. Players would get 95p of every £1 inserted, but this doesn’t mean one can expect 95p to drop into the tray every time £1 is played. The percentage return is a long-term concept.

The gaming timeline of a typical player is possibly limited to 200 games, not millions, so any percentage return (as low as a goose egg or as high as a mega-jackpot) can and will happen from time to time. However, over millions of games, the percentage return will still hold true.

In most gambling jurisdictions, the law requires that payback percentages must be above a threshold level, commonly around 75%. Fortunately, the payback percentage in most casino machines is much higher than the minimum. Some advertised casino paybacks can be as high as 98%, or even higher. It is these machines that all players should seek to identify so that they have the highest chance of walking away with a profit in their pocket.

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