EXPLAINING PAYOUT RATES AT ONLINE CASINOS

Published: January 11, 2014

Each online casino has what's called a payout rate, which can usually be found on the company's website. The payout rate effectively determines how much of the money spent by players actually goes back to the players in the form of winnings. While the payout rates are only odds and not an exact science, given the vast amount of activity at most online casinos, the actual rate usually ends up being very close to the payout rate.

Most online casinos operate between a 95%-97% payout rate. This means that for every $100 wagered, the odds are that the games will collectively return $95-$97 in winnings. So naturally, the odds are slightly against you from the start. This is the same with sports betting, online poker rooms, horse racing, etc. The companies running these ventures naturally need to take a small cut to ensure they make some profit from them. Of course this doesn't mean that individual players can't profit. The sample size is so small for an individual player that all it takes is one large win for them to profit over the casino long term.

And while it might not seem like much, even just a 2% difference in payout rate is rather sizable. That likely means one website is paying out millions of dollars more in winnings than another. While it shouldn't be a player's only consideration when choosing where to play (promotions and other factors can more than make up for any potential difference in payout rate), it should certainly be factored into the decision. And as each game and machine can also offer slightly different payout rates, you may want to gather that information as well to make the most informed decision you can regarding what to play, and where.