Dazzling animations, licensing tie-ups, and immersive soundtracks are some of the first few things that you’re bound to notice while playing in an online casino. After all, the experience is defined by how immersive it can be. However, another important thing to remember is that an online slot, at the end of the day, is a mathematical engine.
If you’re trying to have a simple night, then yes, you needn’t think about the rest; if you’re planning to get some wins out of your gaming, though, you will need to look at factors like the Return-to-Player percentage to actually get the ball rolling. Opting for the highest RTP online slots will allow you to stretch your bankroll, clear bonuses easily, while also giving yourself the highest possible odds against the house edge.
At Trusted Gambler, we prioritize providing our community with a safe, enjoyable gambling experience. We perform objective, data-backed analysis and strategic insights to provide you with the mathematical knowledge of the entire digital casino industry.
What’s the Math Behind Online Slots RTP?
Before we get into the actual list of the top 5 highest RTP online slots, it’s important to establish a firm understanding of what online slots RTP actually is.
Return-to-Player Defined
Return to Player or RTP is a percentage of all the wagered money that a player can receive in relation to their spins. For example, if a slot has an RTP of 96%, it will return $96 for every $100 that you wager. The remaining percentage of 4% ($4 in this scenario) is treated as the house edge.
It is also important to remember that your specific session might hold several advantages attached to the casino session. You might spin 100 spins, hit a major jackpot, and experience a session RTP of 400%. So, while the base of your experience is set in place based on the RTP of the slot, enjoying the best RTP slots comes with aiming for the lowest possible house edge with a gamble.
What Role Does Volatility Play?
While the RTP decides the total amount of money you gain in return, volatility decides how you get that money back.
A low volatility pays you out in small, frequent wins, while a high volatility pays you major wins over the course of some dry spells. The best paying RTP slots can come with either volatility levels; it’s all a matter of knowing the kind of session you’re aiming for and what enthralls you as a player.
Conditional RTP: Where It Gets Tricky
A game’s maximum RTP is not always given to you automatically. Many high RTP slot games hold a ‘conditional RTP’ mechanism, which means the game might operate at a lower RTP until you activate specific betting modes.
Knowing this difference can make the swiftest difference in actually boosting your bankroll.
The Top 5 Highest RTP Online Slots
Trusted Gambling comes from knowing games that don’t just pay you out simply, but actually use unique ways to deliver those returns (giving you the benefit of getting more than you actually aimed for). Below, we’ve compiled a list of the top 5 highest RTP online slots to make your night more profitable.
- Monopoly Big Event (Barcrest) – Up to 99% RTP
Barcrest is known for its ‘Big Bet’ mechanic, which is highlighted in the game Monopoly Big Event.
The Gameplay & Theme
Designed to resemble the classic Hasbro board game, it features iconic tokens like the dog, the ship, and the car on a standard 5×3 grid with 20 paylines.
In its standard mode, it offers a 96% RTP.
Unlocking the 99% RTP
To access the potential of being one of the highest RTP online slots, players have to get the ‘Big Bet’ feature. This allows you to get a clock of five linked spins at a premium price, but with significantly better features.
- The 20 Coin Big Bet: This gives you five spins with a progressive multiplier. With each spin, the multiplier increases by 1 number (1x, 2x… 5x)
- The 30 Coin Big Bet: Five spins, but with a wheel mini game where you can land on 3 modifiers: Progressive Win Multiplier (same as 20 coin big bet), Epic Spins (all spins at 5x), and Persisting Wild Big Event (sticky wild for 5 spins, increasing your chances for the main bonus)
- Jackpot 6000 (NetEnt) – Up to 98.90% RTP
NetEnt is a known titan in the online casino industry, and Jackpot 6000 is their take on a throwback to vintage mechanical fruit machines.
The Gameplay & Theme
The game is set with the backdrop of a classic casino floor with ambient noise and patterned carpets. The grid is a 3×3 layout with 5 paylines, and the symbols are cherries, lemons, grapes, bells, stars, and the Joker.
Unlocking the 98.90% RTP
If you play it in the standard mode, the RTP is barely 74% – 79%. To unlock the game’s true potential, there are 2 rules:
- Always Bet Max Coins (10 coins per spin): This activates all five paylines and qualifies you for the secondary mode
- Utilize the Supermeter Mode: Whenever you land a winning combo, you get the choice to either collect your winnings or transfer them to the ‘Supermeter’
Playing in Supermeter mode costs double, but changes the value of the Joker. Just two jokers can trigger a mystery win, awarding you with a random cash prize (10 – 6,000 coins), which can fundamentally upgrade your RTP to 98.90%.
- Marching Legions (Relax Gaming) – 98.12% RTP
Marching Legions offers an RTP of 98.12% without any special bet modifiers. The RTP you see is the RTP you receive, making it one of the most straightforward high RTP slot games available in the market.
The Gameplay & Theme
The slot game features a slightly comical 3D aesthetic set in ancient Rome with a 5×3 grid and 243 ways to win rather than simple paylines. The main mechanic of the game revolves around heavily armored Roman legionaries.
The Marching Mechanic
Whenever a full, three-symbol-high stack of legionaries lands on the reels, the game transforms. This ‘Marching Stack’ triggers a free spin, with legionaries drawing their swords and marching one reel to the left. This continues until they march off completely, which can help create massive chains of wins.
To top it off, every time a stack marches off the screen, it is collected in a meter. Collecting a total of 330 stacks triggers multi-level free spins bonuses, which cause ‘waves’ of marching legionaries across the screen. This is a game ideal for those looking for a simple, enjoyable way to win rather than building complicated strategies.
- The Catfather (Pragmatic Play) – 98.10% RTP
Pragmatic Play is one of the most dominant providers in the industry. However, their highest-paying game is slightly older than the modern works, called The Catfather.
The Gameplay & Theme
The slot is exactly what it says it is – a combination of the criminal underworld of the Godfather with house cats. The reels host feline mob bosses with monocles, bowler hats, and cigars. It has a 5×3 grid wth 9 paylines that pays both ways – from left to right & right to left.
Low Volatility, High Returns
Unlike a lot of the best RTP slots, which hold slightly brutal volatility, The Catfather is designed for a smooth experience.
- Random stacked wilds can appear randomly in the form of scratch marks spread across the screen
- A generous free spins round is triggered by 3 or more kidnapped mouse scatters, awarding you with 25 free spins, while also giving you a 4x multiplier for the bonus round
If you’re looking to grind out a long session without any risk of depleting your bankroll, we highly recommend this slot game.
- Jokerizer (Yggdrasil Gaming) – 98% RTP
Known for their boutique-quality graphics and innovative models, Yggdrasil Gaming’s Jokerizer is also one that fits their visually stunning approach. However, to achieve the RTP of 98%, you need a specific style of play to win, much like Jackpot 6000.
The Gameplay & Theme
Carnival-themed, the game holds a 5-reel, 10-payline slot with a backdrop of an abandoned amusement park. The graphics are sharp, glossy, and highly stylized. It also features a ‘win both ways’ mechanic, giving you the benefit for left-to-right and right-to-left wins.
The Jokerizer Mode
While the base game operates at an RTP of 88.8%, you can get up to 98% with the Jokerizer mode. Whenever you hit a winning combo, you can either collect your cash or risk it and enter Jokerizer mode. In this mode, the spins cost 20 coins (from your Jokerizer balance, not the main bankroll), but the advantage is massive.
During Jokerizer mode, landing 2 Joker symbols anywhere on the grid provides you with a mystery win (20 – 6,000 coins), and if you manage to get 3 in a diagonal or horizontal line, the maximum win of 6,000 is guaranteed.
Maintaining your Bankroll
When you play the slots with the highest return to player, your strategy must be pristine to actually reap the benefits of your choice. For example, games like Monopoly Big Event & The Catfather offer an incredibly low house edge, but they’re generally restricted from no deposit bonuses or reload bonuses.
On the other hand, playing Jokerizer or Jackpot 6000 means highly volatile, conditional mechanics. So, while you get the benefit of the high RTP under the right conditions, you need to size your bets to avoid losing all your money during the dry spells.
Final Thoughts
The online casino industry is highly reliant on its aesthetics and graphics to land their audience. However, if you educate yourself on online slots RTP and betting mechanics, you can play on the tightest possible margins and bag yourself some massive wins.
Play within your limits, understand the mechanics, and trust the math – that’s what makes you a Trusted Gambler!
