RTP settings
RTP settings are the alternative return-to-player versions of the same slot that a studio certifies, from which each casino chooses one to run when it adds the game to its lobby. The artwork, features and paytable layout look identical across versions, yet the long-run percentage of stakes paid back can differ by several points. For a player in Ireland, that means the figure printed on a review site is not necessarily the figure applying at the casino actually being used.
How a slot ends up with several RTP versions
A slot’s RTP is a theoretical figure: the total the game is expected to pay out, divided by the total staked, calculated across millions of simulated rounds. A studio can produce more than one version of a game by adjusting symbol weightings or feature frequencies, and each version is tested and certified separately.
Pragmatic Play is the most cited example. Gates of Olympus is published at 96.5%, while some casinos run it at 95.51% or 94.5%, with the figure shown in the game’s own rules screen.
Play’n GO works with more tiers. Third-party trackers list a top setting of roughly 96.2% to 96.7% on most titles, alongside reduced settings around 94.25%, 91.25%, 87.25% and 84.18%. Book of Dead, for instance, is published at 96.21% on its top setting.
The casino picks the version at integration, on the operator’s side, and it applies to every spin on that title until the operator changes it. Practice varies between operators and between studios, and no single industry standard governs how many tiers exist or which one a casino must choose; the studio sets the menu, and the operator orders from it within whatever the licensing rules of its jurisdiction allow.
Nothing about a session moves the setting.
What a lower setting means over €500 of play
Take €500 of total stakes on one slot. At a 96% setting the long-run expectation is that €480 comes back, a theoretical cost of €20; at 94% the expected return falls to €470, so the same play costs €30 on average.
That gap of two points is a 50% increase in the house’s expected take, which is why the setting matters more than the headline suggests.
None of this is a prediction for one evening. High volatility means a single session can finish far above or far below either figure, and a short winning run proves nothing about which version is loaded. The myth that a slot becomes ‘due’ after a dry spell fails here too, because each spin is drawn independently by the RNG.
Where the player meets the number
The reliable source is the info or help panel inside the game itself, usually behind an ‘i’ or ‘?’ icon, where the rules state the theoretical return for the version that casino is running. Bonus buys and ante bets often carry their own separate figures, listed on the same pages.
Published RTP versus the casino's configured setting
The term is most often confused with the single RTP quoted on a studio’s game sheet. The two sources answer different questions, set side by side below.
Studio game-sheet RTP | In-game RTP at the casino |
|---|---|
| Shows the top version the studio certified | Shows the version this casino actually loaded |
| Same figure wherever the slot is reviewed | Can differ from one casino to the next |
| Useful for comparing games across studios | Useful for comparing casinos on one game |
| Often lists every certified tier on one sheet | Shows only the active tier, not the others |
| Says nothing about your own session | Says nothing about your own session either |
What RTP settings are often mistaken for
RTP settings are separate from volatility, which describes how winnings are distributed rather than how much is returned overall. Two versions of a game can share the same volatility label while paying back different long-run totals.
They are also separate from a casino’s reported payout percentage, which is a measured result over a period, whereas the setting is a theoretical design figure fixed before any spin.
In Ireland, the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland now oversees the sector under the Gambling Regulation Act 2024, with its licensing system being phased in across categories. The desk did not confirm any Irish rule fixing a minimum RTP or forcing casinos to run a particular tier, so the in-game rules panel remains the figure to trust over any review site, this one included.
