Do Casinos Change the Payout on Slots?

Slots are some of the most entertaining games out there. Today’s selection is quite large and every game seems to be better than the other. The quality is achieved through superb visual design, fun sounds and haptics, immersive storylines of the characters in the game and of course, the potential for big wins.

Slot developers are constantly innovating and upping the bar with their games. When you take a look at their websites, you will see a range of games that look fun to play. They will promise some nice payouts through high RTP percentages. But how profitable are these wizardslots games in reality when you play in an online casino? Do casinos alter the games to increase the house edge and cut the payouts? These questions are being asked all the time by casino players. In this article, we look over the gambling laws surrounding the issue and also the method of changing the slots’ payouts.

The law condones

In an ideal world, casinos would respect the games created by slot developers and offer them in their original state, with all the perks and advantageous statistics. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the current UK laws and regulations.

As it stands, any casino can alter the slot games’ RTPs, hit rates and other parameters as they please. To do that on a land-based slot machine, the casino has to alter or re-program the machine’s EPROM chip. To alter an online slot’s parameters, the casino only has to re-program some parts of its software.

If a casino wishes to do that, there is a great deal of paperwork going with it as well as working together with gambling authorities. This can be a lengthy process. That is why such practice of changing payouts on slots is rarer than expected but it does occur.

Why is such practice allowed?

It is difficult to say why the UKGC and other authorities allow casinos to alter their games’ payouts. There are quite a few issues that can be drawn to this practice:

• Can a casino claim to offer original and authentic games if their payouts are tampered with?
• Is the changing of the payouts not misleading the customers? Could this be considered false advertising?
• Why do casinos never warn the customers that their games’ payouts are not those advertised by the slot developers?

This year is set for quite a few changes in the gambling industry. With the release of the new Gambling Act 2020, slots were the most impacted casino game. Many changes are currently taking place across the industry and gambling is becoming more safe and regulated.

The new Gambling Act does not include any mention of altering the slots’ payouts, so the issue remains unchanged for now. Maybe it’s up to the players to voice their concerns to the gambling commission? The future will tell.

Conclusion

Although casinos can and do change the payouts of slots, it isn’t as common as we could expect. In the cases where a slot’s payout percentage has been altered, it isn’t likely to differ by more than 3% from the original RTP that the developers intended for the game. Although the game factually will not be the same with these alterations, it might not cause a noticeable difference.

To maximise your chances of winning, always check the RTP of your chosen game and make sure it hasn’t been lowered. Gamble responsibly and we wish you huge wins!

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