Regulating the Percentage on Slots Payback

Casinos in both offline and online business never fail to offer a game of slot machine in their establishments. This is because they know that the slot machine is a hot item in their gambling business owing mainly to the higher payback percentage that gamblers are aiming to win.

Slot machines are programmed within its software to give a payback percentage to its player. This means that in the long run of playing the slot machine it is bound to give a payout. The percentage is usually determined by the regulating law within the jurisdiction where a casino operates.

Casinos are obliged to determine a minimum payout percentage that their slot machine will pay to its players. This is done by determining the winning patterns, the amount the machine will pay including the frequency that the winning patterns will appear and the profit percentage of the casino are all determined and the rest of the amount earned by the slot machine is returned to its players.

Casinos usually make arrangements with the slot machine manufacturer regarding the payback percentage they would like to place in their slot machines. Vegas slots usually give an average of 98-99% of payback percentage while other casinos may range between 85-95% depending mainly on the casino operators.

Changing of payout percentage usually requires an adjustment on the slot machine software programs. However, casinos are not allowed to instantly change the payback percentage on their slot machines anytime at their whims.

The payout percentage of a slot machine is usually stored within an EPROM that keeps the software. The EPROM is usually in a tamper resistant seal that can only be opened in the presence of Regulatory Gaming Control Board officials. This is practiced in some states where casinos are prohibited to make changes on the payback percentage of their slot machines without the presence of regulatory board officials as witnesses.

In some states, the slot machine payback percentage is regulated through a random audit that will ensure that the payback percentage provided by the casino to their slot machine is programmed by software approved by a regulatory board.

The Nevada Gaming Commission allows the casino manager to change the payback percentage of their slot machine through a computer. However the manager cannot instantly change the payback percentage of their slots but needs to wait for the machine to become idle for 4 minutes before a change is made after which the machine should not be played for at least 4 minutes more and a message informing about the change made to the payback percentage is displayed on the machine's screen.

Most slot machine manufacturers also hire an independent auditing firm to review and certify the payback percentage on their slot machine software to maintain its integrity through licensing. Even online and offline casinos also show transparency on the payback percentage on their slot machines by displaying the audit approval seal as well as the license issued by a regulatory commission to the payback percentages on their slot machine software.