Gambling/General : Slot Payback Percentage System

John Robison is a specialist on slot machines and an expert on how to play them. John is a video poker journalist and writes for many of gaming top publications. He holds a master's degree in computer science from the prestigious Stevens Institute of Technology.

Further, he shall answer an interesting question: is it true that the payback percentages of slot machines are lower today than they were in the past few years? Many players sustain that is true, but maybe is just bad luck...

When asked, one of the persons that used to work for the Nevada gaming commission sustained that it didn't matter on which casino you gamble at, it would be very tough to win until after the first of the year, because all casinos had to pay a specific percentage to the state. Obviously, you can hear all sorts of things about this issue, but I want to analyze the programming of the machines and how they can modify the payback percentage.

So, let's hear what experts have to say about this...

John Robison confirms the facts! He sustains that, in general, slot's payback percentages diminished in the past five years. But, this is not because of a planned decision by casinos to lower payback percentages, but because of the irregular mix of machines on the slot floor.

By having more low-paying, low-denomination slot machines, the overall payback shifted down, even though the casino is still supplying the same payback percentages for machines in each denomination.

Another aspect which makes the paybacks diminish is the migration of higher value players to the lower value slot machines. Many dollar gamblers have switched to nickel video slots because the video slots are more entertaining to play.

Robison's theory refers to the overall payback in casinos, and not to the paybacks on individual slot machines, which he believes that stayed pretty much the same in nearly all casinos.

Today, many players complain that when they play slots, their gambling money isn't lasting as much as it did before. Robinson seems surprised about this because he sustains that many new slots machines are designed to increase the player's "time on device".

He suspects that nearly all the players who sustain this, probably began playing differently, switching from reel-spinning slots to video slots and increasing the average bet per spin.

It is clear that many other factors influence the slot paybacks, like the ticket systems, which eliminate "convenience" paybacks that don't require an IRS form but are done to avoid emptying out a hopper. The mix of jackpots on slot machines influences paybacks too, because a change to more lower-value jackpots will decrease slot paybacks. And so on...

Lastly, John Robison doubted that the person questioned above, actually worked for the Nevada Gaming Commission. He advised us to consider this: if the casino had to pay a definite percentage (frequently of slot win) to the state, why would the casino have to diminish their payback percentages at the end of the year? If the slots win less, the payment is less.