Have you ever wondered if the slot machines in a brick-and-mortar casino or an online casino are rigged? Well, this thought has passed through almost every casino player’s mind. Very few casinos provide us with the opportunity to test their game for its fairness. So, how do we know if the slot machines are fair or not? This article tries to answer all your doubts and more.
Online casinos are convenient and provide better accessibility to casino players. But, should you trust all online casinos? What is the difference between a virtual slot machine and an electronic slot machine, how do we know if they are rigged, what are the tell-tale signs to look out for? Read along to find out answers to all these questions.
Virtual Slot Machines vs Electronic Slot Machines
Slot machines are known for their stunning graphics, immersive sound effects, and entertaining gameplay. Slots have been the profit makers for brick-and-mortar casinos. The Las Vegas casinos have always been swarmed by slots enthusiasts. There is no surprise if online casinos decide to adapt the slot games to their gambling platforms. However, the biggest problem they had to face was to decide how to emulate the randomness and entertainment of a real-life slot machine.
An electronic slot machine is located at a brick-and-mortar casino. These are big machines with a screen, controllers, and a lever. Electronic slot machines are very vibrant due to the colorful bulbs and even more colorful games. You need to sit in front of the enormous slot machine and pull the lever to set the reels spinning. The earlier slot machines had 3 reels with over 20 symbols. Coming to the era of digital slot machines, they can now have up to 5 reels and over 256 symbols, maximizing the chance of winnings. These traditional slot machines, however, consume an enormous amount of electricity.
Virtual slot machines are available in online casinos and can be played from anywhere. These games are optimized to be played on your desktop, laptop, tablet, and even on your smartphone. You don’t even have to own a flagship-level device to play virtual slots. This makes virtual slots convenient and more accessible to players. Several leading game providers are working around the clock to make the best online slot games available. Providers like Microgaming, NetEnt, Spinominal, and RTG are the leading slot providers around the world.
The outcome of electronic and virtual slot machines depends entirely on chance. The skill or experience of the players plays no part in winning a jackpot. The basic gameplay of both types of slot machines remains the same. However, there are several types of virtual slots currently available online with very different gameplays.
Are Slot Machines Rigged?
Now, to talk about the elephant in the room. Are slot machines rigged? No casino will admit their slot machines are rigged. It would affect their reputation and the players would abstain from coming back to their platform. Slot machines are the bread and butter of all casinos. Why would casinos kill the golden goose that fetches them profits?
Then, why do you feel like the slot machines are rigged? There is a factor called house edge, which is more for slot games when compared to other casino games. To better understand what a house edge is, assume that a slot game has an 8% house edge. If you deposit $100, the slot game will return $92 to the player. This doesn’t mean the slot games are rigged against the player. House Edge is how online casinos earn profits.
Here are a few measures implemented by online casinos to ensure fair gaming:
- Random Number Generator: RNGs are algorithms or codes that are designed to ensure the randomness of the outcome.The final symbol that the reels display in the virtual slot is based on the random output generated by the RNG. The RNGs in online casinos can be tested and are provably fair. This ensures fair and unbiased gambling.
- Return To Player: RTP is the opposite of house edge. While house edge shows how much the casino can earn from playing the game, an RTP shows how much the game will return to the player. The RTPs of slot games are always displayed in an online casino. It is indicated in percentages and the game with the highest RTP gives back more to the player.
- Volatility: Slots with low volatility pay out lesser amounts, meanwhile, the slots with high volatility pay out higher amounts. However, the risks are more in slots with high volatility than with low volatility games. Volatility is the result of the payout amount, the RTP, and the house edge.
- Licensing And Regulation: Online casinos have to go through rigorous tests to get accredited with an active gambling license. Similarly, they need to have higher gambling standards to retain the license. And, gambling licenses cost a dime. Therefore, online casinos are forced by the licensing agencies to ensure fair play.
Conclusion
Are slot machines rigged? Virtual slot machines in licensed and regulated online casinos are not rigged. The same cannot be said for electronic slot machines in land-based casinos. While we can test the fairness of slot games in an online casino, there are no means by which we can do the same at a brick-and-mortar casino.
Most seasoned casino players advise never to play slots at a land-based casino. The slot games, their game dynamics, and payout structure are more transparent in an online casino. Therefore, it is better to play slots at an online casino as it is fair and safer than a brick-and-mortar casino.
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