If we all care about anything in online casinos, it's fairness. Sure, casino games are unfortunately set up so that the casino always has an advantage (see the text below), but no player wants to experience the feeling of being unfairly deprived of their winnings. No one wants to feel they're being treated unfairly.
In today's article, we'll therefore look at how casinos ensure that the results of individual games are fair, explain why some games pay out more frequently in smaller amounts while others pay out less frequently but offer higher winnings, and much more.
Online casinos offer thousands of games, and their principle seems simple at first glance… You deposit money, click, and wait for the result that either thrills you or motivates you to try your luck again. And that's exactly where the trick lies – that "luck".
Casino games are designed to create and often do create a feeling that your luck in the game matters. In reality, however, it's somewhat different. Games in online casinos don't actually work on the principle of luck or chance, nor does it particularly matter whether you have a lucky hand or are having a good day. Everything that happens behind the internet walls of Czech and foreign online casinos is purely a matter of mathematics.
Each game here is a standalone piece of software that operates on fairly strict technical and mathematical principles. Every game runs according to predefined rules and algorithms, whether it's a slot machine, roulette, or card game.
Once a given casino game is certified and launched, its principles don't change depending on who plays, how much they bet, or how long they sit at it.
Which immediately debunks the most common myths that have been said about casino games for decades.
Have you ever heard that machines just need to be "fed" to reward you with a win, or have you ever thought that "your bad luck in the game must eventually break"? Then we have bad news for you. Machines don't just need feeding, and "bad luck" doesn't have to break.
As we mentioned above – the question of winning and losing in casino games is only a matter of the given game and mathematics, not some kind of luck or bad luck. So the belief that if a player keeps playing and playing, they'll eventually break through to a win is often more of a pious wish than any actual rule. Machines and other casino games don't operate on the principle of collecting information and records about who plays a given game, when, and for how long, and then paying out the player accordingly. Machines, for example, have no memory at all and therefore cannot work with this information – literally, they cannot be "fed".
At the same time, it's not true that if a particular machine or other casino game has just paid out a big win or even a jackpot to some player, then "it won't pay for a while now". In these cases too, it's about mathematics. Just as it's possible that for entire days no one wins any significant prize on a particular machine, it's equally possible that several high wins occur in quick succession.
How is this possible? Thanks to the random number generator, which generates the results of your bets.
The heart of most online casino games is a random number generator, the so-called RNG (random number generator). It's an algorithm that constantly creates sequences of various numbers and their combinations, from which the game selects a specific result at the moment of a spin or dealing of cards.
When we say this random number generator works "constantly", we mean truly constantly. The random number generator works and functions even when no player is spinning or betting. Then, at the moment you start the game or click the appropriate button, the system takes the current value from the generator and converts it into a specific result in the game. For example, a combination of symbols on the machine's reels or a number on the roulette wheel.
Every result that the generator and system create this way is always completely independent of the previous result. No game therefore remembers your previous activity in it. It doesn't know how much you've already lost in a given game or round, it doesn't compensate for losses, and it doesn't wait for the right moment to pay out a win.
To ensure that all generators function properly and the game is truly random, these generators are regularly tested by independent auditing companies. They verify that the outputs that the casino transmits to the player are truly random and unpredictable. This is the main guarantee of the fairness of casino games and the only thing that truly determines whether you win or lose, not your "luck" or "bad luck".
But be aware – despite the tested random number generator and fair play, you must always keep in mind that all casino games are set up to play in favor of the casino. What determines how much they play in your favor and what percentage of each of your bets the casino "keeps" is decided by the concept of RTP, or return to player. What's it about?
The term RTP (return to player) translates to return to the player, meaning to you. And it expresses what percentage of your total bets the game returns to you in the long term in the form of winnings.
However, note – although we write here "what percentage of your bets the game returns to you", the word long term is very important here. The return of a particular game is not manifested during dozens or hundreds of games, but only on a huge sample of games played. And that can be up to millions of spins. As an individual, you may never experience this particular return.
How does it all work? RTP is a figure you'll most often find expressed as a percentage. For example, with machines, the return often ranges between 85 and 97 percent. Put very simply, an RTP of 95% on a machine would mean that if you bet 100 CZK, after a few games you should get 95 CZK back from the game.
In reality, however, RTP doesn't mean that this percentage will be returned to you with short-term play, it's not a promise of a specific win. It only means that over millions of games played, on average 95% of bets will be returned to players as a whole, not to individuals. In practice, several players on a particular machine can continuously lose, while another player might win the highest possible jackpot on their first spin in the game.
From the perspective of individuals, neither meets the 95% RTP, but from the perspective of players as a whole, the promised percentage will be honored.
The RTP of casino games never equals one hundred percent in the long term. Why? It's simple. The difference between 100% and RTP is exactly what represents the casino's mathematical advantage. You'll often find this difference under the term house edge. That's what ensures the casino can operate long-term, pay out winnings, and finance operations. Mathematically speaking, the casino always has the upper hand.
Besides return, volatility plays an important role in this regard, determining the character of individual casino games.
From a player's perspective, it's not just important how much casino games return to the player and what winnings they pay, but also how often they do it. This information is revealed by a concept in the casino world called volatility. It's a function that can absolutely fundamentally affect the experience you get from the game.
Volatility doesn't determine how much the game pays you in total, but how it does so.
Low volatility means more frequent but smaller wins, high volatility conversely less frequent but significantly higher wins.
In the end it doesn't matter – you'll probably win the same amount from a given casino game, you'll just get it either "spread" into smaller amounts or all at once as a bigger win. During the game, however, it matters a lot. Volatility absolutely fundamentally affects what experience you take away from the game. Two games with identical return rates (RTP) can give you a completely different experience just because of different volatility.
How is this possible? Simply. As we said, low volatility in casino games means more frequent smaller wins. This will not only bring you more frequent joy, but it also ensures a relatively smooth game progression. More frequent and smaller joy doesn't evoke strong emotions – wins aren't thrilling enough that you need to catch your breath for a few seconds, and the gaps between individual wins aren't so long that you don't have to start desperately thinking that it's really not your day. The game thus psychologically creates a more stable environment that doesn't give you high doses of adrenaline, endorphin rushes and the like. This has two consequences – the game might not be as attractive and appealing to you as in the case we'll describe below, but at the same time it's safer for you. With a game with more regular smaller wins that doesn't play with your hormones, you'll find it easier to keep track of the deposits you put into the game and better control the budget you've set for it.
On the other hand, a game with high volatility brings you less frequent but significantly higher wins, between which there can be long periods without any profit. Such a game can be psychologically more dangerous. Long periods without any wins can be depressing and evoke unpleasant feelings, which the game then simply exchanges for a huge rush of joy from a win. A win that pleases and gratifies your desire for reward from the game for a few seconds, immediately makes you feel like you can do it again and better. That you can win more. You then naturally get the urge to play again and again experience that big rush of endorphins. Simply, you then forget how much you've already put into the game and equally forget that you're playing casino games where you can hardly really win.
This is a cocktail that can slowly and imperceptibly lead to addiction in many players.
High volatility games thus require a larger reserve from players and especially significantly greater psychological resilience. Low volatility casino games are better suited for quieter, longer play for relaxation. Neither of the games is objectively better or worse from an objective standpoint. They're just different.
And both low volatility and high volatility games have their fans who regularly return to them and that's as it should be.
Game mechanics and bonus features are another very important part of casino games. They form the basis of how online casino games behave and how they reward you.
Paylines, wild and scatter symbols, or multipliers in games may seem primarily graphical at first glance, but the truth is they're also an important part of its software. Each bonus or bonus symbol has a precisely defined probability of occurrence, which is part of the overall calculation of the return (RTP) and volatility of a given game.
Bonus features, such as free spins, respins, or separate bonus games, are often perceived by players as "something extra". As something that the casino game gives you beyond regular play, but the truth is that all these elements are actually a fixed part of the payout schedule. Their frequency and average payout are precisely calculated so they continue to meet the stated RTP.
So if the game gives you frequent or high wins in mini-games and bonus rounds, it's usually compensated by longer periods without wins in its "base" game.
Systems like Megaways or Ways to win, which you often encounter with various slot titles, again work in a way that changes the dynamics of the game, but not its essence. It's still a game that's evaluated according to RNG – according to the random number generator, which works with a huge number of possible combinations and randomly selects results from them according to predefined probabilities.
In short, even though a casino game may tempt you with fun and interesting bonus features, don't forget that every new element a developer adds to a game is balanced in such a way as not to disrupt the long-term economic model of that game. In practice, besides a few effects and some fun, you probably won't get anything extra.
If bonus features in a given game paid out too high or too frequent wins, then that game would be unsustainable for the casino in the long term. All casino games simply work because of a carefully designed system that knows exactly how much it can pay you on average.
Remember, the casino always has a mathematical advantage over you, which is how it profits from your play.
Although we've mentioned it ourselves in some articles, the truth is that no player actually plays "against the casino". Online casinos in all these stories are merely providers who create the environment for you to bet and play.
Your game moves are actually made through the platform of the online casino on the website of the company that provides the game to the casino – these are the websites and systems of game developers.