Low-RTP Slots
Low-RTP slots offer lower returns but often payout massive jackpots. Is the tradeoff worth it? Learn more about the lowest RTP slots out there!
Players usually flock towards high-RTP slots because of their returns instead of low-RTP slots. However, why are there still patrons who prefer games with low returns? Are there benefits you can get from slots with low-RTP?
To answer these questions, we take a close look at low-RTP slots to determine their benefits to you.
What are Low-RTP Slots?
Every slot has a return-to-player (RTP) rate that determines the amount of money you get back after spinning the reels several times. For example, sots with an RTP of 97% will give you $97 after spending $100 for a lengthy period. RTP is also synonymous with players and house edge where 97% RTP is your edge while the house has a 3% edge.
As the name indicates, low RTP slots are likely to give you fewer returns on your bet. Slots with an RTP of less than 94.99% RTP are considered low, which results in a return of $94.99 or less when you wager $100 after a certain period.
Whilst the literal definition of a low return-to-player calls for a lower rate than 95%, most gamers would consider slots with an RTP of below or around 96% still to be low-ish.
Benefits of Low-RTP Slots
Despite the low returns, there are two strong reasons for you to try low-RTP slots.
Entertainment
It is not about the money for certain patrons, but the entertainment value you can get out of various slots. Slots are essentially dopamine vending machines that reward you with exciting sounds and lights each time you get a win.
Modern slots have several ways to get your blood pumping when you get those incredible payouts such as activating a title's bonus features. These features include interactive mini-games on online slots or activating the top feature section of a physical machine. Even with the low physical or online slot RTP, the experience of winning the games is enough to satisfy patrons.
High-Jackpot Payouts
While low-RTP slots tend to have a low return on your bet, a good chunk of these games has the largest payouts possible on the gambling floor.
Progressive slots tend to have a lower RTP than others, including the games offering more than a million dollars in cash payouts.
One of the helpful tips for lower RTP slots is to find medium variance ones with fixed jackpot payouts. Fixed jackpots do not reach millions of dollars in cash prizes, but your odds of winning them are much better than progressives. In addition, fixed jackpots tend to have better payouts with their bonus features.
Top 5 Best Low-RTP Slots
To illustrate the low-RTP slot advantage, here are five of the best games within this category.
| Game | Developer | RTP |
|---|---|---|
| Mega Moolah | Microgaming | 88% |
| Fire Joker | Play'n GO | 96.15% |
| Undying Romance | Arcadem | 95.01% |
| Mammoth Power | Konami | 96.2% |
| Court of Hearts | Play'n GO | 96.27% |
1. Mega Moolah
Easily the most popular slot game despite having a low RTP of only 88%. Mega Moolah () is one of the lowest online slots RTP. Mega Moolah's incredible jackpot is the main reason for the slot's popularity where anyone can win more than a million dollars. How large can the jackpot reach? A took home £13.2 million in 2015 within his Cheshire home after completing his Afghanistan tour.
To win one of the four jackpot prizes, you need to trigger the elusive Mega Moolah Jackpot Wheel, which is triggered at random within the base game. During the bonus feature, you spin the wheel and land in one of the 20 slots on the wheel. You have a 1 to 20 odds of landing in the Mega Jackpot, 3 to 20 odds for the Major Jackpot, 6 to 20 for the Minor Jackpot, and 10 to 20 odds for the Mini Jackpot.
Mega Moolah also has a robust Free-Spins mode when three or more of the Scatter symbol appear on the reels. In the bonus mode, you receive an x3 bet multiplier for all matches you make. In addition, you can extend this mode by matching more Scatter symbols.
2. Fire Joker
is a fruit-slot-themed game with a 3x3 reel structure and 5 paylines, and an RTP of 96.15%. Do not be fooled by the classic-slot aesthetic. Fire Joker has two modern features that are found in modern slot games such as its Flaming Re-Spins feature.
Flaming Re-Spins occur when there are two reels with similar stacked symbols or wild symbols. Upon triggering the re-spins feature, the reel that does not contain the stacked symbols spins to give you another shot at creating matches. With the Flaming Re-Spins feature, you can fill the reels with matching symbols for a high payout.
Why does the game give you a chance to fill the reels with one symbol? This is done to help you trigger the game's titular feature: Fire Joker's Wheel of Multipliers. You can get an x2, x3, x4, x5, and x10 bet multiplier with this feature, allowing you to get more than 800x your bet.
Backing the two features of Fire Joker is the Wild Flaming Joker symbol that substitutes any symbols in the game. In addition to being the wild symbol, the Wild Flaming Joker symbol also provides the highest possible payout of 80 coins when matched.
3. Undying Romance
Romantic vampires are the flavor of the day with Undying Romance from with its 5x3 reel structure and 243 ways to win. This slot's attraction is its Chamber of Spins that has four different modes and an RTP of 95.01%.
Below are the modes you can play in order:
- Amber: You are going to be playing this mode for your first time since the other three features need to be unlocked. This mode will give you 10 free spins with a 5x bet multiplier for every match made.
- Troy: In this mode, you receive 15 free spins and have the Vampire Bats Feature active. Vampire Bats turn one of the symbols into a bet multiplier when you create a match during this mode.
- Michael: You receive 20 free spins in this mode along with the Rolling Reels feature. When triggered, the Rolling Reels grant you a bet multiplier of up to 5x.
- Sarah: In Sarah's mode, you receive 25 free spins and the Wild Vine features that turn any symbols into wild ones.
It is important to note that you can only select one of the modes at the start of the game. You unlock the next mode by playing the previous one three times.
4. Mammoth Power
is a straightforward 5x3 reel slot with 30 fixed paylines and an RTP of 96.20%. One of its selling points is the Action-Stacked symbols that easily fill an entire reel. Additionally, Mammoth Power's Wild Cave symbol is also stacked to fill one whole reel.
Apart from just being a substitute, the Wild Cave symbol gets an additional function when you trigger the Free-Games mode. Every symbol you match with the wild symbol will receive a 2x or 3x bet multiplier. Combining the bet multiplier and stacked reels, you can achieve a massive payout during the Free-Games mode upon matching the Mammoth symbol with the Wild Cave symbol.
5. Court of Hearts
In this Alice in Wonderland-themed slot, Court of Hearts is a 5x3 reel structure with a cascade-reel function developed by Play'n GO. It offers an RTP of 96.27%. Its Rabbit Hole symbol steals the spotlight of the game since it changes into one of three characters that provide different functions:
- Caterpillar - This symbol creates 3 to 7 wild symbols around the reels.
- Dormouse - Creates a mega wild that ranges from a 2x2 symbol to a 4x3 one.
- Cheshire Cat - Wonderland's mischievous cat turns into a Wild reel that moves to a new position when you create new matches.
Court of Hearts' Free-Spins mode contains plenty of juicy features such as the Queen of Hearts symbol turning into a wild symbol. Every match you make increases the bet multiplier where you can get x10 bet multiplier within your first spin. A Scatter symbol landing on the reels during this mode increases your free games by one.
Incredible payouts are possible thanks to the Queen of Hearts wild symbol, bet multiplier, and free-game extension features of this bonus mode.
Slots With Low RTP: FAQ
Answers to the most common questions about low RTP slots and how to best choose them when playing online and in land-based casinos.
What are low-RTP slots?
Slots that have a return rate of 94.99% or less are considered low-RTP games. With this type of return rate, the house has a better edge against the player. You are less likely to get a high return on your bet after spinning the reels several times with low-RTP slots.
Are high-RTP slots better than low-RTP slots?
High-RTP slots are set to provide larger returns than low-RTP games. However, high-RTP slots tend to have low variance where you get consistent wins with low payout rates. Those who are comfortable with small and steady gains tend to prefer high-RTP slots over low-RTP ones where the risk is greater.
Where can you find the RTP of a slot?
Online casinos tend to display the slot's RTP on their site. If there are none available, you can go through review sites that have covered the slot you are interested in. Another way is to visit a software provider's site where they have the RTP data of their games available.
Do all low-RTP slots have high variance?
Despite the strong association of low-RTP slots with high-variance games, you can still find low-RTP games with medium variance. One example is Count Duckula, a slot based on the 80s animated show with an RTP of 93% and medium volatility.
Should you play any low-RTP slots?
While high-RTP slots are drawing attention to themselves because of their incredible returns, low-RTP slots are still crowd magnets. Games that are within the low-RTP range tend to have incredible payouts and entertaining themes or gameplay. Because of these factors, low-RTP slots are worth your time.
Despite having a small return rate to players, low-RTP slots still offer several strong benefits to players. Expect incredible payouts and exciting themes among the many low-RTP slots in various casinos.
