Our top 10 list of best-paying slots

What are the best-paying online slots of all-time?

Let’s get straight to the point! Below you see our list of the top 25 best-paying slots, of the most prominent slot providers. The top 10 are in bold!

The best-paying slots are the slots with the highest theoretical Return to Player (theoretical RTP or simply RTP).

With so many slots out there, you have more than enough options to choose from. Yes, you can look at the attractiveness of the slot in terms of animations, smoothness, gameplay or the variance. But it is also essential to look at the RTP of the slot.

If the RTP is, for example, 96%, you know that over the longer run, you’ll leave behind a margin (house edge) of 4% to the casinos.

But is the RTP is 97%, the margin is already a quarter less: 3%.

It matters, and I’ll explain this in more detail below.

We looked at the RTP’s of slots of 16 providers, which were all released from 2012 till the end of 2019.

Here you see the list.

	SLOT NAME	PROVIDER	YEAR	RTP
1	Mega Joker	Netent	2011	99.00%
2	1429 Uncharted Seas®	Thunderkick	2016	98.60%
3	The Catfather	Pragmatic Play	2016	98.10%
4	Blood Suckers	Netent	2013	98.00%
5	Jokerizer	Yggdrasil	2016	98.00%
6	Twin Joker	Stakelogic	2016	97.79%
7	The Ruby	iSoftbet	2018	97.50%
8	Big Bad Wolf	Quickspin	2016	97.34%
9	Børk the Berzerker	Thunderkick	2018	97.30%
10	White Rabbit Megaways	Big Time Gaming	2017	97.24%
11	3 Charms Crush	iSoftbet	2018	97.23%
12	Spartania	Stakelogic	2016	97.22%
13	Gold Train	Pragmatic Play	2017	97.16%
14	Monkeys of The Universe	Stakelogic	2016	97.16%
15	Hot Shots	iSoftbet	2018	97.15%
16	Shaolin Spin	iSoftbet	2015	97.15%
17	Rage to Riches	PlayNGo	2015	97.12%
18	Tut’s Twister	Yggdrasil	2018	97.10%
19	Beauty & the Beast	Yggdrasil	2017	97.10%
20	Toki Time®	Thunderkick	2014	97.10%
21	Caishen’s Gold	Pragmatic Play	2017	97.08%
22	Sinbad	Quickspin	2013	97.08%
23	Treasure Island	Quickspin	2015	97.07%
24	Secrets of Atlantis	Netent	2016	97.07%
25	Jack Hammer 2	Netent	2012	97.07%

Why a higher payout rate (RTP) matters

The higher the payout rate (or RTP or Theoretical RTP), the better it is for you.

If, for example, the RTP is 96%, it implies that (in the long run), you lose $€4 after every $€100 you stake. But would the RTP be 97%, you would lose “only” $€3.

Now, you may think that this is not such a big deal. But it matters — more than you think. You could, for example, have a starting balance of $€100, but play for a total of €500 (you play with your winnings as well during your session).

• If the RTP is 96%, you would expect to lose: $€500 x 4% = € 20
• If the RTP is 97%, you would expect to lose: $€500 x 3% = € 15

You can see that the difference is already more substantial. And it becomes larger and larger, once you start to wager higher amounts.

The RTP has nothing to do with the volatility (or variance) of the slot.

Variance says something about the variation of the sizes of wins. High volatility slots pay out more top prizes (but less often).

Low variance slots pay out smaller prizes (but more often).

Is the RTP of the top slots so much better?

The answer is YES.

There are so many slots out there with a low RTP, sometimes even below 95%. Can you imagine how big the differences are if you play a slot with an RTP topping 97%?

We looked at the slots of all the main providers and slots from 2012 onwards. So, we have not looked at antique slots or relatively unknown providers. After all, you want a bit of gaming fun as well!

Below you see a comparison of the RTP’s of the TOP 25 slots versus all the slots (over 1,200 slots) of 16 major slots providers.

You can conclude the following:

• Differences in the RTP of slots are substantial.
• So many slots have an RTP close to 95% or even lower than 95%. Why on earth would you want to play these slots?
• If you play a slot with an RTP of 97% or more, that’s pretty good! At least you can be assured that you’re playing one of the better-paying slots.
• 2016 was a good year in terms of new high-paying slots. No less than 8 of the top 25 slots were released in 2016.
• The RTP of the average online slot is the green line and is 96.25%. Make sure you play slots that are at least 96.25%.

You may wonder why there are so many differences. Well, for starters, online casinos and providers want to make money! The higher the margin, and, thus, the lower the RTP, the more profit they make.

As long as you, as a player, are okay with it, the online casinos are, too – no doubt about that.

But if you want to be smarter, you simply choose the best-paying slots.

So, what are the top 10 best-paying online slots?

Mega Joker (Netent, released in 2011): RTP of 99.00%

All the classic features of these slots can be found in Mega Joker: Three reels in the base game and Three upper reels in Supermeter mode.

Mega Joker has the highest RTP of 99%. However, this only applies in the top game with the three upper reels, and only if you play the maximum bet.

The variance of Mega Joker is medium to high.

1429 Uncharted Seas (Thunderkick, released in 2016): RTP of 98.60%

Thunderkick’s 1429 Uncharted Seas slot is a real pleasure to play. The slot looks fantastic, and the bonus rounds are also entertaining and sometimes pretty rewarding.

The theme of this new title is the mythical sea stories from the 15th century.

What’s also striking: the payout rate of 98.6% is exceptionally high.

The volatility is low, and the maximum win is 670x the bet.

The Catfather (Pragmatic Play, released in 2016): RTP of 98.10%

Pragmatic Play has based this slot on The Godfather, with a twist. Nevertheless, more than entertaining, What helps is the fantastic payout rate of 98.10%.

So effectively, you are “only” giving away 1.90% to online casinos. Yes, you can outsmart them. If you can use this slot to unlock your bonus money, why not do it?

The volatility of this slot is low: you will not see any mega wins here.

Blood Suckers (Netent, released in 2013): RTP of 98.00%

Netent’s Blood Suckers is a fantastic vampire-themed slot with excellent animations.

In the main game, there are 25 paylines. The game has free spins as well as a Pick and Click bonus.

The variance (volatility) is low. This implies that there are relatively many smaller wins, not the massive wins.

Jokerizer (Yggdrasil, released in 2016): RTP of 98.00%

Jokerizer is a mix of a fruit slot and a video slot, with limited features.  Thanks to Mystery Wins, you can win big.

Yes, the RTP is 98%, but this is only the case is you play the slot in the Jokerizer Mode. If you son;t the RTP drops to a poor 88,8%. Our advice: always play in the Jokerizer Mode.

The variance is medium to high. The max win is 600x the bet. You can expect mega prizes of around 500x to 600x the bet, relatively often.

Twin Joker (Stakelogic, released in 2016): RTP of 97.79%

Also, this slot is a blend of a classic slot and a video slot. There are two sets of reels of 3×3 symbols.

You can choose to play one of the sets or play both groups at the same time and have synchronized spins.

Entertaining and the RTP is excellent, The variance is medium, and the maximum win is 1,200x the bet.

The Ruby (iSoftbet, released in 2018): RTP of 97.50%

The Ruby is a Jackpot slot with 5 reels and 3 rows of symbols. There are 30 paylines.

The slot looks a bit retro, and the bonus feature is like a “Big Bertha” slot where you pull the handle to get either a mystery win, free spins or one of 3 jackpots.

Yes, the RTP is excellent, but a part is used up by the jackpots, which is only for the happy few. You need to like these kinds of slots.

Big Bad Wolf (Quickspin, released in 2016): RTP of 97.34%

Big Bad Wolf is a fairytale where three little piglets are hiding from the big bad wolf.

This award-winning video slot has progressive wilds, free spins, retriggers, three cute piglets and one angry wolf.

The gameplay is excellent and the RTP as well. The variance is low to medium.

Børk the Berzerker (Thunderkick, released in 2018): RTP of 97.30%

It’s an entertaining slot with 5 reels and 3 rows of symbols. It’s a cartoon slot with a Norwegian “berserker” theme. The animations are spot-on, and it just looks good.

The gameplay is entertaining and offers more than enough variety.

The volatility is medium, and the maximum win is 2,100x the total bet.

White Rabbit Megaways (Big Time Gaming, released in 2017): RTP of 97.24%

Last but not least, in our top 10 list: White Rabbit Megaways.

For starters, it’s the best paying Megaways slot. Then the slot itself: it’s magical. There are 5 reels up to 7 symbols in the main game, but in the free spins, these can expand to 12 symbols.

So you can end up with 248,832 Megaways in the free spins.

You can also go for the Feature Drop (Buy a Bonus feature) where you get access to the free spins straight away. In that case, the RTP is a fantastic 97.77%!

Conclusion – why throw away money if you don’t have to?

As you can see, the differences can be enormous when you look at the RTP’s of slots.

Therefore, it’s always crucial to have a look at the RTP of a slot before you play, especially when you stake serious money.

In the end, we are talking about your money. Yes, you gamble to win. And yes, you understand that casinos need a healthy profit margin. But why give away much more than is necessary?

You can be smarter than the casino.

Unlocking bonus money with high-RTP slots is not always possible though

An obvious question is whether you can use these slots when you want to unlock bonus money.

My advice is to check the terms and conditions of the online casino. Many casinos will not allow you to play slots with an RTP of, say, 97% – 98%, with bonus money.

It would otherwise be too easy to convert your bonus money into real money.

But having said this, you can play these slots with real money.

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