Guide to Gambling Gold: Understanding RTP and RNG

As more Irish gambling fans look to transition from land-based venues to online and mobile casinos, it is always handy to have access to quick reference guides.

In this gambling insight article, we will look at how random number generators (RNG) ensure accuracy and fair play, while understanding return-to-player (RTP) rates will help you spot fair games instantly and avoid bad RTP traps.

What is a Random Number Generator?

The RNG is the machine behind every win or loss you’ve ever had while playing a game of chance, whether in-person or online.

RNG’s are broken down into two basic categories:

• Hardware RNG (HRNG): These are physical machines that manage the outcomes of the games you see on a casino floor. These systems respond to external inputs, like the press of a spin button, to trigger a mathematical calculation, which you see as the result of a slot game.
• Pseudo RNG (PRNG): These are software-based algorithms that are used by software providers to determine whether you win or lose the round. This system is what allows virtual games to offer features like autoplay, where you set the stakes once and let the machine play without any additional inputs.

As you can see from the above, regardless of whether your gambling experience up until this point has centred on real-world casinos or online gambling, you have been up close and personal with a random number generator (RNG) while gambling.

Why Should I Trust an RNG to be Fair?

The reality is that you shouldn’t ever take it on face value that a casino or any other online entity, for that matter, is doing what is right.

What you can do, however, is take action to ensure that you have the safest and most trustworthy online casino experience and accomplish that by doing the following:

1. Play at a highly rated online casino with a proven reputation for fair play and accurate outcomes.
2. Check that these casinos are offering casino games from reputable and award-winning software providers.
3. Ensure that the real money casino you join is audited by 3rd party firms whose reputations rely on providing honest and accurate reports.

At OnlineCasinoReports, we provide insights into these key metrics as part of our in-depth rating and review process.

We put each gambling site we list through a rigorous review process that covers payment processing, withdrawal times, safety and security and more, to ensure we can bring you factual reviews that help you make an informed decision about where to join.

We list the providers for each casino and cover news like awards, new releases, and industry concerns, so that our community has a clear understanding of whether a particular provider is in good standing or not with the gambling industry.

Finally, we also cover which iGaming test labs an operator allows to audit their payouts and game results. When you see that a casino has audits from the likes of BMM Testlabs, iTech Labs, Gaming Labs International, and eCogra, you can rest assured that they have nothing to hide.

What is the Return-to-Player Rate?

Where the RNG is the mechanism responsible for delivering a truly randomised response from the gaming server, the RTP is the game math (also known as the odds) that governs the likelihood of particular outcomes occurring.

While they seem similar, there is an important difference between them. One is the delivery mechanism of a game, while the other defines the probability of what that could be.

As gambling games are nothing more than entertainment underpinned by randomness, it is impossible to say what the next online slot, video poker, or crash game result will be with any certainty. However, each game operates within a theoretical framework that determines the probability of different outcomes over time, based on factors like game design, odds, and the total number of possible options.

It is this theoretical framework that allows a casino to say that a jackpot prize of up to 50,000x your bet is possible. The fine print will say that this payout value was triggered during simulated play, across millions of spins.

How Does Understanding RTP Give Me an Edge?

Having a working understanding of RTP and how it impacts every hand of cards or spin of the reels means you can choose games that show a mathematical leaning towards the outcomes you’re looking for.

When you’re browsing our library of slots, which all offer free demo modes to help you learn, you can decide up front if you want to play games with higher or lower RTP settings.

In some cases, low RTP slots offer higher payouts, but given their lower yield, it could mean having to play for longer before potentially landing a big win. Now you can adjust your stake per game to a level that both allows for longer playtimes and delivers a handsome reward should you claim a top-tier payout.

RNG and RTP Work Hand-in-Hand

As you can imagine, when becoming strategic about which games to play, how the bet setting fits into your budget, and what payout levels you’re pursuing, it is imperative to know that the games and the casino you have chosen will offer accurate and honest results.

The smart choice is to start with casinos that have already proven they offer fair play, transparent mechanics, and reliable payouts. Explore our approved sites and play with complete peace of mind from your first spin.