In the second part of SlotBeats Spotlight, we take a look at the slots dispersion and volatility and if there’s enough clarity of when RTP is in the players favour.
Volatility, which is also called variance or dispersion, refers to how much risk is involved in playing a particular slot title. It is a term used to let the player know how often they can expect the slot to pay out, and how big they can expect said payout to be.
Should there be more clarity on when RTP is in the player’s favour and do you think that players fully understand dispersion and volatility?
Tamas Kusztos, Kalamba: I don’t think that many do and this is the reason why we shouldn’t be emphasising these terms in player facing communication.
It’s part of the picture for sure, but if you ask a group of players (or even industry professionals) about RTP or volatility you will likely get a whole range of different answers. Casinos are primarily about entertainment so some additional player friendly information should be added.
Arcangelo Lonoce, Habanero: Working as a VIP manager, I rarely had to explain volatility and dispersion. However, players were often curious about their own RTP. I welcomed the opportunity to provide further transparency on the precise nature of RTP modelling.
Of course, it’s vital that all the information around the mathematics behind a game is readily available to players. But that alone is not enough. For maximum clarity, the details also have to be easily digestible, because most people are not mathematicians.
Ivan Kravchuk, Evoplay Entertainment: Without a doubt. It is vital to understand that players are not usually aware of the technical terms used in gambling. Phrases such as RTP, dispersion and volatility need to be clarified at the operator level to ensure that players are fully protected.
In my view, player protection and informed betting is paramount, and is a win-win for the operator / regulator / supplier relationship. We would do well to better bridge this gap between the colloquial understanding of betting terms and the more technical terms used by the B2B industry.
Carl Ejlertsson, Red Tiger: No, it could be misleading. It could be interpreted as if a higher RTP equals a better or more lucrative game for the player.
Some casinos might prefer a marginally lower RTP in a game which allows them to boost investment in other features, such as offering the chance to win a jackpot or other rewards consistent with the casino experience. And it doesn’t follow that a marginally higher or lower RTP will change the amount a player decides to deposit and play with in an average session.
We should always prioritise player safety, but we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that players still want to have some fun and casinos choose their offering very carefully in a highly competitive market. If they get it wrong, players will go elsewhere.
Jan Urbanec, Endorphina: The truth is that the long-term theoretical RTP is never in the players’ favour (if the operator wants to make any money). This is not a hidden fact. If the RTP is under 100%, then operators are making some profit.
Players should be aware that there is a difference between the current RTP of the player in a specific game. It can be achieved probably in a few thousands of spins.
And the theoretical RTP which was achieved by testing the math model with millions/billions of spins. The two numbers can be extremely different – the personal RTP on a game can be 355% but the paytable will read 96.62%.
Regarding volatility, players may understand it by “feeling” the game or by how often they hit a combination or a feature. Sometimes, however, they confuse this with a low RTP. It is perfectly possible that a game has a 92% RTP (a low RTP game by online standards) and the features hit one after another very frequently.
However, symbol multipliers will be low or high paying symbols will be so scarce, that the actual wins will be very small compared to the bets placed.
So the volatility, RTP, and feature hit rate should go hand in hand.
To read part one of SlotBeats Spotlight, click here.
