Can Casinos Control Slot Machine Payouts?
Yes, some land-based casinos can technically control slot machine payouts to an extent. However, the question is actually whether doing so is worth it. After all, fewer wins mean that players are less likely to keep spinning.
Licensed casinos are carefully monitored to prevent cheating because gambling authorities need to collect taxes from the machines. So, it’s not wise for a casino to mess with the game’s controls and potentially lose that license for short-term profits.
More so, online casinos don’t control payouts for the same reason – it’s just not worth the loss of license. Still, there are many ways to skin a cat, so we’ve listed them below.
How Slot Payouts Work
Slot machines control the number of credits all the time. This is the number of coins a player receives for a given spin and how long it will take to clear.
Clearing credits is the process of retrieving the cash the player has won or lost on each decision. So, when you win while playing gaming machines, watch the slots and how many credits you have left.
In many cases, at least 5% of the balance will stay with the casino, and the rest will go to you. However, this is not guaranteed, and there’s no way to control the payout.
Current Slot Payout Regulations
Casinos in Las Vegas and New Jersey follow strict guidelines to keep their doors open to the public. These include rules on how machines must payout and what happens when even a single rigged slot stays on the floor. Regardless of the guilty party, the operator in control of the gaming floor ultimately pays the price.
Casinos are interested in controlling slot machine payouts to make getting more players (and revenue). But players are intent on controlling payouts themselves to gain more profit. When you bet on slots, it’s not the house that determines the payout of the game. Payouts are determined by chance, and little can be done to modify the odds of getting a payout significantly.
So, Can Casinos Control Slot Machine Payouts?
Technically, casinos can control slot payouts, but they have no interest in doing that. After all, they still can’t control the random number generators (RNGs) and how much you can win.
Still, some casinos have removed buttons from panels and betting options to keep payouts low. These casinos are usually heavily fined and monitored for years after the fact.
