Are Online Slots Rigged?

Due to strict regulations for online casinos, you never have to worry about having an online slots rigged payout as long as you gamble with a legitimate operator. But how can you know if a site is trustworthy? In this guide, we’ve explained how you can be certain that your online slot experience is always fair.
Woman playing a slot machine
Published on: 30 May 2023

The Importance of Fair Slots

The main characteristic of gambling is that players must wager something on an uncertain outcome that is determined by chance. In online casino gambling games, players are able to make decisions about which game to gamble on based on their theoretical return to player (RTP) rate.

The higher this RTP is, the better your chance of earning a return on your investment. For this reason, you should always be able to trust that this payout rate is accurate and fair. Although slot machines rigged payouts are rare, they are still possible if you don’t gamble safely.

By knowing about the importance of fair slots and how you can choose them, you’ll be able to gamble with peace of mind knowing that your money is serving you better. Fortunately, verifying the trustworthiness of slots is an easy process once you know how to do it.

How to Know if Slots Are Fair?

There are several ways to know that a slot is fair. These have to do with the gambling site you are playing at and the individual slot title. In this upcoming section, we’ve described how you can check the online slots rigged payouts on your chosen game will not occur.

Fruit machine reel.

There are a few ways to tell if an online slot game is fair and has been tested independently.

Check the Casino License

In the USA, there are only six states that offer legal online casino gambling. These include Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Each of these states has its own regulator that determines through various means that a site and its slots are fair.

For example, a slot must pass strict independent auditing from an agency such as iTech Labs or eCOGRA to determine that its random number generator (RNG) system has not been rigged. It will also verify that the RTP rate is as accurate as advertised and that games can’t be manipulated by operators or players.

Licensing also ensures that a site follows strong security and responsible gambling protocols. If you are not located in these legal online casino states, you may be tempted to join offshore and unlicensed casino sites. We warn you against this, as this can be illegal and you’ll have no way to know that slots haven’t been rigged.

You can often see if an online casino is licensed by heading to the bottom of its page and checking its casino license number. Some states don’t require that these license numbers be displayed, so if this is the case, spend some time researching the site online. Please note that we only review licensed casinos on this site.

Research the Developer

The best online casinos will stock games from a number of local and international software developers. Many developers will have strong reputations for creating games that have high RTP rates, fair special bonus rounds, and reasonable volatility rates. It is worthwhile to research these developers to know which has garnered good player feedback.

Some well-known developers that you can always trust include NetEnt, Scientific Games, Big Time Gaming, Play’n GO, Playtech, Pragmatic Play, WMS, and Evolution Gaming. You’ll find games from at least one of these developers at every licensed online casino in the USA. Choose your developers wisely and you’ll never find a slots scam.

Check the Game’s RTP

It’s a legal requirement that all games must display their RTP rates so players can choose titles wisely. Fortunately, this is an easy thing to check. All you need to do is open the game, head to the Settings menu, and scroll to the last page. You should then find the payout rate clearly displayed.

For online slots, payout rates can be anywhere between 89% and 99%. As we said, the higher this rate, the better your chances of winning, so we recommend favoring games with RTPs of 95% or over. In our opinion, there are often so many great games to choose from that it doesn’t make sense to sacrifice game fairness.

You will usually also be able to check the game’s volatility rate. This is the frequency of how often wins will payout. Low volatility games will payout frequently but in smaller values, while the opposite is true for high volatility games. Note that you’ll also be able to check RTP for table games and live games.

Gambling Regulators

As we mentioned earlier, each state with legal online gambling options will have its own unique gambling regulator that will approve online casinos and their slots. If you are based in a legal online casino state and try to join a website, check first that the logo of any of these regulators can be found in the footer.

  • Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection
  • Delaware Division of Gaming Enforcement
  • New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
  • Michigan Gaming Control Board
  • Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
  • West Virginia Lottery Commission

You will often be able to check which operators have been approved in your state by checking the official websites of these regulators. There will usually also be plenty of other useful information about legal requirements and if operators have incurred any licensing infringements. The website of the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement is one such example.

By understanding your local laws, you will better safeguard yourself against scams and untrustworthy slots. As long as you strictly gamble with approved operators, you will be protecting yourself against the law and criminal sites that only seek to steal your money, financial information, or personal data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you still wondering are online slots rigged? Perhaps you want to find answers to related questions about how to determine if a slot is fair and will payout. In any case, discover brief responses to common queries about this topic below. If you want to learn more about gambling, then check out more of our online articles.

Are online casino slots rigged?

As long as you gamble with approved online casinos, you can be certain that the available online slots will not be rigged. Keep in mind that there are only six US states that currently permit legal online casino gambling, so if you’re not located in one of these states, there’s no way to guarantee that slots at offshore sites are legitimate.

Which online slots are legit?

All online slots that are available at legit US online casinos are verified to be fair and safe. There are a few ways to know whether an online casino and slots are legit. The first essential step is to check that your chosen site has been granted a license. Then, open a slot and check its RTP rate to make sure it is fair.

Do online slots really pay?

As long as you are playing slots at legitimate online casinos, there's a chance that you'll get a payout. It can be helpful to favor high RTP games from top developers such as NetEnt and Pragmatic Play to better your chances of winning, although keep in mind this is not a guarantee of a payout and you should still gamble responsibly.

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