Most online casino games are available in two formats: players can either deposit and play for real money or load demo versions of the games and wager with free in-game credits instead. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. The demo versions allow you to test the waters when you join an online casino and try new games in a risk-free manner.
With that said, all winnings you generate during free play are nonwithdrawable, as the demo credits have no redeemable cash value. Those who deposit and play for real money can cash out their profits, but they also risk losing their entire balance during bad streaks.
One question that commonly arises is whether the chances of winning during free play coincide with those advertised for the real-money versions. Some people argue that the demo versions offer better odds to trick players into depositing, only to find their luck has suddenly run out when they start playing with cash. So, are these suspicions groundless, or is there any proof to substantiate them? Let’s find out.
The RTP of Online Casino Games in Short
RTP stands for Return to Player. It represents the percentage of all wagers an online casino game will pay back to players over time. If an online slot advertises an RTP of 95%, for example, it typically returns about 95¢ of every dollar staked in the long run.
RTP and House Edge
Short-Term vs. Long-Term RTP
The Number of Plays Matters
RTP and House Edge
The remaining 5% represents the house edge, the percentage of profits the casino collects from this game over time. Casino games are built to ensure a steady flow of profits for operators. This does not mean you will lose this exact percentage on every bet or series of bets. You need a large enough sample size to achieve the actual theoretical return.
Short-Term vs. Long-Term RTP
Many licensed gambling sites update their theoretical return percentages regularly, and you might notice discrepancies if you look closely enough. Gaming operators can determine the actual return of a game by dividing the winnings paid to players by the total amount wagered during a specific period. Below is an example to illustrate this.
- An online slot is designed with a 96.52% RTP.
- The slot generates $1,500,000 in turnover within a single month of play.
- The game pays back $1,390,000 to winning players during this period.
- The actual RTP the slot achieves within one month equals ($1,390,000 / $1,500,000) x 100 = 0.9266 x 100 = 92.66%.
- This is 3.86% lower than the advertised percentage.
The Number of Plays Matters
While a discrepancy exists between the percentages listed above, this difference does not necessarily mean the casino has tampered with the game. The slot’s volatility and the number of rounds played also need to be considered.
A smaller number of plays typically results in greater deviations from the return percentages shown in the games. These discrepancies gradually diminish as the volume of bets grows. The actual return percentage will eventually converge with the advertised RTP after a sufficiently large number of trials, usually over one million.
Why Do Online Casinos Offer Demo Versions?
Most interactive gambling operators offer free versions of their games to attract new customers and get them to register, deposit, and play for real money. The libraries of modern online casinos often comprise thousands of releases, ranging from video slots and various card games to live dealer tables and scratchcards.
Players have the ultimate freedom to choose from hundreds of options, but testing all games in real-money format is practically impossible. As a solution to this problem, most online casinos allow their customers to fund their play with free in-game credits and test as many releases as they wish.
Players who exhaust their free credits must simply reload the game to replenish their demo balance. The demos are identical to their real-money counterparts, allowing players to practice, master the different bet types, and test new strategies with no risk of loss whatsoever.
Due to this, many customers perceive free-to-play games as a value-added attraction and prefer casinos that offer them over those that do not. However, while there is no discernible difference in terms of gameplay, you can never win actual cash because no real money changes hands when you play the demos.
Live dealer tables are the only exception and are never available for free play. Streamed in real time from dedicated studios, they are
the prerogative of depositing players only. They require real-money deposits due to the considerable expenses associated with their upkeep. After all, paying the live dealers and maintaining the gaming equipment both cost a lot of money.
A Real-Life Example of Higher RTP in Demo Mode
Claims have surfaced that some software providers intentionally adjust the theoretical return percentages of their games, causing bigger and more frequent wins in free-play mode compared with the real-money versions. One notable example is an incident involving an online slot developed by the GameArt software studio.
Turning $500 in Demo Credits into $100,000
Huge Wins Occurred Consistently during Free Play
The Supplier Admitted RTP Is Different
Turning $500 in Demo Credits into $100,000
The incident dates back to early 2018, when a player started a discussion on the Casinomeister forum, claiming that the online slot Thunder Bird produced abnormally large wins during free play. The player began with a bankroll of $500 in demo credits and placed bets ranging from $10 to $40, eventually winning $100,000 in roughly thirty minutes.
Huge Wins Occurred Consistently during Free Play
A representative of the online casino where this occurred initially responded that the game’s return percentages were identical in both modes. The original poster insisted he had tested the demo version on multiple occasions and almost always enjoyed huge wins, which he attributed to the abnormally frequent triggers of the bonus game during free play.
Consistent windfalls appeared only in the demo, while the real-money version of the game behaved normally. These troubling findings prompted the online casino to contact the supplier and inquire about the issue. The software studio replied that the free version was no different from the real-money game.
The Supplier Admitted RTP Is Different
After the original poster sounded the alarm, other members of the Casinomeister forum tested Thunder Bird themselves and reached the same conclusion. The game indeed produced vastly different results in demo mode, with players consistently generating five-figure winnings within a very short time.
Many forum members argued that the free version had an RTP far above 100%. The online casino where this debacle occurred proceeded to launch a detailed investigation into the matter.
Shortly thereafter, the supplier admitted the demo did indeed have a higher return percentage than the real-money game. The online casino called this practice “unacceptable” and removed the game until the developer fixed the issue.
Closing Thoughts
Players at licensed and strictly regulated gambling sites have no reason to fear that the demo versions of casino games differ from the real-money ones. Online casinos rarely use proprietary software and typically offer games developed and configured by third-party suppliers.
Even if there is an issue of this kind, both parties involved will step up their efforts to ensure it is resolved as soon as possible, as you saw from the case we discussed earlier.
Multiple safeguards are in place to prevent such misleading practices. Both software companies and gambling operators undergo regular audits to ensure their games yield their advertised returns in both free and real-money modes.
