Nick Hall

Senior Editor

Updated

23 / 01 / 2025

Best Payout Casinos

People who wish to play online for fun, will likely do so at social or sweeps casinos. Real players aiming to win big look for casinos and games that consistently pay well.

A casino’s return-to-player, or “RTP,” is a statistic that explains how much money is paid back to players over longer periods; it’s the opposite of the term “house edge,” which tells us how much profit the casino tends to make. 

The casinos with the best payouts tends to often have the best payout casino games – slots like Mega Joker and Blood Suckers, as well as an array of table games and live dealers.

If this all sounds a bit confusing, don’t worry as in this guide we’ll dive into how you can spot the best payout casinos and why RTP scores shouldn’t be ignored.

What Are Payout Rates in Online Casinos?

The payout rate of any given casino is a complex statistic derived from how often, consistently, and how much a casino pays its players back. Payout rates are always measured and updated over longer periods. 

For example, let’s assume that an online casino generates $15 million in wagering from its players. An average casino payout rate is about 95%, which, in this case, means that the casino would expect to pay back $14.25 million in winnings to its entire player base, while keeping only $750,000 (5% of £15 million). Some sites offer far lower rates, while the best and most established casinos can afford to sustain 98% payout rates. 

It’s important to understand that payout rates are always measured across the aggregate, i.e. one player could lose everything (and thus have an RTP of 0) whilst another player might have a huge win….however, across the whole subset of players the average will always return to the quoted RTP.  This means that statistical deviations are very common because return-to-player values are insignificant in the short term, as they’re obtained from millions of emulated plays on each game. 

If you’re consistently playing a handful of high RTP games, there’s a higher probability that you will sustain smaller losses while your strategies, restraint, and luck determine when and how much you’ll ultimately win. 

 

Why Payout Rates Matter

Casino payout rates help players make informed decisions. Return-to-player values tell you how much of your wagers you should expect to win over the long term. 

They’re not very useful for gamers who play through a deposit or two before relocating to a different casino. However, they’re highly important for regular players because they can determine what tactics, bankroll, and strategies a player might deploy in an attempt to maximise his chance of winning. Conversely, low payout rates tell us which casinos to avoid

How to Identify the Best Payout Casinos

The safest and most methodical approach to finding out a casino’s payout rate is to look for its license, RNG & RTP audits from reputable third-party organizations, RTP transparency, and user reviews. I’ll elaborate on each of these elements below:

 

License and Regulation

A casino’s license is the most important factor to consider when looking for the best payout casinos. Internationally recognized iGaming regulators like the United Kingdom Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority impose stringent requirements on an operator that ensure payout promises and RTP settings are maintained.  

Playing on unlicensed, unregulated, and “rogue” casinos (with fake licenses) introduces more risk, as these operators are under less scrutiny, and in some cases fake RTP statistics, or mess with a games RTP setting, or simply steal your deposit and never pay out. So, ALWAYS check the license number and look for it in databases of relevant iGaming authorities to stay safe. 

 

Independent Fairness Audits

The best payout casinos offer games that are routinely and meticulously tested for fairness by expert and fully independent organizations like eCOGRA, RTP Labs, and Gaming Labs International.

These companies have decades of combined iGaming experience and possess advanced technologies tailor-made for sophisticated testing of virtually any kind of casino-style game, from slots and slingo machines to crypto games, blackjack, and live poker. While their processes differ, their goals are the same – proving the fairness and “true” randomness of each audited game. 

 

RTP Transparency

High-payout casinos will proudly display the return-to-player scores of their online slots, table games, and live casino games. The most common way they do this is by publishing a list of all games on offer along with their theoretical RTP scores. These lists are typically featured at the footer of the casino’s page. 

It is important to note that the same game by the same provider can have different RTP settings at different casinos. This is because most games are supplied with a range of RTP – say from 94.5% to 97% – and casinos can set these internally. Similar to big retail stores – which may sell some goods at a loss whilst increasing prices on others – casinos will use slightly different RTP’s on the same games depending on internal marketing and financial strategy. 

I only found this out recently when painstakingly comparing the RTP’s across a bunch of top casinos, only to find small differences!

 

User Reviews

Often the easiest and quickest way to identify a rogue casino, is by doing a quick check across review sites and social media to read recent player reviews. 

Take a few minutes to get a feel for whether the review is genuine or just a rant by an unfortunate player who’s on a losing streak, but any pattern of complaints around account closures, low RTPs, or non payment of wins is an immediate red flag!

Reputable independent review sites – such as Casinos.org – are also a great source to get and expert assessment on whether a casino offers solid payouts or not.

Best Payout Casino Games

You’ll find that casinos with high payout rates almost always offer a solid selection of table games. Blackjack, baccarat, video poker, craps, and roulette are famous for providing RTPs as high as 99.5%, but the exact payout percentage varies among different versions of each game. 

For example, games where natural blackjack (score of 21 on the first hit) pays 3:2 usually have RTPs of 98.5 to 99%, while versions where natural hits pay 6:5 have RTPs of 97% to 98%. European Roulette games (single zero) have an average RTP of 97.3,% while American Roulette (double zero) offers 94.6% payout rates. 

Video poker games come in many variants, and their RTP scores range from 95% to 99.5% based on the number of decks used, the number of community cards in play, the poker version itself, and whether or not a bonus feature is involved. 

The return-to-player scores in online slots vary greatly for each category. Classic slots and fruit games have RTPs between 88% and 92%; video slots usually have RTPs of 94% to 96.5%, while bonus buy slots have alternate RTP ratings based on whether or not the bonus is “bought.” 

Jackpot slots are games where the jackpot “hit” plays a big role in its payout rate. Namely, jackpot wins contribute to the RTP score, meaning that the “base game” has a much lower return-to-player score, which is “corrected” by jackpot prizes. 

New game types that are being made popular by crypto casinos such as Mines, Dice, Plinko and Crash games all tend to have RTP’s in the high 90s, with many going as high as 99%.  What makes these games even more attractive is that the returns and game play statistics can be verified in real time on the blockchain, which provides a level of transparency that traditional casinos can’t match.

How to Maximize Your Payouts at Online Casinos

Maximizing payouts at high-RTP online casinos revolves around choosing the right games, efficient bonus use, and smart bankroll management. Let me give you a few tips about improving in these fields:

Choosing games:

  • Prioritize games with the highest RTP scores. Table games like blackjack and video poker have excellent return-to-player ratings, but slots like Mega Joker, Texas Tea, White Rabbit Megaways, and Blood Suckers are good choices too. 
  • Pick games you’re familiar with. Before playing high-RTP slots for real money, demo them online first. 
  • Many games have improved RTP scores when the bonus is purchased (as opposed to being randomly triggered).

Using bonuses:

  • Pay attention to bonus deadlines, wagering requirements, and excluded games. Even the largest bonuses aren’t valuable if you can’t play high-RTP games or have to race against the clock.
  • Are you trying to score big wins with your bonus funds or simply pursuing rollover requirements? Choose high-volatility slots for the former, and low-variance games for the latter. 
  • Don’t miss referral programs, loyalty rewards, and VIP bonuses. These can give you extra perks, bonus funds, and free spins or even improve some of the existing bonuses. 

Bankroll management:

  • Consistency is the key because payout rates represent your win/loss ratio over longer periods. Establish clear-cut rules for your deposits, wagers, and losses that you are comfortable with.
  • If you’re struggling to keep up with self-imposed rules, consider using responsible gambling tools to enforce them. 
  • Play with active bonuses as often as you can. Many online casinos have at least one or two reload promotions that can give you more value for each cent you spend. 
  • Practice betting strategies like Martingale and D’Alembert while demoing games. 
  • Keep track of your deposits and withdrawals. At the end of each month, compare the result with the casino’s advertised payout rate.

Top Payment Methods

While the RTP statistic is crucial to understanding your chances of scoring a big win, it’s equally important to look at the banking options offered by the casinos. Part of being a top payout casino is also about ensuring quick, cheap transfers of any winnings – delaying a payout after a big win is one of the oldest tricks casinos use to encourage players to “play it back”,  so let’s cover some popular payment options you can find at the best payout online casinos:

  • E-wallets: PayPal is arguably the best choice in this category because it’s universally suited for deposits and withdrawals, doesn’t have sky-high fees, and you can claim most bonuses with it. Alternative options that can situationally be good are Skrill and Neteller; they’re quick, secure, and have lower fees than PayPal, but you can rarely use them for bonuses. 
  • Cryptocurrencies: Cryptos like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Tether are the most secure payment methods that virtually guarantee instant deposits and withdrawals. However, each cryptocurrency experiences different price fluctuations, carries different “gas fees,” and exists on a different blockchain network. Crypto casinos currently offer the most seamless payout experience for players who are comfortable playing on Web3 sites.
  • Bank Transfers: Online banking is only suitable for withdrawals, and it’s generally not the best choice because transfers can take several days or even weeks. Also, depending on which country you’re playing in, you may or may not feel comfortable in large deposits coming from online casinos being recorded in your personal bank account.

Responsible Gambling and High-Payout Casinos

Payout rates can help you pick casinos that “tend” to pay out more often than the alternatives, but they don’t guarantee wins. Whilst RTP rates are important, do always keep a clear head when playing and don’t get pulled into chasing RTPs, playing games you’re unfamiliar with, gaming without a strategy, and using bets that exceed your realistic budget. 

All legitimate and licensed casinos are now required to offer basic responsible gambling tools like self-exclusion and timeout while many offer more extensive options like deposit, loss, playtime, and cashout limits. Make sure you use these tools should you feel you’re losing control of your gaming habits!

Some of the best payout casinos also offer valuable additional resources, such as self-assessment tests, links to gambling support groups, and tips for responsible gaming.

Conclusion

Gambling at casino sites with good payout rates is usually a smart choice, but you should not focus solely on the casino’s RTP. Check which games are available, inspect the payout methods, and research your alternatives. 

Prioritize playing on licensed and regulated casino sites that source games from reputable providers, and strive to keep notes of your gambling experiences – how much you’re spending, winning, and losing at the end of the month. If a casino is paying you less than you expected, adapt your gambling strategy or move to a different site. Use responsible gambling tools if you feel like you’re losing control, and don’t be afraid to reach out for help.