The RTP printed in a slot review is usually the game’s highest setting. Many studios release the same slot with two, three or four RTP versions, and the casino decides which one you play. The reels, features and graphics look identical; what changes is how much the game pays back over time. Four of the five slots we have reviewed exist in lower versions, and on two of them the gap is more than 4 percentage points.
Last updated: 22 October 2026
Why one slot has several RTPs
A studio certifies several maths models for one game and offers them to casinos. The operator picks the version that fits its business, and the game is then served to every player at that casino with that setting. Nothing on the lobby tile tells you which version is behind it; the only reliable place is the game’s own rules screen.
RTP versions of the slots we review
| Slot | Default RTP | Lower versions | Gap to the lowest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merge Up | 97.25% | none confirmed | — |
| Lobster House | 96.51% | 95.51%, 94.50% | 2.01 points |
| Bullets and Bounty | 96.27% | 94.14%, 92.18% | 4.09 points |
| Miss Cherry Fruits | 96.13% | 95.35% | 0.78 points |
| Gator Hunters | 96.11% | 95.31%, 94.05%, 92.09% | 4.02 points |
What the gap costs
RTP is a long-run average, so the clearest way to see the difference is the expected loss over many spins. The table below shows it for 1,000 spins at €1, i.e. €1,000 staked: stake × (100% − RTP).
| Slot | Best version | Worst version | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gator Hunters | €38.90 (96.11%) | €79.10 (92.09%) | €40.20 more |
| Bullets and Bounty | €37.30 (96.27%) | €78.20 (92.18%) | €40.90 more |
| Lobster House | €34.90 (96.51%) | €55.00 (94.50%) | €20.10 more |
| Miss Cherry Fruits | €38.70 (96.13%) | €46.50 (95.35%) | €7.80 more |
On the two games with the widest spread, the lowest version is expected to cost about twice as much as the default for the same play. All the games we review are ranked by RTP, with their lower versions, on our highest RTP slots page.
How often the bonus actually arrives on each game is in our volatility and hit frequency guide.
These are averages over a very long run. In a single session of 1,000 spins on a high-volatility game the real result can be far above or far below them — the RTP version changes the odds, not what happens tonight.
How to check which version you are playing
- Open the game, not the lobby. Load the slot in real-money mode at the casino you use.
- Find the rules. Open the menu and look for Info, Help, Paytable or Game rules. Most studios print a line such as “The theoretical RTP of this game is …” near the end.
- Compare with the default. If the figure is lower than the one in our review, you are on a reduced version.
- Check the buy features too. Some games publish a separate RTP for each bonus buy; on Bullets and Bounty they range from 96.24% to 96.36% on the default version (what that means for the cost of a buy).
- Do not trust the demo. A provider’s free demo can run a different version from the casino’s real-money game — the Bullets and Bounty demo, for example, runs at the top setting of 96.27%. More on what a demo can and cannot show.
In Great Britain, licensed operators must make the theoretical RTP (or the house edge, or the odds of winning) easily available before you commit to gamble, for example in the game’s help pages. If you cannot find it, ask the casino’s support which version they run.
Does a lower version change anything else?
- Features and rules: the same in every version.
- Hit frequency: can drop slightly. Bullets and Bounty wins on 46.47% of spins at 96.27% and a little less on its lower versions.
- Max win: usually unchanged — Bullets and Bounty keeps 20,000× in every version.