High-payout casinos are those offering the best RTP to their players. This is the percentage of game takings that are paid out as winnings over the long-run average. But high-payout casinos are about so much more than just the raw numbers. We compare casinos across several key benchmarks to find our top recommendations.

Casino RTP A high-payout casino is determined by its RTP (return-to-player percentage). At a casino level, this is the sum total RTP across the full spectrum of games on offer. If a casino has more high-RTP slots than others, it will have a higher RTP – and with slots tending to make up the majority of the games at online casinos, the slots collection will usually have the biggest impact on overall payout. We look at whether a casino is high-paying before including it in our shortlist for recommendation.

High-RTP slots

The availability and selection of high-RTP slots is another key factor. High-payout casinos should have a good selection of high-RTP games on offer, so you can be assured of the best casino payouts from your play. While it’s not the sole factor we’re concerned about when weighing up casinos to recommend, it’s a prerequisite that any of our recommended online casinos have a good line-up of top-paying slots games on offer.

Jackpot games

Similarly, we look at the availability of jackpot slots. While these tend to have a slightly lower RTP than regular slots games, the higher jackpot amounts can make for some life-changing wins for those lucky enough to land them. We look at whether a casino has a good selection of jackpot games, including progressive jackpot slots, when sizing up to find the best in the market.

Bonuses and promotions

These are also key factors, both at the signing-up stage and on an ongoing basis. Some casinos do bonuses really well, offering regular rewards such as cashback, free spins and deposit matches. Others are a lot tighter on the bonus front, so we weigh up the promos on offer (along with the general terms and conditions) before settling on our casino recommendations.

Player experience

This is too often overlooked, especially when the focus is on payout. But it can make all the difference when weighing up whether it’s worth playing and sticking around. We look at factors such as customer support, banking, minimum withdrawal limits and payout times, so we can provide a more rounded picture before recommending casinos to you.

Overall reputation

The overall reputation of a casino is the final factor that weighs in when we are assessing the best high-payout casinos. This is the sum total of the experiences of other players, as well as their general reputation across the industry for good payouts, fair play and customer service. All the casinos we recommend score highly on this, and all other benchmarks, to earn our recommendation.

Getting the best payout at online casinos is not simply down to choosing where to play. While that does have a bearing on the payouts you can hope to achieve in best case scenarios, there are a number of other strategies you can deploy to give you a fighting chance of securing the best payouts possible from your online casino play. 

Play the highest-paying games

It goes without saying that the highest-paying games will, over time, lead to the best payout at online casinos. As with all casino games, you will still be playing against house edge – the in-built advantage the casino has over the player in every casino game. But with the highest-paying games, you’ll face the lowest losses on average, relative to other games, over the long-term.

Brush up your skills

For skill-based casino games such as poker or blackjack, the payout is directly correlated with the decisions you make. Even in games of pure chance like slots, the way you choose to play those games and the betting strategies you deploy could influence your overall chances of success. Brushing up on your game skills and strategies will help you get the best payout at online casinos.

Choose the best online casinos for payout

The choice of casino matters hugely too. Whether it’s the selection of high-RTP slots on offer, the bonuses and promotions for new and ongoing play, or simply the withdrawal minimums and maximums, choosing the best online casinos for payout will also help you on your way to maximising your winnings from online casino play.

Use casino bonuses to your advantage

Casino bonuses can be your friend – but only if you choose the right ones and use them wisely. Look for bonuses with low to no wagering and the least restrictive terms, and put these behind real-money games with the highest RTP available, to give yourself the best chance of the highest payout. You can also use bonus funds to refine your skills in games such as blackjack, where the skill component contributes so much to your RTP.

Gamble responsibly

While gambling responsibly is important no matter how you approach your casino play, there’s also a direct impact on your payout. Gamble with real money recklessly and you will inevitably end up with greater losses over the long term, not to mention the wider impacts of problem gambling behaviours. By keeping your gambling in check and using the safer gambling tools available to you, you can be in the best position to get the most out of your online casino payouts. 

At an overview level, casinos have an RTP. Just as with any slots or casino games, casinos pay out a percentage of their total takings as winnings to their players. When calculated over a large number of sessions, this delivers a functional RTP percentage, which can be used to compare different casinos, as with casino games, like for like.

As a player, you too will have an RTP. This is the total percentage of the money you’ve played that you win back. For some players, this will exceed 100 per cent – say you win a jackpot or you deposit £100 but walk away with £500. Over time, your personal RTP will trend towards the casino long-term average, as a function of statistics. But at any given moment, your personal RTP can be higher or lower than the casino’s average RTP payout.

Payout in all cases is calculated by dividing the total amount paid out by the total amount taken in game revenues, then multiplying by 100 to give the percentage.

Slots offer among the highest RTPs of top casino games, in some cases extending as high as 98-99 per cent RTP and beyond. The gap between the RTP and 100 per cent represents the house edge, so as a general rule, games that have a higher RTP will pay out more over the long term. Note that this doesn’t mean you’ll win more or less in any given spin session, but you can expect your performance to trend with time towards the average RTP.

The highest-RTP slots tend to be non-progressive online slots. In the best case scenarios, you can expect the highest-RTP games to offer payouts of up to 5,000x or even 10,000x your stake. But while the return-to-player percentage here will be high, the payouts will manifest as more frequent, lower-value online casino wins in most cases.

Choosing to play high-RTP slots is a case of preferring lower risk and more stable rewards. In general, these will result in you losing less money over the long term, though ideally you will hope to land some decent feature wins along the way.

We’ve found the top five highest-RTP slots in the UK, with return-to-player percentages all comfortably over 98 per cent. Remember, there are no guarantees, but with higher-paying slots, you should even out to better results in the long term than if you were playing games at a lower overall RTP.

Ugga Bugga – 99.07%

Jungle-themed action, with a highly respectable 1,000x maximum win. Play Ugga Bugga at BetMGM Casino.

Book of 99 – 99%

A Greek mythology-themed slot with up to 5,000x jackpot and just a 1 per cent house edge. Play Book of 99 at LeoVegas.