If you’re new to online slot machines and want to know about these games, you’re in luck. Here is a brief guide to online slots for beginners with information about how they work, payout rates, and more.

We will also be taking a quick look at some of the world’s best online slot machines from some of the iGaming industry’s most notable companies.

How do online slots work?

The outcome/result of each spin is predetermined as soon as you hit the spin button. Although the reels spin like traditional mechanical slots, some might say that it’s actually an illusion. However, that’s not to say that online slots can’t be trusted.

In fact, online slots tend to have high Return To Player Percentage (RTP%) payout rates. They use frequently tested Random Number Generators (or RNGs) to produce each spin’s result.

The RNGs produce random outcomes with no discernible patterns, and the good news is that the results produced by RNGs in today’s online slots are as fair and realistic as can be.

Reputable third-party, non-profit organisations from the iGaming industry frequently test the games/RNGs to see that they are not cheating in any way.

If they were, the online casino operator and the software provider that supplies the games to the casino would more than likely lose their online gambling license and have to pay a hefty fine (or even jail time).

Can I trust the mobile slots I have been playing?

Most mobile casinos 32Red, for example, which is licensed by the UK Gambling Commission, have hundreds of mobile slots from trusted providers that have also obtained the necessary licenses to develop and maintain the games from one or more mid to top-tier licensing authorities.

In other words, there are very strict vetting procedures before licenses are handed out, and as mentioned, their games are then constantly monitored/tested for fairness. This means that you can trust the mobile slots are producing fair outcomes and that the games aren’t cheating you in any way.

Some days you may win, and other days you may lose. Just because you have lost your $/€/£10 deposit the last five or ten times you have played your favourite slot doesn’t mean the game is cheating you. Other players might end up with a profit after five or ten sessions from the same slot.

What is the RTP% payout rate?

When you play online slots from well-established, award-winning online casino software providers like NetEnt, Games Global, Pragmatic Play, Red Tiger Gaming, Play’n GO, or Blueprint Gaming, to name a few, you will find that most of their slots tend to have an average payout rate that hovers around 93.00% to 98.00% or higher.

An online casino testing agency will use its software and systems to play millions or even billions of spins to determine how much it has paid out over, say, a four-week period. That same testing agency will then publish those results online for everyone to see.

It’s not uncommon for online slots to have a 100.00+% to 105.00% RTP payout rate for a certain period. Here is a quick example.

Theoretically, let’s say that online casino players have spent $/€/£150,000 on an online slot over four weeks, and in that time, it paid back $/€/£146,640. It tells us that this slot’s average RTP% payout rate during that time was 97.76%.

Therefore, the remaining 2.40% or $/€/£3,600 would be revenue for the casino operator/software provider.

Popular slots with high RTP% payout rates to check out in 2023

Some of the most popular new mobile slots to keep an eye out for in 2023 include hit titles such as Wolf Blaze WowPot Megaways, Lara Croft: Tomb of the Sun, and Paddy’s Pot: Mega Moolah, all of which are brought to you by Games Global (a company that acquired Microgaming in 2022).

There are hundreds of mobile and desktop slots to choose from, meaning there’s something for all types of players.