How to Read Slot Payout Percentages by State

Nevada recorded a sourced annual figure of 92.86% for September 2025 through August 2026, while Missouri recorded 90.22% for July 2026. These figures are not directly comparable because jurisdictions use different periods, coverage, and accounting rules. The table below provides sourced figures and a method for checking the RTP of the specific machine or game instead of treating a state average as its RTP.

Verified state slot payout figures

These are observed payback figures for stated reporting periods, or clearly labelled calculations from official report data. They are not a national ranking and do not represent the newest figure for every state.

Coverage and primary source

• Nevada: All Nonrestricted Locations, excluding restricted licences; Nevada Gaming Control Board report, derived from 7.14% annual slot win
• Missouri: Slots, 13,399 machines; Missouri Gaming Commission financial report
• Iowa: Derived complement of 8.69% slot revenue; Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission report
• Ohio: Four casinos, excluding racino VLTs; Ohio Casino Control Commission report
• Massachusetts: Three licensed properties; turnover-weighted calculation from Encore Boston Harbor, MGM Springfield, and Plainridge Park Casino
• Connecticut: Foxwoods / Mohegan Sun; Connecticut state dataset, reported separately rather than combined
• Florida: Eight licensed pari-mutuel slot facilities; historic credits-out-to-credits-in calculation from the Florida report

These snapshots cannot be turned into a nationwide “loosest state” ranking. The table mixes annual, monthly, and year-to-date periods, while the treatment of wagers, revenue, and promotional play differs. A state missing from this table does not mean zero payback or no gaming; it may simply lack a public report suitable for this comparison.

Connecticut publishes separate figures of 91.62% for Foxwoods and 91.85% for Mohegan Sun. Without matching turnover figures, combining those percentages or taking a simple average would create a misleading statewide result. The federal dataset description notes that handle includes free-play and eBonus wagers, while win excludes redeemed promotional credits. That can make reported hold look lower, and apparent payout higher, than a report using another accounting basis.

Iowa's 91.31% is the complement of its reported 8.69% slot revenue rate. From July 2026, AGR excludes promotional-play receipts, as noted in the official gaming revenue report index. The result should not be mechanically compared with earlier fiscal years or described as a certified game RTP.

Florida's 91.69% is $9,381,795,291 in credits out divided by $10,231,845,318 in credits in for eight licensed pari-mutuel slot facilities. It does not cover all Florida casinos, explicitly excludes Seminole tribal casinos, and is not a 2026 figure. The complement of net slot revenue using the same credits-in denominator is 93.25%, but it uses a different numerator: promotional and other adjustments change net revenue. The 91.69% and 93.25% figures are therefore not interchangeable.

Observed payback, game RTP, and legal minimums are different

Observed payback, theoretical RTP, and a regulatory minimum answer different questions and should not be treated as interchangeable.

For example, the verified regulatory minimums are 75% in Nevada, 80% in Missouri, and 85% in Pennsylvania. These are examples of legal requirements, not a ranking of state minimums. A minimum does not predict a personal session or the next reported month. The UK Gambling Commission's RTP guide likewise describes RTP as a long-run game-model measure.

Licensing, state eligibility, and access to a particular game are separate questions. Licensed online offerings and offshore sites cannot be combined into one jurisdiction without evidence, and land-based reports do not prove an online game's setting.

How Missouri's 90.22% figure is calculated

Missouri's July 2026 figure comes from two matching slot-only lines in the official report: SLOT HANDLE, meaning total wagered, and SLOT AGR, meaning slot gross revenue.

Substituting the report values gives: 100 × (1 − 153,549,522.02 / 1,569,414,549.41) = 90.216%, which rounds to 90.22%.

English Missouri Gaming Commission report excerpt for July 2026 showing SLOT HANDLE, SLOT AGR, and the calculated slot payout percentage

Original English excerpt from the Missouri Gaming Commission report for July 2026, showing slot handle, slot AGR, and the derived 90.216% observed payout.

SLOT HANDLE is turnover: all recorded wagers, including winnings wagered again. SLOT AGR is gross slot revenue. Use only the slot rows, not table games, grand totals, or hybrid categories.

The formula works only where the numerator and denominator use the same accounting basis. It should not be applied automatically to adjusted net revenue. Florida illustrates the point: credits out divided by credits in is 91.69%, while 1 − net revenue / credits in is 93.25%, because promotional and other adjustments change the numerator.

To read a report yourself:

1. Check the document date and exact period: month, fiscal year, or year-to-date.
2. Confirm the scope: all casinos, named properties, slots only, or other devices.
3. Find matching slot turnover and slot revenue lines.
4. Read notes about free play, promotional credits, vouchers, and adjustments.
5. Calculate a turnover-weighted result, not an average of casino percentages.

Weighting matters. If Casino A has 100 units of turnover at 90% payout, it returns 90 units. If Casino B has 900 units at 95%, it returns 855. The combined return is 90 + 855 = 945 units from 1,000 wagered, or 94.5%, not the simple 92.5% average.

Which state or casino is best for slot payout?

No all-US winner can be identified from these mixed reporting snapshots. A meaningful comparison requires the same period, coverage, and accounting basis first, and small differences in unlike reports should not decide where to travel.

A missing state is not evidence of low payout or no gaming. Tribal casino reporting can vary in availability and format, and Connecticut shows why even two published property figures may not create a sound statewide average. Filling gaps with an invented 90% estimate would not improve the comparison.

For a narrower location-based look, see the data guide to the loosest slots in Las Vegas or the practical discussion of which casinos have the loosest slots. Those guides can help with a specific area, but no average guarantees an individual result.

Denomination does not equal your total bet or machine RTP

Nevada's annual report for September 2025 through August 2026 shows different observed payback averages across denomination groups.

These are conditional averages for groups of machines, not instructions to raise the bet on one machine. A higher denomination is not always associated with higher RTP, and changing denomination on a specific machine does not prove that its mathematical model has changed.

Your total bet per spin is not the denomination. It equals the number of credits multiplied by the denomination, and games with selectable lines may also depend on the lines chosen. For example, 100 credits at 1¢ is a $1 total bet per spin. That does not mean every game has 100 lines. See the guide to slot denomination strategy for more detail.

How to verify the RTP of a specific slot game

The RTP catalogue is a useful starting point, but it is not a certificate of an operator's selected configuration. Open /rtp, search for Fire Joker, and choose Play’n GO as the provider. Do not confuse it with Fire Joker Freeze; a similar title is not necessarily the same game or version.

English RTP catalogue filtered for Fire Joker and Play’n GO, showing two matching records

The RTP catalogue after searching Fire Joker and filtering Play’n GO, showing two matching records. This demonstrates the search process, not an operator configuration.

The catalogue lists Fire Joker at 96.15%, with five stored RTP variants: 84.26%, 87.24%, 91.23%, 94.23%, and 96.15%. The stored range is therefore 84.26% to 96.15%, and the record's last_verified date is September 28, 2026. That is a catalogue observation, not a certification made today.

Record history, a source URL, and stored variants can help narrow the search, but they do not identify the setting selected by an operator. The publicly accessible provider HTML reviewed for this record did not show RTP figures. The five variants should therefore not be treated as fresh independent certification or proof that an operator offers the 96.15% version.

For an actual game, find the title and provider in the catalogue, then open the game's Help, Rules, or information screen. Confirm the RTP, provider, and version. If RTP is not shown, ask the operator or do not guess. The catalogue process is explained further in the RTP methodology.

Use the RTP calculator to model an assumed cost

The RTP calculator models expected loss from inputs you choose. It does not import a state average or determine the actual configuration of a machine. For an illustrative 96% RTP model:

1. Open /casino/rtp-calculator.
2. Enter 96 in RTP.
3. Enter 1 in Bet Size per Spin.
4. Under Session Length, choose By spins.
5. Enter 1000 in Number of Spins.

English RTP calculator settings showing a hypothetical 96% RTP, $1 total bet, and 1,000 spins

RTP calculator inputs used for this example: hypothetical 96% RTP, $1 total bet per spin, and 1,000 spins.

The results show $1,000 turnover, a 4% house edge, $40 expected loss, and $960 expected gross returns.

English RTP calculator results for a hypothetical $1,000 turnover scenario at 96% RTP

Results for the example: $1,000 total wagered, $960 expected gross returns, and $40 expected loss.

At a hypothetical 92% RTP with the same $1,000 turnover, expected loss would be $80. The difference is $40 for identical turnover. This is a chosen 96% model, not an observed state rate and not a Fire Joker configuration.

These are illustrative USD units matching the interface. The $960 expected return is the total expected return from $1,000 in wagers, including winnings wagered again; it is not the remaining balance of an original deposit. The calculator does not estimate ruin probability, predict how long a bankroll lasts, or prove a profit. For the difference between RTP and variation in results, read RTP vs. slot volatility.

A practical check before you play

The useful takeaway is not to find a magical state percentage, but to verify what applies to the actual situation.

• Check licensing, state eligibility, and current terms separately from RTP.
• Check the chosen game's RTP in its Help or Rules section, matching provider and version.
• Calculate the full bet per spin rather than relying on the credit denomination.
• Treat state reports as historical group statistics, not a promise for one machine.
• Set a budget you can afford to lose before playing.

Some links on this site, including Bovada, may earn us a commission if you register. This disclosure is not an endorsement, does not confirm availability or legality where you are, and does not replace checking the licence, terms, and RTP of the specific game yourself.