Do Casinos Manipulate Slot Machines?

Slot machines are sometimes considered the most degenerate form of gambling. For people who don’t game, they assume that slot machines are an easy way to throw money away.

However, slot machines have been a fun pass time for much of the 20th century and into the 21st, with many people getting big wins off of them! So are they really a sure-fire way of losing money?

More than this, do casinos manipulate slot machines to make sure that you don’t win?

If you’re wondering about these questions, then you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’re going to do a brief investigation into how casinos use slot machines, and whether or not they intentionally manipulate or control them. 

Why Do People Assume Slot Machines Are Rigged?

Slot machines are one of the least profitable gambling machines out there. They don’t have a high pay-out frequency and as a result, can cause long losing streaks.

This is because in order for them the be profitable, they can’t have a huge pay-out frequency. This causes a lot of gamers to sometimes wonder whether or not the machine is rigged to never pay out and to take as much of their money as they can.

This is a very common assumption, and it leads many people not to play slot machines at all.

It is made even worse by the existence of jackpot slot machines, which store a small part of the entered money and group it together in a jackpot for a person to win.

In short, there are lots of things that make people not trust slot machines. But are they actually rigged against you? More than this, do casinos manipulate them to maximize their profits?

House Edge Explained

When it comes to casinos, one of the most important things to understand is the concept of house edge.

A casino is an establishment created for two things:

1. To make money.
2. To provide entertainment for customers.

These two aspects are critical as the entertainment keeps customers coming back, and the revenue created keeps the business running and profitable.

Because of this, all casinos will look to have what’s known as a ‘house edge,’ meaning they will look to earn more money than they pay out. 

This is especially noticeable with slot machines, which tend to be worse than average when it comes to the edge they have vs customers.

Slot machines cannot be outsmarted or solved like Poker or Blackjack, so the edge is always going to be on the side of the casino and the person who has designed the machine.

So How Do Slot Machines Work?

In short, slot machines work with something known as RNG – random number generation. This means that each time you place money into a slot machine and begin, a game of chance occurs (see also “How To Withdraw Money From A Slot Machine“).

You can think of this as a roll of the dice. If it is a traditional sloth machine with three spinning reels, then the combination of symbols that you get is going to be completely up to chance.

Of course, there is going to be less chance of you winning, than of the machine (and the casino) keeping your money. Whether or not you win on a slot machine is all about random numbers and luck (see also “What Is The Relationship Between 7 And Slot Machines?“).

This is one of the reasons that playing a slot machine is so thrilling—the random nature of the game can mean that you’ll have disappointment, followed by great happiness (especially if you win the jackpot!)

However, it’s for this same reason that they can also feel rigged against you. Because in truth, they are! Whenever you play on a slot machine, there is less chance of you winning than losing.

This does, however, depend on the slot machine in question.

Are Slot Machines Manipulated? 

So now that we’ve covered RNG and how slot machines use this to make money, let’s circle back to our original question as to whether or not casinos manipulate slot machines.

This could be anything from designing them so that you never win, to having special cameras that monitor your progress and stop you from winning big. 

The truth is that generally slot machines are not manipulated by casinos. This is because the machines work in their favor already, so they have no need to manipulate them, nor would it be moral to do so.

If you’re not convinced, you should know that many casinos use third-party testing in order to confirm that their gaming design is fair and that the RNGs are what they have already stated. 

It’s important to note here that casinos often rely on their reputation, so these third-party tests are important to keep customers trusting and coming back for fun sessions of gaming. 

Final Thoughts

So to conclude our discussion of casinos and slot machines, it’s important to remember just how important reputation is to a casino.

Though there have been examples of shady practices by casinos in the past, gamers are now much more aware of this and will always make sure to keep open eyes for anything immoral going on behind the scenes.

This is why it’s very unlikely for a slot machine to be manipulated by the house. However, you should know that slot machines do have a high house edge and are not a reliable way to win money over the course of time.

However, they can still be a lot of fun and that’s why most gamers like to play on them! 

We hope that our guide has told you everything you wanted to know about casinos and slot machines and that you’re now more confident about how the two interact.

We wish you the best of luck in any future gaming or visits to the casino, and hope that you have a blast! 

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