Why even the best free slot app is dramatically unrealistic.
There are literally thousands upon thousands of free slot machine apps on the Google Play and iTune app stores. It’s crazy how many results come up when you search for things like slots and casino games. We’ll never know exactly how many there are, because the results for any given search on Google Play stops at 250. I find it especially troubling that you’re not allowed to sort them by review ratings, but that’s besides the point of today’s topic – the lack of realism in free slot machine apps.
Ask anyone who’s played these ‘social casino games’, and they’ll tell you something they don’t like about them; something that makes them unrealistic. The most common reason circulated is the belief that free slots games have a higher return to player (RTP) than the real money editions. It is always assumed that the manufacturer is setting the games to pay out better when there’s no monetary risk involved.
It’s a reasonable argument. After all, it would be easy to convert players from ‘free gaming’ to ‘paid gaming’ if they can convince them that the real-money games pay out as well as those ‘rigged’ free games (i.e. over 100%). But alas, in the vast majority of cases, that’s not how it works at all.
Best Free Slot App Mimics Real-Money RTPs
How do we know they are “fair”? Because it is illegal (in any reputable jurisdiction) to give players a false impression. If you’re playing a slots app that offers free versions of games that can be played for real money – either on the same app or a different one – the RTP cannot be set different than the real-money version.
For instance, if I were to play the free version of Playtech’s Kong Slot on the social gaming app, myVegas, I know the RTP on that free game will be 95.5%; the same 95.5% RTP found on Kong at Playtech’s real money casinos. Playtech would be in very hot water with the UK Gambling Commission if that were not the case.
What Makes Free Slots Unrealistic?
Just because the RTP is analogous with real-money slots does not mean the overall gaming experience will be, too. The situation surrounding the games – the bonuses, the side-line features, and most of all, the sheer volume of free credits allotted – can be extremely unrealistic.
Let’s start with bonuses. The moment you install a free casino app, you’re going to be handed a chunk of credits to play with. A welcome bonus, if you will. This is not the type of welcome bonus real-money slots apps give you. Those bonuses usually require a deposit, and will have lofty wagering requirements attached. These free bonuses will keep coming at you, as often as once per hour.
Next up are the side-line features. These are the extra promotions they always seem to have going on the side. They usually involve special games, like earning packs of collectible cards, wherein collecting a full set gets you a large stack of free credits. Or it could be a board-game type promo, where you spin to earn rolls of dice, and can earn free credits in the side game. Real money casinos don’t run these types of promos, and if they do, the prizes are much smaller and/or much harder to come by.
The volume of free credits is the most unrealistic feature of all, even in the best free slot app. Most of them offer insane amounts of credits. A new player might be given 1,000,000 credits to start. No one deposits that kind of cash in a real money casino app. It’s not even legal. Regulators would go insane over the money laundering implications. Most players wouldn’t even deposit one thousand dollars at a time, much less one million.
Keep Your Head On Straight
These free apps love to give players an unrealistic experience. They want users to be thoroughly entertained, and having a super high roller account – even a fake one – does draw more users, in turn getting the apps creator higher rankings on the app stores.
They provide so many bonuses so that when you run out of money – because again, the RTPs are not adjusted to help you win more – so that you’ll keep coming back. There’s nothing wrong with that, so long as you’re enjoying the experience for the entertainment that it is; not because you think converting to real money could possibly offer a similar experience.
