The expected cost of an hour on a pokie is spins per hour times bet times the house edge. At 500 spins an hour, NZ$1 a spin and 96% RTP that is NZ$20, whatever the pokie looks like. The table covers NZ$0.20 to NZ$5 a spin and three RTP levels.
Cost of an hour
The formula
Cost per hour = spins per hour × bet × (1 − RTP). Nothing else enters. Not the theme, not the studio, not whether the last ten spins were cold.
We use 500 spins per hour as the working figure, about one spin every 7 seconds. That is an assumption for a player not using turbo or autoplay; if you play faster, scale the table up.
The table
| Bet per spin | RTP 94% | RTP 96% | RTP 97% |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ$0.20 | NZ$6.00 | NZ$4.00 | NZ$3.00 |
| NZ$0.50 | NZ$15.00 | NZ$10.00 | NZ$7.50 |
| NZ$1.00 | NZ$30.00 | NZ$20.00 | NZ$15.00 |
| NZ$2.00 | NZ$60.00 | NZ$40.00 | NZ$30.00 |
| NZ$5.00 | NZ$150.00 | NZ$100.00 | NZ$75.00 |
Two things stand out. First, the bet size is the main lever: moving from NZ$1 to NZ$5 multiplies the cost by five. Second, three RTP points (94% to 97%) are worth NZ$75 an hour at NZ$5 and NZ$15 an hour at NZ$1. Choosing a higher-RTP version of a game is worth doing, but it will not rescue a large bet.
Your numbers
Reading it
This is the average across many players. An individual hour at NZ$1 a spin could end NZ$100 ahead or NZ$100 behind: the spread depends on volatility. What the average gives you is a price: if the hour of entertainment is not worth NZ$20, a NZ$1 pokie is the wrong game for you.
The same arithmetic prices bonuses: wagering is spins you must make, and each costs the house edge. See what 40x costs.
Questions readers ask
Do free spins and bonus rounds change the cost?
They change the shape, not the price: the RTP already includes the feature rounds, so the expected cost per dollar bet is the same.
Is the RTP the same at every casino?
Not always. Some studios sell several RTP versions of the same game; the casino’s information screen shows the one it runs.