Top Payout Australian Online Casinos

Payout percentages are also referred to as return to player percentages. Payout percentage is calculated as the amount paid by the online casino on a game or game category over a period of time expressed as a percentage of the total amount wagered on that game or game category over the same period of time. For payout percentages to be meaningful, they are usually computed over a month. For example, if on an online pokie paid out is AU$48,000 in a month and the amount wagered was AU$50,000 then the payout percentage would be 96% (48000/50000 x 100). From time to time you will come across reports at top payout casinos of a particular game offering a payout percentage of over 100%, because players have been lucky on that game. But by and large payout percentages will range between 96% and 99%.

Theoretical or expected payout percentages are known for most online casino games, either from the mathematics of the game or from computer simulation. Therefore players can compare the reported payout percentages with the theoretical ones and assess the fairness and payout potential of the games. While doing this exercise you need to keep one factor in mind. Games like blackjack and video poker have expected payout percentages of 99%, provided that they are played with optimum strategy. However, not all players at top payout casinos play these games using optimum strategy and hence the average reported payout percentages would be slightly lower than the theoretical ones. This does not reflect poorly on the online casino.

If you have some interest in the stock market, you will be aware of the difference between audited and unaudited financial statements of a company. Just as the unaudited financial statements are prepared by the accountants of the company, unaudited payout reports are prepared by the management of the online casino. The implication is not that the unaudited payouts or unaudited financial statements are incorrect.

But to give greater comfort level to the stake holders, companies are required by law to get their accounts audited and release financial statements certified by auditors. In a similar manner the best regulatory authorities require their online casinos to release audited payout percentage reports. There are independent and expert agencies that carry out such audits of online casinos. After verifying the wagering records for authenticity, the agency computes the payout percentages. It issues a certificate stating the payout percentages and specifying the period for which they were calculated.

Some online casinos report unaudited payout percentages, whereas others report audited payout percentages. We recommend only those online casinos that report audited payout percentages from a reputed agency so that the Australian players get more credible information. You will find that almost all our recommended online casinos have eCOGRA as the auditor. eCOGRA pioneered the certification of online casinos. Apart from certifying the payout percentages, eCOGRA certifies the fairness of the games and is also involved in other areas of protection of players’ interests. There is no questioning the accuracy and integrity of eCOGRA reports.

At all eCOGRA audited online casinos the reports of the audited payout percentages is available in the public domain and can be accessed from the home page of the web sites by clicking the eCOGRA icon. The certificate states the month for which the audit was conducted and reports the audited payout percentages across all games, pokie games, table games and poker games.