Variance and volatility are two terms used to describe the same thing in the online gambling industry — how often a game would drop a win. Slots with low variance usually drop prizes pretty often, but they aren’t very lucrative. On the other hand, high variance slots are also high-risk games, as the prizes don’t come as often, but when they do, they are usually big.
Now, the payout percentage doesn’t have anything to do with variance. For example, if the Return to Player (RTP) of a slot is 95%, it will give approximately $95 as prizes for every $100 that players invest in it. The only difference is that a lucky player will get bigger prizes on a high variance slot.
Let’s check out the five games that have both high variance and high RTP and are available to US players.
Medusa Megaways was developed by SG Gaming and NextGen Gaming. It’s the remastered version of the popular Medusa slot, which has the Megaways mechanic and features 117,649 ways to win. The game has six reels, and each reel can get up to seven rows.
The popular slot has an RTP of 96.28%, which is above the industry average. Moreover, it’s labeled as a high volatility slot, meaning it can drop huge prizes to the luckiest of players.
Bonanza Megaways is developed and provided by Big Time Gaming. It’s also a remastered game with the added Megaways mechanic, which means it also features 117,649 ways to win. The game has six reels and has an RTP of 96%.
Bonanza also comes with plants of special features, such as the Free Spins round, where lucky players can win up to 26,000x their stake.
Dead or Alive is one of the most popular titles by NetEnt, the industry-leading casino game provider. The slot is inspired by the Wild West and has many interesting bonus features that can help lucky players create big wins.
The game has high volatility and an RTP of 96.82%, which makes it a perfect choice for high-volatility high-payout slot enthusiasts. It also has a sequel called simply Dead or Alive 2, which is as popular as the first game.
The full name of this title is Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead, and it’s the most popular game in the entire Rich Wilde series developed by Play’n GO. In fact, Book of Dead is widely regarded as one of the most popular online video slots at the moment.
The game features high volatility and an RTP of 96.21%. In addition to that, players can find plenty of interesting bonus features, such as free spins, expanding wilds, and more.
Raging Rhino is a slot machine by WMS. It’s actually one of the most popular titles by this provider and features 4,096 ways to win, in addition to the hefty free spins feature that can result in huge prizes.
This game is inspired by the majestic creatures that are rhinos. It’s a high volatility slot with 95.9% RTP.
We made a selection of the top five online slots that both belong to the category of high variance and high payouts. These are some of the most popular titles on the web nowadays. However, there are hundreds of other great titles that are similar to them, and most of them are available on US online casinos, so feel free to open an account and explore available slots on your own.