Real Time Gaming (RTG): What the Software Is and How to Read Its Odds

Real Time Gaming powers a large share of US-facing online casinos. What RTG is, how its RNG and RTP settings work, why the same slot varies between casinos, and how to check the return.

Updated September 2026 · how these numbers are calculated

Real Time Gaming — RTG — is one of the software providers behind a large share of US-facing online casinos, including the one that operated at this domain until 2018. Understanding what RTG is, and what it is not, explains a lot about how these casinos actually work.

This page is about the software and its mathematics, not a recommendation of any casino running it.

What RTG is

RTG is a games developer founded in 1998. It builds slots, table games, video poker and specialty games, and licenses them to online casino operators — it does not run casinos itself. When you played a slot at an RTG casino, you were playing RTG’s game on the operator’s site, under the operator’s licence (historically often Curaçao or Antigua-Barbuda).

The distinction matters. The game math is RTG’s. The payout settings, bonus terms, withdrawal policies and licensing are the operator’s. A complaint about a slow withdrawal is about the operator; a question about how a slot’s bonus round works is about the software.

RTG’s best-known slots — the Cash Bandits series, Achilles, Aztec’s Millions, Bubble Bubble, the progressive network including Aztec’s Millions and Jackpot Cleopatra’s Gold — are the recognisable titles across dozens of otherwise unrelated casinos, because the casinos license the same catalogue.

How the games decide outcomes

RTG games use a random number generator (RNG) — a deterministic algorithm producing a stream of numbers with no memory of previous results. Each spin maps a fresh set of RNG outputs onto reel positions. See how RNG works for the mechanism in general; it is the same principle across every regulated software provider.

Two consequences follow, and they hold for RTG as for any RNG-based game:

No spin is “due”. A slot that has paid nothing for 300 spins has exactly the same probability on spin 301. The RNG does not track your balance.
The house edge is built into the reel weightings, not into any reaction to how you play. The game cannot “know” you are on a winning streak, because it has no state that depends on you.

The RTP-setting problem

This is the single most important thing to understand about RTG games, and it applies to many providers in the same market.

A given RTG slot is frequently shipped in multiple RTP configurations — for example the same title might exist at 95.5%, 94.0% and 92.0%. The artwork, the paytable display and the features are identical across versions; the difference is in the internal reel weightings, which are not visible to the player. The operator chooses which build to run.

In tightly regulated markets (parts of the EU and UK) the deployed return must be published in the game’s info screen. For Curaçao and Antigua-licensed casinos it usually is not. So:

An RTP figure you find quoted for an RTG title tells you what the game can return, not what the specific casino has set.

Treat published RTG RTP figures as an upper bound unless the casino discloses the deployed version. RTG slots commonly span roughly 93% to 97.5% depending on title and build — a range wide enough that the setting matters more than the title.

See what RTP is for how the number behaves over a session versus the long run.

No deposit bonus codes, honestly

“RTG no deposit bonus” codes are a staple of this segment. A code credits a small amount — say $25 — without requiring a deposit. The terms are where the value goes:

Wagering requirement — typically 30× to 60× the bonus. A $25 bonus at 40× means wagering $1,000 before any withdrawal.
Maximum cashout — a cap, often $100 or a small multiple of the bonus, on what you can withdraw no matter how much you win. This is the term that defines the bonus’s real value.
Game restrictions — slots usually count 100% toward wagering; table games often count little or nothing, and playing an excluded game can void the bonus entirely.
Maximum bet while wagering — exceeding it (commonly $5 or $10 a spin) can forfeit winnings.

After the terms, the expected value of a no-deposit bonus to the player is usually small and often negative once you account for the probability of busting the balance before clearing the playthrough. They are a marketing tool, not free money. The one time they are clearly worthwhile is if you would have deposited and played anyway — then the bonus is a genuine, if capped, addition.

What this domain was

This site is published at winwardcasino.ag, which ran an RTG casino until 2018. That history is documented separately, including the disclosure that this site is not affiliated with that casino or any other operator, and takes no wagers.

The reason RTG is covered here at all: it is the software that defined a whole class of US-facing casinos, its RTP-setting behaviour is genuinely worth understanding, and explaining it accurately is more useful than leaving the topic to the affiliate pages that dominate it.

FAQ

What is Real Time Gaming?

RTG is a casino software provider founded in 1998 that supplies slots, table games and video poker to online casinos, historically many of them US-facing and licensed in Curacao or Antigua. It makes the games; it does not operate the casinos that run them.

Are RTG games rigged?

RTG games use a random number generator, and the mathematics of each title is fixed by design. What varies is the RTP setting: many RTG slots ship in several configurable return versions, and the operator chooses which to deploy. So a game is not 'rigged' in the sense of reacting to you, but the deployed return can be lower than the best available version.

What is the RTP of RTG slots?

It depends on the title and the version the casino has enabled. RTG slots commonly range from about 93% to 97.5%, with the same game available in multiple builds. Because the deployed setting is rarely published for Curacao-licensed casinos, treat quoted figures as a range, not a guarantee.

What does an RTG no deposit bonus code do?

It credits a small bonus without a deposit, subject to wagering requirements and usually a maximum cashout. The playthrough on these is typically high — 30x to 60x — and the max cashout caps what you can withdraw regardless of how much you win. The expected value to the player after terms is usually small or negative.