What is Volatility?
Volatility, also called variance, describes how a game distributes its return: low-volatility games pay small wins often, high-volatility games pay larger wins less frequently.
Two slots can have the same RTP but behave very differently. A low-volatility game might return frequent wins of one or two times the stake, keeping a balance relatively steady. A high-volatility game might go dozens or hundreds of spins with little return, with most of its RTP concentrated in rare features or large wins.
Studios usually describe volatility on a scale, such as low, medium and high, or a rating out of five. It is not a standard regulated measure, so labels differ between suppliers. Volatility also shapes how far short-term results can stray from the RTP: the higher it is, the wider the range of likely outcomes in a session.
For players, volatility affects how quickly a budget can run down and how likely long losing streaks are. It does not change the expected loss over time, which is set by the house edge.
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