Yes, New Jersey online casinos often offer a better gambling value than land-based casinos.
If there’s one universal constant among gamblers, it’s that they’re all seeking high value.
Who can blame them? No one wants to invest their hard earned money on a slot without a strong possibility of walking away a winner. Same goes for video poker and table games.
So it’s natural that one of the first questions players new to the NJ online casino scene ask is “Do the games often solid returns?”
We can say with full confidence that the answer is yes. In fact, the returns are often better than what you’ll find at a nearby casino.
What is RTP?
If you’ve been around gambling long enough, you may have heard the term RTP thrown around. This stands for return-to-player and is a representation of a game’s odds.
For instance, if a game’s RTP is 97.5 percent, that means for each dollar invested, you can expect to receive $0.975 back, on average.
What does mean in terms of value? Quite simply, you want to seek out games that offer the highest possible RTPs, as they offer the best bang for the buck.
Unfortunately, land-based casinos don’t exactly go around advertising their RTPs. However, in some instances, NJ online casinos do.
What do NJ online casino slots return?
You’ll be happy to know that sites like Golden Nugget Casino and PokerStars Casino fully disclose the RTPs for their virtual slot terminals, making it easy to distinguish good plays from bad.
To give you an idea, slots on these sites return anywhere between 91 – 98 percent, with the average falling right around 95 percent. Those are exceptionally high numbers, especially when compared to slot returns at Atlantic City and Pennsylvania land-based casinos.
Even the Borgata in AC, which is known for its fair games, only returns an average of $0.915 for every dollar spent on slots — on par with the very worst NJ online casino slots. At a Pennsylvania casino, you’d be lucky to find returns above 90 percent.
Where do you find RTPs for slots? Here are the steps you’ll need to take at Golden Nugget Casino:
- Go to GoldenNuggetCasino.com
- Navigate to the “Slots” tab, or if you prefer simply type in the name of your preferred slot in “Search games” field
- Click on the “Info” tab in the upper right hand portion of the slot icon
- From there you can find tons of information related to the slot, including RTP, paylines, reels, min and max wagers, and volatility
Volatility is a measure of how “swingy” a game is. Low volatility slots are marked by more frequent, but smaller payouts, whereas high volatility games feature bigger payouts, but you may go a long time between scores.
What about NJ online casino sites that don’t list returns?
In New Jersey, there is a significant amount of overlap from slot library to slot library. In fact, just about all of the most popular online casino slots can be found on no less than 10 different sites.
So if you know the RTP of a slot on one site, there’s a pretty good chance that it applies wherever that slot is found.
What are some of the best NJ online casino slots?
Don’t feel like navigating through hundreds of slots in search of the best RTPs? We get it. That’s why we’ve done some of the busy work for you.
Check out these slots, and their respective RTPs:
- Blood Suckers: 98.0%
- StarMania: 97.87%
- Monster Wins: 97.11%
- Jack Hammer 2: 97.1%
- Twin Spin: 96.6%
- Medusa 2: 97.07%
- Secrets of Atlantis: 97.07%
- Guns N’ Roses: 96.3%
- Spin Sorceress: Up to 97.06%
- Jimi Hendrix: 96.91%
- Reel Rush: 97.0%
For a select few slots, the RTPs improve as you play. Gorilla Go Wild is a good example of this. The RTP starts at 92.06 percent, but as you unlock new features it climbs all the way up to 96.51 percent.
What kind of value do NJ online casino table games offer?
Generally speaking, you’re going to find better value (for a cheaper price) playing table games online than at brick and mortar casinos.
Take roulette for example. At land-based casinos it’s pretty difficult to find a wheel without both a 0 and a 00, unless you’re willing to play for high stakes. But did you know that the house edge for double zero games is a whopping 5.26 percent.
By contrast, most, if not all, NJ online casino sites offer single zero (European-style) roulette games. It may not seem like a significant difference, but trust us, it adds up. Why? Just the absence of that one extra slot brings the house edge all the way down to 2.7 percent.
Generally speaking, NJ online casino blackjack games are also better. At sites like Virgin Casino, Tropicana Casino, and Pala Casino you’ll find games that return over 99.7 percent. That works out to a meager $0.30 expected loss (or less) for every $100 wager — about as good a value as you’ll see everywhere.
But how do I distinguish good blackjack games from bad?
If you have this question, you’re certainly not alone. The fact is, NJ online casinos support a lot of different blackjack games.
On sites like Golden Nugget Casino, determining the best blackjack plays is as easy as navigating to the game’s info tab and viewing the RTP, in much the same way that you’d do for slots.
If the RTP isn’t specifically provided by a site, you’ll want to ask yourself the following questions:
- Do blackjacks pay 3:2? Avoid 6:5 payouts at all costs.
- Are doubles allowed on any two cards?
- Are doubles allowed after splits?
- Can I split hands more than once?
- Does the dealer stand on all 17s, including soft 17s?
- How many decks are used?
The more checkmarks in the “yes” column, and the lower the amount of decks used, the better the game.
Where do you find this information? Unlike land-based casinos, which only list a small amount of blackjack game rules, all NJ online casino blackjack rules can be found in each game’s info tab. This makes finding out whether a blackjack variant is a good or bad play a breeze.
What about other NJ online casino table games?
Generally, the returns for other table games found at NJ online casinos are on par with what you’d find at land-based casinos in Atlantic City.
A few examples, with their RTPs:
- Let it Ride: 96.49%
- Three Card Poker: 96.63%
- Pai Gow Poker: 97.46%
- Craps: 98.59% (pass line)
- Baccarat: 98.94% as banker, 98.76% as player
Why do NJ online casinos offer better value than land-based casinos?
When playing an online table game, there are no physical operating procedures to deal with (Live Dealer games withstanding), and all wagering and payouts are handled digitally. As a result, New Jersey online casinos can save money on operating costs that can be returned to players through better odds and games.
Once you’ve had some success at New Jersey online casinos, check out our guide for the simple and easy ways to withdraw your winnings here.