RTP provides information on long term returns and volatility provides information on the range of return fluctuations between each session. Most people focus on RTP and while that is important it is also unwise to ignore volatility when playing with SC as volatility provides more information as to how your... Show more
RTP provides information on long term returns and volatility provides information on the range of return fluctuations between each session. Most people focus on RTP and while that is important it is also unwise to ignore volatility when playing with SC as volatility provides more information as to how your session will turn out than just relying on RTP alone.
An RTP of 96% doesn’t imply that it’s any less likely to win than an RTP of 97%. Volatility makes all the difference in determining whether your best choice would be either a low volatility (96%) or high volatility (97%) game. For example, if the player has a small SC balance and wants to reach their first cash out, a low volatility (96%) game makes much more sense than a high volatility (97%) game. This is due to low volatility extending the life of the player’s SC balance while, with high volatility, the player could exhaust their SC balance before getting the benefit of an extra 1% RTP during a long losing streak.
This guide explains volatility simply, shows how it connects to your SC balance and cash out goals and gives you a clear framework for picking the right volatility for how you play. Show less
Oloruntoba Yusuf Casino & iGaming Expert 
Emmanuella Oluwafemi iGaming Content Manager Volatility (also referred to as variance) is an indicator of the frequency of winning and the magnitude of winning. In contrast to RTP, which indicates the expected payout percentage over a time period, volatility indicates how active your gaming experience will be.
For instance, suppose there are two jobs that pay the same amount of $50,000 annually.
The final amount appears to be the same at year’s end but the approaches used to obtain that amount were very different.
Here is how volatility works for slots:
Here is how the three volatility types compare for SC play
| Low Volatility | Medium Volatility | High Volatility | |
| How often you win | Often | Sometimes | Rarely |
| Typical win size | Small | Medium | Large (when wins occur) |
| SC balance behavior | Steady, gradual decline | Moderate fluctuations | Wide swings, extended losing streaks |
| Bonus features | Frequent, smaller payouts | Occasional | Rare, larger payouts |
| SC longevity | Best | Moderate | Riskiest |
| Best suited for | Reaching cashout minimum | General play | Large SC balances with high risk tolerance |
| Session experience | Consistent, low tension | Varied, engaging | Intense, potentially frustrating |
Low volatility means your balance moves slowly and steadily. Bonuses pop up often enough to keep things fun. The game doesn’t go silent for 80 spins. Medium volatility is where most sweepstakes slots sit, a balanced feel that works for most SC balances and playing styles. High volatility is where the big wins are, it’s also where the big losses are and you don’t get one without the other.
Losses have no real world cost. GC play is purely for entertainment. Any volatility level is fine, so choose based on what you enjoy.
Losses have real value. Every SC lost is prize money that’s gone for good. Volatility should be chosen carefully based on your balance and redemption goals.
Test games on GC first, then once you are more comfortable with the game, and more familiar with it, switch to playing with SC.
The smartest volatility choice comes down to one thing: where your SC balance is compared to the redemption minimum.
A player with 11 SC trying to reach a 10 SC threshold is in a completely different situation than a player with 50 SC and the same 10 SC goal.
One is close to cashing out. The other has room to take risks. Your volatility choice should match which one you are.
| SC Balance vs Redemption Threshold | Recommended Volatility | Why |
| At or just above minimum | Low | You can’t afford a losing streak. You need your balance to stay steady. |
| 2x above minimum | Low to Medium | You have a small cushion. A little risk is okay, but don’t push it. |
| 3x above minimum | Medium to High | You’ve got room to breathe. You can handle normal ups and downs. |
| 5x+ above minimum | Any – your choice | You have plenty of buffer. At this point, volatility is about what you prefer, not what you need. |
High volatility games can have long losing streaks. That’s just how they’re designed. If your SC balance is barely above the cashout minimum, a losing streak will drop you below it, then you can’t cash out at all. If you have plenty of extra SC above the minimum, you can ride out the losing streak. Your balance stays safe and when a big win finally hits, you’re still in the game to get it. So only play high volatility games when you have SC to spare, otherwise, you’ll likely lose it all before any big win comes.
Playing with low volatility gives you longer sessions due to more frequent payouts, which helps your SC balance last longer over more spins. This will give you more time to play for each SC that you spend. A game with high volatility will compress your session as you can lose or double your balance much faster than you could with a low volatility game.
Low volatility would be the correct option for anyone that has a limited SC and wants to optimize their time spent playing, either to be entertained longer or to create additional opportunities for the bonus features to trigger. The ability to receive twice the number of spins from an equal amount of SC input is valuable by itself and does not need to be compared to other slot games based on RTP.
Slots come in every volatility level – from very low to extremely high. Knowing where different types usually land helps you pick faster.
The pattern is simple: The bigger the possible win, the higher the volatility and the longer you’ll have to wait between wins.
Table games are usually lower and more predictable than slots when it comes to volatility. That’s one big reason they’re great for making your SC last, on top of their excellent RTP.
Bottom line: If you want your SC to last, table games are your friend, low volatility and high RTP together.
Blackjack, baccarat, and roulette can all be played with a live dealer as well as an RNG. The volatility for the two forms is identical because the Random Number Generator (RNG) method of determining the outcome is not dependent on the knowledge of how a card will be dealt. The speed of a live dealing session, however, is much slower than a digital RNG game. This means there are fewer decisions made per hour, resulting in a lower amount of SC committed each hour. Therefore, if a player desires to decrease their exposure to SCs without dropping down to the minimum amount, the slower speeds associated with live dealer sessions is one of the easiest ways to naturally reduce their risk of losing.
Instant win games (or scratch cards) are generally classified as high volatility. They’re either a win, or no win, and as such the prize potential may be extremely high with the majority of tickets not providing any prize at all to support that. Therefore, instant win games (or scratch cards) do not fit the SC balancing criteria, they should only be treated for entertainment purposes when playing GC. If you enjoy playing these types of instant win games (or scratch cards), enjoy playing them as part of your GC.
Most modern slots now show volatility ratings right in the game’s info section. Just look for an i or ? button. The rating usually appears one of three ways:
One catch: not every platform shows this info, even when the developer includes it, so always check for yourself before playing a new slot with SC. If you can’t find the volatility rating, look it up elsewhere or test it with GC first.
Major game developers typically display their RTP and volatility rates on their sites. If you search the name of the game + the name of the developer + volatility, you’ll get the volatility rate for nearly any game from the major developers. Some third party slot game databases, which are dedicated to tracking games will also have the volatility rate for games that aren’t from major developers and can be very helpful if you’re trying to quickly find the volatility for several games or if you’re looking up volatility information for a smaller developer.
If you can’t find published volatility data, you can still get a good idea by looking at how the game is designed.
| Game Feature | Volatility Signal |
| Classic 3 reel format, small paylines | Low |
| Standard 5 reel video slot, basic features | Medium |
| Big advertised jackpot prize | High |
| Megaways or variable reels | High |
| Option to buy a bonus round | High |
| Cascading / avalanche wins | Medium to High |
| Progressive jackpot pool | Very High |
| Branded slots (movies, TV shows, celebrities) | Often Medium to High |
| Cluster pays mechanic | Medium to High |
The best way to determine if any numbers are published when no data exists is is to play the title on GC for 50 – 100 spins and observe balance behavior. A balance that maintains the same amount with several smaller wins can be attributed to low volatility. A balance that has significant changes up and down without numerous wins will indicate high volatility. If there are equal amounts of highs and lows, it would indicate medium volatility. Although this is not a scientific measurement, these qualitative indicators can provide good insight into how the GC title will perform before commitment of any SC.
Players trying to hit their first cash out, people with small SC balances and free players building up SC through bonuses and mail in offers.
Low volatility slots and table games like blackjack or baccarat (banker bet).
Minimum bet or close to it. That gives you the most spins for your SC.
Stop as soon as you hit your cashout goal or when your session budget runs out. Whichever happens first.
Slow, steady SC growth. Predictable sessions. More frequent smaller redemptions instead of rare big ones.
Bottom line:
This approach won’t give you wild, exciting swings, but it will reliably move your SC toward cash out thresholds and keep it there. If your goal is to cash out regularly, this is your best strategy.
Players with SC well above their cashout minimum, people who regularly buy SC packages and anyone who wants variety without throwing discipline out the window.
Medium volatility slots as your go to. Occasional high volatility sessions are fine, but only with a capped SC budget.
Moderate bets. Not the minimum, not the maximum. Enough to get a decent session length within your budget.
Set a SC budget for the session before you start. Let the ups and downs play out within that budget, but don’t add more once it’s gone.
What to expect:
Mixed results. Some sessions will be great. Some will drain your balance. Your overall outcome depends on how disciplined you are with game selection over time.
Players with plenty of SC above their cashout minimum and players who would rather chase one big win than cash out small amounts regularly.
High volatility slots, Megaways games, and jackpot slots.
Higher bets. The goal is to maximize your payout when a bonus finally hits.
Know this going in: you might lose your entire session budget. That’s not a mistake, that’s how this strategy works.
What to expect:
Most sessions will lose SC. Once in a while, you’ll have a big winning session. Whether you come out ahead over time depends on if those rare big wins make up for all the small losses.
The majority of variance in a high volatility slot will come from large and infrequent bonus round payouts. The base game of a high volatility game typically pays very little. Much of the game’s RTP is actually stored in the bonus feature and only released once triggered.As a result, high volatility sessions with no triggered bonus will generally feel very unrewarding, despite having a strong overall RTP. There is no cheating going on, the math works as intended, it’s just that the payout is concentrated in an area you have not reached yet within that session.
The most common bonus type. You trigger them by landing scatter symbols. On high volatility slots, most of the game’s RTP lives inside these free spins. The base game is just the grind to get there. The longer you wait between triggers, the bigger the payout tends to be.
You pay a fixed amount, usually 50 to 100 times your bet to skip straight to the bonus round. No more waiting. But it costs a lot of SC. The math rarely works in your favor. Avoid this on SC unless you have a big buffer and really understand the game.
Winning symbols disappear and new ones fall in their place. One spin can create multiple wins in a row. This is medium to high volatility. Quiet spins happen often, but when it chains, it can pay big.
The number of ways to win changes every spin, sometimes thousands of ways. Huge win potential comes with huge dry spells. Almost always high volatility. The same mechanic that can pay 50,000x can also give you nothing for a very long time.
If you’re playing with SC and you finally trigger a bonus round, especially if it pays well, consider stopping afterward. That bonus was the whole point of the session. Going back to the base game just means starting another long grind with less SC in your balance.
Playing high volatility slots when you’re close to cashing out
Big mistake. High volatility games look fun and the wins look big, but your SC balance won’t survive the long losing streaks. Stick with low volatility if you’re trying to cash out.
Treating all 96% RTP games the same
Do not. RTP without volatility tells only half the story. Two games with 96% RTP can deliver completely different experiences. Always check both figures.
Max betting to trigger bonuses faster
This does not work. Bet size does not influence bonus frequency on certified RNG games. It simply accelerates SC depletion during dry spells between bonuses.
Chasing losses with higher volatility
This is ineffective and will typically result in faster losses. The correct response to a losing session is stopping, not escalating risk.
Ignoring volatility on table games
Roulette is a perfect example. Betting on red or black is low volatility. Betting on a single number is high volatility. Same game, but totally different risk profile.
Skipping GC testing before playing SC
Don’t skip this. A quick GC session shows you how a game really plays. Playing SC on a game you haven’t tested means playing blind with real prize money.
RTP is only one half of what you need to evaluate each game. The other half is volatility (how much you win on average). By considering both together when making SC game selections, players can get a complete picture of how all games perform, not just on paper. Therefore, if you want to find the best SC game for your bankroll and goal of redemption, looking at volatility in addition to RTP will provide you with ways for maximizing both aspects of a sweepstakes casino.
It’s a straightforward framework: low volatility to increase your chances of hitting a certain number, medium volatility can be used to play balanced when you have an established cushion, high volatility should only be used when you have sufficient SC to withstand the ups and downs and when you have clear sightedness regarding the risks of doing so. Always do a test of GC before committing SC. Always look at volatility prior to getting a new title. Never confuse an entertaining high volatility session with a smart SC strategy, they are not the same thing although on occasion, they may produce the same result.
SweepsPulse game guides give you volatility data, RTP figures and developer info for major titles. Use both numbers to pick SC games smarter and check our casino reviews to find platforms that actually share game info, so you always know what you’re playing before you start.
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