Editorial Policy

Casinoly Slots is an independent site of slot calculators and the guides that explain them. This page sets out how the guides are researched, how the calculators are built and tested, what they cannot do, and how we handle links to sister sites. It is written by the Casinoly Slots Editorial Desk, the organizational byline on every page; we do not use invented authors or personas.

How pages are researched

• Primary sources first. Rules are checked against the regulation or the regulator’s own page, for example New Jersey’s administrative code, Pennsylvania’s code, Michigan’s administrative rules and the state gaming regulators’ sites. Game facts come from the studio’s own page. Definitions of gaming math come from published test standards and recognized references.
• Sources in the text. Where a claim depends on a rule or a published figure, the page links to the source next to the claim.
• Hedged where things vary. Bonus terms differ by casino and change often, and rules differ by state. Pages describe the rules and the typical shape, date anything historical, and tell you to check the current terms rather than quoting offers.
• Left out when unverified. If we cannot confirm a number or a rule from a reliable source, it does not go on the page.
• No offers, no rankings. We do not list casino promotions, rank operators or link to sign-up pages.

How the calculators work

Every calculator runs entirely in your browser, in plain JavaScript with no external libraries, and nothing you enter leaves your device. Each tool page shows its formula under “The formula, step by step”, and the page is complete without JavaScript: the worked example is printed in the page.

The averages use standard expected-value arithmetic. The cost of any amount of slot play is the amount bet times the house edge, where the house edge is 100% minus the RTP. The wagering calculator divides the requirement by the game’s contribution rate to get the total to bet. The session calculator’s average session length uses Wald’s identity: if you replay wins until less than one bet is left, the average number of spins equals the bankroll divided by the expected loss per spin.

The simulations play sessions spin by spin on three model slots: low, medium and high volatility. Each is a short payout table that returns exactly 96% at its base setting; to reach another RTP, every win probability is scaled by the same factor, so the shape stays fixed. The full tables are published on the RTP and volatility simulator page. A seeded random number generator makes each run repeatable; “Replay with new random spins” changes the seed. To keep the page responsive, a run is capped at a fixed number of simulated spins, which sets the number of sessions shown.

Their limits. The models are teaching tools, not copies of any real game: real slots have bonus rounds, multipliers and features we do not model, and their probabilities are not published. Results describe averages and spreads, not what will happen in a session. The calculators do not account for terms they cannot see, such as excluded games, bet limits or expiry dates.

How they were tested. Before publishing, we checked each model’s RTP exactly from its payout table and again by simulating 20 million spins per model, and checked the session calculator’s average against long simulations of bankrolls played to zero. We also ran worked examples through the live calculators in a browser and compared them with hand-worked answers, for example a $100 bonus at 15x on a 96% slot: $1,500 to bet, $60 expected cost, $40 left on average. Inputs are validated: values outside a sensible range are flagged and no result is shown until they are fixed.

Keeping pages current

Every page carries an “Updated” date. Pages that describe rules are reviewed when the rules change and at least once a year, and the date changes when the content does. Math pages change only when we find an error or improve an explanation.

Independence and links to sister sites

Casinoly Slots is not operated by any casino and takes no payment from casinos. It is part of a small network of independently themed websites under common ownership. A few of our guides link to articles published by sister sites in that network, currently casinonline.us.com and 26casino.com, where we judged the article to be useful further reading on that page’s topic. We link to them as ordinary editorial links, the same way we link to regulators and studios, and every page with such a link also cites outside primary sources. We do not link to any sister site page that lists bonus codes or sign-up offers.

Corrections

When we find a factual or arithmetic error, we check it against the source, correct the page and update its date. Rule changes are handled the same way: the page is revised, not left to drift.