How casinos balance skill and randomness
1) Why Balance
In skill-based slots, casinos must provide a combination of two factors: the preservation of the gambling nature of the game and the ability of the player to influence the result through skills. If the advantage towards the skill is too great, experienced players will be able to earn steadily, violating the business model. If the skill has almost no effect, interest in such machines falls.
2) Basic balance mechanisms
Stage split:
In skill-based slots, casinos must provide a combination of two factors: the preservation of the gambling nature of the game and the ability of the player to influence the result through skills. If the advantage towards the skill is too great, experienced players will be able to earn steadily, violating the business model. If the skill has almost no effect, interest in such machines falls.
2) Basic balance mechanisms
Stage split:
- RNG (Random Number Generator) determines the frequency of bonus rounds and base winnings.
- Skill stages affect the bonus amount within the range set by the developer. Limiting the impact of a skill:
- The upper limit of the bonus win is fixed.
- Even the perfect performance of a mini-game does not exceed the set coefficient. Smoothing results:
- The average of the winnings is balanced by a mathematical model to keep the RTP within the given boundaries.
- RTP\_ chance is a fixed share dependent on RNG only.
- RTP\_ skill is a variable part that depends on the player completing the skill stages.
- Developers lay down such a range of RTP\_ skill so that even the best result does not create a long-term advantage.
3) Complexity adjustment
Adaptive mechanics: increase or decrease the difficulty level depending on the player's statistics.
Static complexity: fixed conditions, where the result depends only on skills within an unchanged scenario.
Random elements in mini-games: changing starting conditions (location of targets, speed of objects, time).
4) RTP monitoring
The total return is formed of two parts:
5) Examples of balance sheet solutions
In racing: Lap times affect the bonus multiplier, but not the fact of receiving it.
In shooting: accuracy increases the prize, but the number of goals is set by chance.
In logic: faster solution = more reward, but the puzzle itself is given out randomly.
6) Role of testing and certification
All skill-based machines are audited by independent laboratories to verify the integrity of the RNG and the correctness of the calculations.
It is checked that the skill affects the result within acceptable limits and does not violate the declared RTP.
7) The bottom line
The skill-based slot's balance of skill and randomness is a key element that allows the casino to maintain profitability while giving the player a sense of control over the outcome. For this, restrictions on the influence of the skill, adaptive or static complexity, as well as a clear separation of random and controlled elements are used.
