Cost-of-play calculator: what an hour of play actually costs you
Gambling is a purchase. This works out the hourly rate, which is a more useful number than any return percentage on its own.
- AnswersWhat an hour of play costs on average, and what that comes to over a year
- You supplyStake, spins per hour, game RTP and how long you play
- PrivacyRuns in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere
Type stake 1, spins 600, RTP 96 → expect C$24 per hour.
Because 1 × 600 = 600 staked, and 4% of 600 is 24.
Type stake 0.50, spins 800, RTP 94 → expect C$24 per hour as well.
Half the stake, more spins and a worse game land in the same place — which is the point of the tool.
Type stake 5, spins 50, RTP 99 → expect C$2.50 per hour. A slow game with a thin edge is a cheap hour even at a high stake.
What the calculator works out, and how to use it
Five numbers go in: what you stake per spin, how many spins you play an hour, the game's published return percentage, how long a session runs and how many sessions you play a week. Out comes the expected cost of an hour, along with the house edge behind it, what you stake in an hour, what the session costs and what a year at that pace comes to. Every figure updates as you type.
The input worth getting right is spins per hour, because it is the one most people halve. Uninterrupted slot play runs five to eight hundred spins an hour and autoplay goes higher, while a live dealer table deals forty to seventy hands. If you are unsure, run the calculation twice at both ends of that range. The panel at the foot works three examples through the arithmetic so you can check the tool rather than trust it.
Why an hourly rate is the useful number
Return-to-player percentages are the figure the industry publishes, and they are almost impossible to act on. Ninety-six percent sounds generous; it describes a long run you will never reach, and it says nothing about what an evening costs.
An hourly rate is different because it is comparable to everything else you might do with the time. Twenty-four dollars an hour is a cinema ticket every ninety minutes. That is not an argument against playing — it is the information you need to decide whether you are getting what you are paying for.
The variable people get wrong
Spins per hour. Almost everyone underestimates it, usually by half. Uninterrupted slot play runs five to eight hundred spins an hour, and autoplay goes higher. Doubling your estimate of how fast you play doubles the cost, which is why the pace of a game matters more than its stake for anyone trying to spend less.
It is also the easiest thing to change. The same stake on a live dealer table, at forty hands an hour, costs roughly a fifteenth as much per hour as it does on slots.
What the number is not
Not a prediction. Any individual session will land above or below it, often by a lot — that is variance, and it is what makes the games entertaining. The figure is the average outcome across a great many sessions, which is exactly the perspective a single session cannot give you.
It also assumes you play the same game at the same stake, and that the published return figure is accurate. On whether that second assumption holds, see how to verify a certificate.
What to do with it
Set a loss limit that reflects the hourly rate you have just calculated, on the day you open the account rather than in the middle of a session. A cost decided in advance behaves completely differently from one discovered afterwards.
Cost-of-play calculator, answered
How is the hourly cost calculated?
Stake per spin × spins per hour × house edge. The house edge is 100 minus the return-to-player percentage. At $1 a spin, 600 spins an hour and 96% RTP: 1 × 600 × 0.04 = $24 an hour.
How many spins an hour is realistic?
On slots, 500 to 800 with no deliberate pauses — much faster than most players estimate. Autoplay pushes it higher. Table games run far slower, typically 40 to 70 hands an hour.
Does this mean I will lose exactly that much?
No. It is an expected value over a long run, and any single session can end well above or below it. Treat it as a price rather than a prediction — the same way you would read a rate per hour for anything else.
Where do I find a game's RTP?
Usually in the game's own info panel, and sometimes in the operator's help pages. What matters is whether the figure is independently verified — see RTP and the house edge.
Why does a small RTP difference matter?
Because it multiplies by everything else. Moving from 96% to 94% doubles the house edge from 4% to 6%, which is a 50% increase in what an hour costs you.
Does a bigger stake change the odds?
No. The edge is a percentage, so a larger stake costs proportionally more per hour without changing your chance of any individual outcome.
Is this figure the same for live dealer games?
The arithmetic is identical, but the pace is much slower — a live table might run 40 hands an hour against 600 slot spins, so the same stake costs far less per hour.
What should I do with the number?
Compare it to other ways of spending the evening, and set a loss limit that reflects it. A cost you have decided in advance is a very different thing from one you discover afterwards.