There is an old belief among seasoned casino slot players, a belief that draws the serious to the casino at night, coming out as the sun sets and the stars appear in the sky… Slot machines pay more at night. But is it actually true? Do you stand a better chance of winning big if you play at night, rather than in the daytime? Unsurprisingly, the answer is both yes and no, as well as, it depends. Confused? Let’s see if we can fix that.
If you visit a land-based casino, there is, indeed, a chance to win higher jackpots. The reason for this, however, isn’t that the games themselves pay out more at night. Rather, it is because there are simply more people in a brick-and-mortar casino at night than there are during the day.
People who work during the day rarely have an opportunity to visit the casino before evening comes, so there is often an influx of visitors then. More players means more money going into the growing jackpots, faster than during the day. The faster the jackpots grow, the sooner they pay out, and the higher the payouts. It’s really a simple case of maths: more players = more money going in = more money paying out.
Online casino slots are a different story. Because these are accessible 24/7, and in some cases in multiple time zones, the visitor turnover doesn’t adhere to regular day/night schedules. People can play anytime, anywhere even while on a coffee break at work. This means that, for progressive slots, the time of day doesn’t really matter. While progressive slots grow and pay out faster at night in a land-based casino, they tend to grow and pay out more consistently around the clock online.
Regular online slots that don’t have progressive jackpots attached can be played any time of the day or night, as well, and the player’s chances will remain the same. This is because online slots don’t work in quite the same way that land-based slot machines, which are network-linked, do. Each time you play a game, it is just you, the individual player, and the game. The number of other people playing the same game doesn’t affect your play or wins at all.
There is an exception to the online slots rule, and it is tournaments. An online gambling tournament that involves a slot game or games is usually time-limited. That means you can only play during a certain period. Whether you are playing for a progressive jackpot, or spot prizes and a grand prize, the time at which you play is critical. If you are playing a tournament, make sure to log in right from the start.
Tournaments can almost be compared to a race. If you miss the starting gun, and are several minutes or even hours behind the other players, you are unlikely to catch up. In a progressive jackpot scenario, you are often required to sign in from the beginning, and cannot join part way through.
The truth of the matter is, your chances are the same regardless of whether you play while the sun is shining, or the moon is out. Because casino slots, both physical and online, are controlled by a random number generator (RNG), there is no pattern to how they will pay out. An individual player could have a lucky streak, while another playing the exact same game at the same time may lose all their money. While more players might sometimes mean more money paying out, you also have to consider that there are, in fact, more players, all hoping to be the one to catch the prize.
Play when you want to play, whether it’s on your break, in bed at night, or while waiting in a queue. As always, we advise setting a time and budget limit for any gaming session. We can also strongly recommend trying out any new games on a free-to-play site like spin247 or slotsfree to get to know them before playing for real money.
