Booming Games is cutting the return-to-player rate on its Ontario slots. From the end of October 2026, every new release in the province will be certified at a single 93.5% RTP, and 12 established titles will swap their current 96% builds for the lower setting. Ontario operators asked for the change.
Key takeaways
- All new Booming Games releases in Ontario will be certified at 93.5% RTP from late October 2026.
- 12 existing titles will be recertified, replacing their 96% versions. That is a cut of 2.5 percentage points.
- Operators need no new integration work: game IDs, lobby assets and contracts stay the same.
- The move comes two months after the AGCO fined the supplier CA$70,000 over a banned auto-play feature.
One certified RTP for the whole Ontario portfolio
The Malta-based studio set out the change in a certification notice to its Ontario partners. Until now, many of its games in the province ran at a 96% return. Under the new policy there will be just one version of each affected game in Ontario, certified at 93.5%. Once a recertified build goes live, it simply replaces the 96% version.
How the change is delivered matters. Booming Games will certify the new rate at the build level instead of letting operators switch between RTP settings in their back office. In practice, an Ontario player opening one of these titles will always get the 93.5% version. There is no hidden menu of alternative settings that a casino could pick from without players knowing.
The supplier says the switch is a response to requests from local partners who wanted a lower RTP band that suits their commercial models. Ontario's open, competitive market has dozens of licensed operators. Those operators pay provincial revenue share and carry high compliance costs, so the margin a game generates directly affects their profitability.
No extra work for operators
Booming Games is keen to stress that the rollout should be painless for its partners. Updated certificates will arrive alongside the new builds through the normal delivery process. Game IDs and lobby assets stay unchanged, so each title keeps its current placement, artwork and tracking. The supplier says no new endpoints, contract amendments or extra integration work are needed.
New releases switch to the 93.5% standard from late October. Recertification of the existing games will follow title by title, with each replacement taking effect once its updated build is approved and deployed. No individual dates have been given.
What a 2.5-point RTP cut means in practice
RTP is a long-term theoretical figure calculated over millions of spins. It tells you nothing about a single session, but it does show how much of the money wagered the game is designed to keep. A move from 96% to 93.5% looks small, yet it raises the theoretical house edge by more than 60%:
96% vs 93.5% RTP: theoretical comparison
| Measure | 96% build | 93.5% build |
|---|---|---|
| House edge | 4.0% | 6.5% |
| Expected return per CA$100 wagered | CA$96.00 | CA$93.50 |
| Theoretical cost of CA$1,000 in total spins | CA$40 | CA$65 |
| Operator gross margin vs 96% build | baseline | +62.5% |
Figures are theoretical long-run averages. Actual results in any session vary widely.
That is why RTP is one of the most closely watched numbers among experienced slot players, and why operators lobby suppliers for flexibility. A lower RTP does not necessarily mean a game feels very different from spin to spin. Volatility, hit frequency and feature design shape that more. Over time, though, the player's money simply lasts less long.
The games affected
Ten upcoming releases will launch in Ontario at 93.5% only. They include Greedy for Gold: Power Hit 10,000, Trailer Trash, Booming Buffalo Hold and Win: Extreme 2, Black Friday Cart Craze: Hold and Win, the seasonal Holly Jolly Bonanza 10,000 and Fish Tales: Jingle Bass, plus Express Fortune Surge, Blazin' Bingo Trio, Goldline Express and Chilli Fever: Hold and Win.
The 12 live titles set for recertification are:
- Polar Buffalo Hold and Win Extreme 25,000
- Fish Tales: Double Catch Max Scatter
- Tasty Bonanza Max Scatter and Tasty Bonanza 10,000
- Cash Pig 2 15,000
- 64 Gold Coins Hold and Win 20,000
- Buffalo Hold and Win Extreme 10,000
- Henhouse Hustle: Hold and Win
- Diamond Forge: Link & Loot
- Way of the Wolf: Hold and Win Extreme 10,000
- Blazin' Bonus
- Mr. Oinkster's Hold and Win
Context: a tough summer with the regulator
The RTP change follows a difficult few months for Booming Games in the province, where it has held a B2B supplier registration since early 2024. On 20 August 2026 the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) ordered CA$70,000 in monetary penalties against Booming Games (Malta) Limited. Prohibited auto-play functionality had been available to Ontario players on several of its slots for months.
Ontario bans auto-play outright, because making players start each spin manually creates a natural pause in which to reassess their play. The regulator found the supplier had failed to properly configure, test and monitor certain games before and after launch. The affected operator was notified and the feature was disabled.
"Ontario's game design standards are fundamental player-protection measures built into the regulated igaming market – they are not optional technical requirements."
— Dr. Karin Schnarr, CEO and Registrar, AGCO
Nothing suggests the new RTP policy is connected to that penalty. RTP levels in Ontario are a commercial matter, not a regulatory requirement. Still, a single certified build per title does make compliance simpler: there are fewer versions to test, document and monitor across the game's lifetime.
Meanwhile: Raccoon Raiders
Alongside the certification notice, the studio launched Raccoon Raiders on 8 October. The heist-themed slot has five reels, 15 paylines and a top win of 10,000x the stake. The raccoon wild carries multipliers of up to 5x. Three safe scatters on reels one, three and five trigger the Heist Feature, a three-respin round in which Loot, Mega Loot and Multi-Loot symbols build column multipliers from 1x up to 20x. A Bonus Buy option is also available. The game is not among the titles named in the Ontario notice.
What it means for…
- Ontario players: the affected Booming titles will pay back less in the long run. Players who care about RTP should check the in-game help screen, where the certified figure is shown, and compare it with similar slots from other studios.
- Operators: higher theoretical margins on a familiar catalogue, with no integration effort. That is an attractive offer in a crowded, high-cost market.
- Other suppliers: if partners keep asking for lower RTP bands, more studios may follow with Ontario-specific builds. That would widen the gap between Ontario and markets where 96% is the norm.
