High RTP Pokies: Which Online Pokies Pay Best, From Studio Data (2026)

Short answer: pokies are slots, so the online pokies that pay best over the long run are the ones with the highest return to player (RTP). Among pokies with a page on RTP Direct, Pragmatic Play’s Beware The Deep Megaways has the highest certified version at 97.47%, and BGaming’s Ultras leads the hold-and-win style at 97.00%. Across the 1,195 slots with a published RTP in our database, 1,115 list a top version of 96% or more, but only 81 reach 97%. Before any of that matters, check the law where you live: offering online casino games to people in Australia is illegal.

Pokies are slots

“Pokies” is the Australian and New Zealand word for poker machines, and online it means the same games the rest of the world calls slots. The studios, the maths and the RTP figures are identical. RTP is the share of total stakes a game is designed to return over a very large number of game plays. The Gambling Commission in Great Britain stresses that this average is reached over many plays, not in one session.

So “which pokies pay best” has two honest answers. Over the long run, the highest-RTP ones lose least on average. In a single session, nobody can tell you, because results swing widely around that average.

The highest-RTP pokies, by game style

Rather than one long list (our highest paying online slots guide ranks every slot with a page here), the tables below group pokies by the feature players usually search for. Each shows the five with a page here and the highest certified version, from the studio’s own game page. Ties are ordered alphabetically.

Hold-and-win and money respins

These are the pokies where coin or money symbols lock in place during respins, the format familiar from land-based machines. 11 pokies with a page here use it. Ultras is listed at 97.00% on BGaming’s game page.

Pokie	Studio	Top RTP	Max win
Ultras	BGaming	97.00%	5,000x
Floating Dragon Hold and Spin	Pragmatic Play	96.71%	5,000x
Big Bass Hold & Spinner Megaways	Pragmatic Play	96.70%	20,000x
Elvis Frog TRUEWAYS	BGaming	96.70%	5,000x
Floating Dragon Megaways	Pragmatic Play	96.70%	20,000x

2 more pokies with a page here are tied at 96.70%.

Megaways

Megaways pokies change the number of symbols on each reel every spin. 19 more pokies with a page here carry the label. Beware The Deep Megaways is listed at 97.47% on Pragmatic Play’s game page, the highest top version of any pokie with a page here.

Pokie	Studio	Top RTP	Max win
Beware The Deep Megaways	Pragmatic Play	97.47%	10,000x
Book of Cats MEGAWAYS	BGaming	97.07%	10,000x
Magic Mummy MEGAWAYS	BGaming	97.00%	5,000x
Savage Buffalo Spirit MEGAWAYS	BGaming	96.75%	6,000x
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways	Pragmatic Play	96.70%	4,000x

Tumbling reels

In tumbling or cascading pokies, winning symbols disappear and new ones drop in, so one spin can pay several times. 37 pokies with a page here use tumbles without being Megaways games. The fifth place in this group is 96.52%, lower than the other two groups.

Pokie	Studio	Top RTP	Max win
Sugar Rush Super Scatter	Pragmatic Play	96.58%	50,000x
Fruit Party 2	Pragmatic Play	96.53%	5,000x
Sweet Bonanza 1000	Pragmatic Play	96.53%	25,000x
Sweet Kingdom	Pragmatic Play	96.53%	10,000x
Sweet Bonanza 2500	Pragmatic Play	96.52%	25,000x

Every figure above is the highest version the studio publishes. Many pokies are certified at several settings and the operator chooses one, so the game you open can run lower. Open its information or paytable screen to see the figure in use; our guide to RTP versions explains why it varies, and how to find high RTP slots walks through the checks.

Australia: online casinos are banned for providers

The Interactive Gambling Act 2001, as summarised by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), makes it illegal for gambling providers to offer some online services to people in Australia, and online casinos are on the banned list. Online pokies are offered by online casinos. Banned services must not be advertised in Australia either.

The ACMA enforces this partly by asking internet service providers to block sites. In its July 2025 update, the ACMA said 1,279 illegal gambling and affiliate websites had been blocked since its first blocking request in November 2019, and that around 220 illegal services had left the Australian market since 2017. The ACMA warns that even a legitimate-looking illegal service is unlikely to have important customer protections, so Australians who use one risk losing their money. Licensed wagering services are listed on the ACMA’s register.

The ACMA also reports that Parliament passed further changes to the Act on 19 August 2026, including new restrictions on gambling advertising.

New Zealand: a licensing regime is starting

New Zealand’s Online Casino Gambling Act 2026 is now in force. According to the Department of Internal Affairs’ page for players, online casinos that provided services to people in New Zealand before 1 May 2026 may continue until 1 December 2026, but must not advertise to New Zealanders. From 1 December 2026, only up to 15 operators that were successful at auction may provide online casino gambling, operating under an exemption while their licence applications are assessed. All other online casinos will be legally required to exit the market, and the DIA expects to start issuing licences from early 2027.

The DIA’s provider page set the auction for 29 September 2026, with licence applications opening in October 2026 for successful bidders. Check those pages for the current position, because the timetable is still moving.

If gambling stops being fun

• Australia: the National Gambling Helpline is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day on 1800 858 858, and Gambling Help Online offers chat and email counselling, as listed by the ACMA.
• New Zealand: the Gambling Helpline is free, day or night, on 0800 654 655, or text 8006.

Set a limit before you play and treat pokies as paid entertainment. A higher RTP lowers the average cost of play; it does not make a win likely.

Method

RTP and maximum-win figures come from each studio’s own game page, linked from the pokie’s page on this site. “Top RTP” is the highest version listed. Groups are based on the features each studio lists; a pokie appears in only one group, with hold-and-win taking priority over Megaways. Database-wide counts cover all 1,207 slots we track; tables list only slots with a page here.