These times remind us of the years when all online casinos wanted to create their own unique Christmas promotions. Well, it’s all great, as the more options we players have, the better.
When Hacksaw Gaming announces that they will release a Christmas-themed slot as well, it creates curiosity as although they usually don’t go as crazy with their themes and graphics as Nolimit City, Hacksaw is no stranger to mixing things up and doing unusual stuff.
Xmas Drop starts off as a generic and friendly-looking Christmas-themed slot with all the appropriate symbols and a fitting soundtrack, but the humorous side of the slot soon kicks in through the expanding Wild Santa symbols.
Best UK Casinos to play Xmas Drop
You can play Xmas Drop with real money at these popular UK online casinos.
Click on the link to visit the casino and enjoy your welcome bonus after you have registered your new account and made a deposit.
Welcome Offer: 200 Cash Spins on Fishin’ BIGGER Pots of Gold
Fun and pleasant atmosphere
Over 4,200 slots with the highest RTPs
Slots, bingo, and live casino games
New customers only. Up to 200 spins over 4 day period from first deposit & spend of £10. Max 50 spins each day on Fishin’ BIGGER Pots of Gold at 10p per spin for 4 consecutive days. Deposit & spend £10 each day for 50 spins. Spins credited upon spend of £10 each day. 18+ Full T&Cs apply.
Ad. 18+. Gamble Responsibly. Gambleaware.org. New players. Opt in & deposit £10 in 7 days & wager 1x in 7 days on any casino game (excluding live casino and table games) for 100 Free Spins. Wagering contributions vary. Free Spins worth 10p each on Big Bass Splash. 3 day expiry. 18+. Full bonus terms and conditions apply.
Good RTPs on NetEnt, Nolimit City and Thunderkick slots
18+ New UK players only | 23 No Deposit Spins Winnings Have 10x Wagering Requirements | Max Cashout on No Deposit Spins is £100 | Cash Spins Winnings Are Wager-Free | No max cash out on Cash Spins | Eligibility is Restricted for Suspected Abuse | Skrill Deposits Excluded | Spins Values Are £0.10 Per Spin | All Spins Expire in 48 hours |
Slot players residing in the United Kingdom can discover the game’s features, bonus rounds, betting options, theme and volatility before making a real financial commitment by playing our free demo of Xmas Drop.
Hacksaw Gaming slots are always released with various RTP configurations, and then it’s up to the online casinos to decide which payout version to offer their players.
Xmas Drop is available in four RTP versions averaging a 88.02%, 92.32%, 94.27%, or 96.22% payout.
Advantages of playing Xmas Drop with a high RTP
The lower the RTP, the higher the casinos’ margins, but what does this really mean for us players?
To illustrate the effect of a lower RTP, we have made some calculations. In the following table, we show how many spins you will theoretically get to play before your money runs out, based on a starting balance of €/£/$/100 and a stake of €/£/$/1 per spin.
RTP
Number of spins
96.22%
2,619 spins
94.27%
1,727 spins
92.32%
1,289 spins
88.02%
826 spins
See how big the difference can be between the different RTP versions.
RTP comparison for Xmas Drop
One of the top-rated online casinos that offer players the 96.22% RTP version of Xmas Drop would be the best place to play the slot at.
We have compared the offered RTP versions of Xmas Drop for many UK online casinos. You can see our findings presented in the comparison chart above.
Why RTP is important when playing slots
Whether we like it or not, the Return to Player, or RTP, of a slot significantly impacts a lot of crucial elements that come with playing slots.
The RTP is another term for the average percentage that a slot pays back for each stake. So, when a slot has a 96% RTP, it will pay back, on average, 96p for each pound staked. As you can imagine, the higher the RTP, the better it is for you, the player, as this will result in:
More spins before your money runs out
More spins = more chances to win
Increased playing time for the player
More value for money for the player
A lower profit margin for the casino
History of RTP and online slots
In the “old days”, all online slots had a default RTP, meaning the Return to Player was the same for each slot, no matter which online casino you played it in. However, since around 2020, due to regulations, increased Gambling Taxes and rising costs, online casinos started pressuring slot providers to release slots with different RTP configurations.
In effect, the online casino now had a choice: it was now able to offer its players a lower-paying RTP version. You could be playing a specific slot with a 96% RTP at casino A, and play the same slot with a 94% RTP at casino B, without even knowing it. The slot may look and feel the same, but the maths model underneath, which is the heart and soul of a slot, may be different, with all the negative consequences that come with it.
An example in real numbers
To illustrate the difference between playing a high-RTP slot versus playing the same slot but with a lower RTP, we have done some calculations.
Let’s take, as an example, one of the most popular online slots ever made: Book of Dead by Play’n GO. It has five possible RTP configurations: 84.18%, 87.25%, 91.25%, 94.25%, and 96.21%. Of course, other slots have different payout percentages, so results will vary.
We have calculated for Book of Dead, per RTP configuration, how many spins it takes to run out of money, based on theoretical losses (house edge) per spin, a starting balance of £100 and a stake of £1 per spin.
Book of Dead RTP
Theoretical Playtime
House Edge
96.21%
2,612 spins
3.79%
94.25%
1,721 spins
5.75%
91.25%
1,131 spins
8,75%
87.25%
776 spins
12.75%
84.18%
625 spins
15.82%
As you can see in our calculations, there are huge differences in the number of spins when you compare the different RTP configurations. The difference between the 96.21% RTP and the 94.25% RTP version is over 900 spins!
Conclusion
Playing with a higher Return to Player increases your chances of winning and playing time. So, when you want to play an online slot, always try to find a casino that offers it at the highest payout setting.
Why RTP is important when playing slots
Playing with a higher Return to Player increases your chances of winning and playing time.
How to play Xmas Drop
Xmas Drop is a medium volatile slot played on a 5-reel and 5-row game panel with 19 fixed pay lines.
Bets start from 0.10 to 100 per spin.
The Wild Santa, together with the Wild Gift symbols, are your keys to the big wins.
Features explained:
Wild Santa = These symbols expand downwards to cover the remaining reel when part of wins. It’s possible to land one Wild Santa on each reel.
Wild Gift = The bigger wins can happen when a Wild Santa expands through a Wild Gift symbol, triggering a multiplier of x2 to x200.
Free Spins = 3 scatters trigger 10 Free Spins where you have a higher chance of landing Wild Santa and Wild Gift symbols.
Enhanced Free Spins = 4 scatters trigger 10 Free Spins where the Wild Santa can become persistent on a reel.
Xmas Drop Bonus Buy
Hacksaw Gaming offers players the chance to buy several special spins or bonus games. These are not allowed in the UK and some other countries, though.
Base game spins with 5x times more likelihood of trigger Free Spins: 3x the bet
2 Wild Santas: 20x the bet
3 Wild Santas: 50x the bet
Free Spins: 110x the bet
Enhanced Free Spins: 200x the bet
What is the maximum win on Xmas Drop?
It’s possible to land some huge wins on Xmas Drop as the max win cap is set to 12,500x the bet.
Xmas Drop is a pleasant Christmas-themed slot aimed towards a wider audience through its medium variance setting and easy-to-digest features.
It has the traits of other Hacksaw Gaming slots like RIP City (clone), but everything is packaged into the Christmas vibe.
The result is super. We can expect Xmas Drop to be one of the best performing Christmas-themed slots this and coming years.
Find more high-RTP slots
Tired of playing online slots with subpar payout percentages? Use our search bar to find out within seconds which online casinos offer your favorite best-paying slots at the highest RTP level.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.