This guide explains Retro Tapes slot RTP and Australian online gambling law using Australian rules and what Push Gaming publishes. It discusses the available RTP versions, the meaning of the 10,000x figure, and the reasons why the game can't be legally offered to you. The basics come first, briefly.
Retro Tapes is a cluster slot from Push Gaming that launched on 23 November 2022. Most reviews agree on these points:
- It uses a cassette theme and a 6-by-9 grid without paylines.
- Matching symbols in clusters of five or more provide payouts.
- New symbols tumble in after winning symbols are removed.
- The bonus is triggered by three or more Wild Tapes.
- Push Gaming describes its volatility as high.
Australian law: the game can't be offered to you
The primary takeaway for someone in Australia is that slots and online pokies, along with other online casino games, may not be offered to any person physically located in Australia. Section 15 of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (Cth) establishes this. The Department of Infrastructure clarifies that the prohibition applies regardless of whether the provider is offshore or based in Australia. The same Act also prohibits advertising these services to individuals in Australia.
This is how each rule affects Retro Tapes.
- The ban targets providers (Interactive Gambling Act, s 15). Providing the service to an individual with an Australian customer link is the offence. Section 8 describes that link as a customer who is physically in Australia. The provider, not the player, commits the offences under the Act.
- The ACMA can block sites. The Australian Communications and Media Authority blocks websites that it discovers are offering prohibited online casino services, such as slots, to customers in Australia. A page hosting or promoting Retro Tapes may therefore simply not load.
- No RTP minimum or stake cap in Australia (Interactive Gambling Act). Because no online casino can obtain a licence in Australia, no local regulations exist for online slots. The law doesn't establish a minimum spin time, a maximum bet per spin, a rule for quick-spin or autoplay, a limit on Bonus Buy, a cap on losses or deposits, or a required RTP version. The entire service is banned instead of being regulated.
- BetStop doesn't cover it (BetStop, run by ACMA). Licensed phone and online wagering is what the national self-exclusion register covers. It doesn't apply to online casino games, so you won't be stopped from accessing a slot like this by registering. The game isn't made legal by its existence either.
A Bonus Buy is listed as available by Push Gaming, but its price isn't published. Push Gaming doesn't publish a cash stake range either. There is no Australian limit for either of these to be compared against.
Two RTP versions, not one
Push Gaming publishes two different RTP values for Retro Tapes and states that the RTP may vary across casinos.
| What Push Gaming publishes | Figure |
|---|---|
| Higher RTP version | 96.47% |
| Lower RTP version | 94.46% |
| Volatility | High |
| Highest observed win | 10,000x |
| Bonus Buy | Listed as available, price not stated |
Some reviews round the RTP to approximately 96.4%. The provider's precise figures are 96.47% and 94.46%, so use those.
There is a difference of around two percentage points between them. This is more significant than a single listed figure might indicate. Push Gaming says the loading screen and the user panel in the game show which version a casino is using. This is the sole location where you can confirm it.
What 10,000x actually means
Most sites refer to 10,000x as the maximum win of the game. Push Gaming uses the phrase "highest observed win", meaning the largest outcome recorded rather than a guarantee or a limit. RTP represents an average over a vast amount of spins in the long run. In a high-volatility game like this, most sessions won't come close to either number.
How the features fit together
Tapes and Instant Prizes
Clusters of five or more Tapes pay from 0.1x to 1,000x. Instant Prize symbols act as bet multipliers and pay when five or more form a cluster. These values are 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x, 25x, 50x, 100x, 250x, 500x and 1,000x.
Wild Tapes
The Wild Tape replaces all symbols except the Wild Multiplier and Magnet. It starts at 1x and increases by +1 for every cluster win it is part of. It remains on the board as long as wins continue to chain and disappears once they cease. It also functions as the scatter: three or more landing anywhere trigger the bonus.
Wild Multipliers
Wild Multipliers can be found during the bonus and the base game. Each one gives its value to every Wild Tape across the grid, and then becomes an Instant Prize with a random value.
Magnets
During the base game, a Magnet picks a single paying-symbol type and pulls every instance across the grid into a cluster. Should it pick Instant Prizes, it needs four or more on the grid to form one. The Magnet subsequently becomes that symbol or a random Instant Prize.
Top Charts bonus
The Free Games Feature is the name Push Gaming gives the trigger, while the Top Charts Feature is the name for the bonus. All Instant Prizes and Wild Tapes remain fixed once this begins.
- Each free spin results in one of six outcomes: Blank Space, Wild Tape, Wild Multiplier, Instant Prize, Magnet or Extra Spin.
- Magnets in this mode attract any unlocked Instant Prizes within a random range.
- Instant Prizes remain on the grid until the bonus concludes. Then every cluster is collected.
There is disagreement in reviews regarding the initial number of free spins: some mention six, some mention eight, and at least one mentions both. Push Gaming's page doesn't give a number, so neither can be confirmed.
Demo play
A free demo of Retro Tapes is offered by at least one review site. This indicates a demo is on that page, but not that it can be accessed in every region.
Set your limits before you begin if you gamble in any form, and keep to them.