RCare Claims Spot in the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce Top 100 Companies of 2024

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RCare named Top 100 by Greater Rochester Chamber 2024

RCare has been named one of the Top 100 Businesses of 2024 by the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce. Every year, the Greater Rochester Chamber Top 100 Awards recognizes the fastest growing privately owned companies in the nine-county Greater Rochester/Finger Lakes region.

RCare, headquartered in Webster, N.Y., manufactures customizable nurse call and emergency monitoring systems for small and large long-term care and senior housing communities. Since 2006, RCare has worked diligently on their mission – to improve the lives of seniors and those who care for them through innovative and user-friendly technology.

“While we operate on a global scale, we take immense pride in representing and celebrating the greater Rochester region,” said Ashley Flann, CEO of RCare. “Our mission is to enhance the lives of seniors and their caregivers, and our technology plays a crucial role in making that possible. We are truly honored to receive this recognition of our ongoing growth and commitment to better care.”

In recent years, RCare has been recognized locally on several occasions including in 2020 when RCare was named a COVID-19 Health Care Hero by the Rochester Business Journal for the impact of its innovations on the quality of health care during the pandemic. RCare created a portable, durable, affordable, and easy-to-deploy wireless nurse call system called the Rapid Deployment Kit (RDK), a solution that can be set up quickly in non-traditional patient settings when the need for expanding hospital capacity for pandemics or weather disasters arises.

Representatives from RCare will be attending and celebrating this honor at the 38th Annual Greater Rochester Chamber Top 100 Awards ceremony held on Wednesday, November 6.

RCare Named to Rochester Chamber Top 100 Companies for 2023

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Greater Rochester Chamber Top 100 Businesses 2023

We are excited to announce RCare has been named one of the Top 100 Businesses for 2023 by the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.

This program recognizes the fastest-growing privately owned companies in the greater Rochester region, an area long known for its innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

Headquartered in Webster, NY, RCare manufactures wireless nurse call and emergency monitoring systems for long-term care and senior housing communities. The company was founded in 2006, with a mission to improve the lives of seniors and those who care for them. RCare is strategic in its innovation, with a focus on the design of unique technology solutions and meaningful partnerships with cutting-edge companies. This allows them to create customized nurse call solutions that break the boundaries of what a nurse call system can do for senior communities.

“We were founded with the purpose of making lives better for seniors,” said Ashley Flann, RCare’s CEO. “The long-term care industry can be incredibly challenging, and the roles of healthcare workers in this industry are so important. Our innovations help make that work easier, and give caregivers more time to do what they do best, providing care. I’m so proud of our company’s mission and contribution.”

This is not the first time that RCare has been honored with this recognition. The company also made the list in 2021, and in 2020 was named a COVID-19 Health Care Hero for the impact of its innovations on the quality of health care during the pandemic.

“Being named a Top 100 Business means so much to us,” said Flann. “Our company’s market is world-wide, but Rochester is our home. We appreciate the recognition, and hope we continue to make Rochester proud.”

The company’s latest innovations include a revamped training program for distribution partners. A year in the making, this new program strengthens the company’s relationship with its network of international distribution partners. It was launched at multiple sites throughout the United States over the last few months.

The 2023 Greater Rochester Chamber Top 100 Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, November 2.

Nominate a caregiver today for RCare’s second annual Caregiver of the Year Award

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Caregiver of the Year 2022

Do you work with someone who always goes above and beyond the call of duty? Do you know a caregiver who has a special bond with their residents, someone who truly makes a difference in their community? Do you have an exceptional employee who always brings something extra to the job? RCare would like to celebrate these passionate workers, tell their stories, and give them the recognition they deserve. 

The Caregiver of the Year Award was created by RCare to recognize the important work done each and every day by frontline caregiving staff. In line with RCare’s mission to help seniors and those who care for them, this award is a way to celebrate the often unsung heroes who do the challenging and meaningful work of caring for some of the nation’s most vulnerable populations.

“Everyone knows someone who is exceptional on the job, who goes above and beyond, who really has a positive impact on the community,” said Jeff Knauss, CEO and Owner of RCare. “We want to celebrate these special people, share their inspirational stories, and give them that moment in the spotlight that they deserve.” 

If you or someone you know deserves this award, please submit a nomination. (Yes, you can even nominate yourself.) Three lucky winners will be randomly drawn from the nominees to receive prizes worth $500. Also, those who submit a nomination will receive a gift card for coffee.

Prior winners of this award include Cecibel Quintanilla de Medrano, CNA at Renaissance of Annandale, Janelle Zacho, Director of Nursing at Columbia Health Care Center, and Megan Snead, a nurse at University Hospital in Augusta, Georgia.

How CasinosNeteller Explains Neteller’s Role in New Zealand Online Gambling

New Zealand’s online gambling landscape has undergone significant transformation over the past two decades, shaped by regulatory shifts, evolving consumer preferences, and the growing influence of international payment infrastructure. Among the various financial tools that have shaped how New Zealanders interact with offshore gambling platforms, Neteller stands out as one of the most consistently used e-wallet services in the region. Understanding how this payment method functions within the specific legal and commercial context of New Zealand requires more than a surface-level overview — it demands attention to the regulatory framework governing offshore play, the mechanics of how Neteller processes transactions across borders, and the practical implications for players navigating an environment where domestic licensing remains limited. Resources dedicated to this intersection, such as those focusing specifically on Neteller-compatible gambling platforms, have become increasingly relevant as players seek reliable information about deposit methods, withdrawal timelines, and fee structures that differ significantly from one platform to another.

The Regulatory Environment Shaping Neteller Use in New Zealand

New Zealand’s primary gambling legislation, the Gambling Act 2003, established a framework that effectively prohibits the operation of online casinos from within New Zealand’s borders. The Act created a tiered licensing system for physical gambling venues and the national lottery but made no substantive provision for the licensing of interactive casino-style gambling operated domestically. This legislative gap, which has remained largely unaddressed despite periodic calls for reform, means that New Zealand players who wish to access online casino games must do so through offshore operators — platforms licensed in jurisdictions such as Malta, Gibraltar, Curaçao, or the Isle of Man.

The legal position for players themselves has historically been ambiguous. The Gambling Act 2003 does not explicitly criminalise the act of placing bets with offshore operators, and successive governments have declined to pursue enforcement action against individual consumers. This practical tolerance has allowed a substantial offshore market to develop, with estimates from the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs suggesting that a meaningful proportion of the adult population engages with offshore gambling platforms. A 2020 review by the Department noted that online gambling expenditure was increasing, though precise figures for offshore activity remain difficult to quantify given the nature of cross-border transactions.

Into this environment, Neteller entered as a particularly well-suited payment solution. Founded in 1999 and later acquired by Paysafe Group in 2015, Neteller built its early business model explicitly around serving the online gambling sector at a time when major credit card networks were beginning to restrict gambling-related transactions. By the mid-2000s, Neteller had established itself as a preferred method for players in multiple English-speaking markets, including New Zealand, precisely because it offered a layer of separation between a player’s bank account and their gambling activity. This separation carries both practical and psychological significance: transactions appear on bank statements as transfers to a payment processor rather than as direct payments to a gambling operator, which matters in a regulatory environment where banks themselves sometimes apply their own informal restrictions on gambling-related payments.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) mutual evaluation of New Zealand, published in 2021, highlighted ongoing concerns about anti-money laundering compliance in the gambling sector, which has since prompted greater scrutiny of payment flows associated with offshore gambling. This regulatory attention has made the compliance infrastructure of payment processors like Neteller more relevant than ever, as platforms that maintain robust Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures provide a degree of assurance that less regulated alternatives cannot.

How Neteller Functions as a Payment Intermediary for New Zealand Gamblers

Neteller operates as a digital wallet, meaning that users maintain a balance within the Neteller system itself rather than transacting directly from their bank account each time they make a payment. New Zealand users can fund their Neteller accounts through several methods, including bank transfers, credit and debit cards, and in some cases through other digital payment methods. Once funds are held within the Neteller wallet, they can be transferred to compatible gambling platforms almost instantaneously, which is a significant practical advantage over bank transfers, which can take several business days to clear.

The currency dimension is particularly relevant for New Zealand players. Neteller supports multiple currencies, and New Zealand Dollar (NZD) accounts are available, which reduces the currency conversion costs that players would otherwise incur when funding accounts denominated in Euros, British Pounds, or US Dollars. However, the specific currency options available and the conversion rates applied can vary, and players who do not pay attention to this detail may find that what appears to be a straightforward deposit carries an embedded cost in the form of an unfavourable exchange rate or a currency conversion fee.

Withdrawal processing represents another area where Neteller’s mechanics become important. When a player wins at an offshore casino and requests a withdrawal to their Neteller account, the processing time is typically faster than a bank wire transfer — often within 24 to 48 hours, compared to three to seven business days for international wire transfers. However, the subsequent step of moving funds from Neteller back to a New Zealand bank account introduces an additional processing window and may incur fees. Neteller charges a fee for withdrawals to bank accounts, which as of recent years has been set at 1.75% of the transaction value, subject to minimum and maximum thresholds. Understanding this fee structure is essential for players who are comparing the true cost of using Neteller against alternatives such as direct bank transfer or cryptocurrency.

The VIP programme that Neteller operates adds a further layer of complexity. Players who transact above certain monthly thresholds can qualify for reduced fees, higher transaction limits, and dedicated customer support. For high-volume gamblers, this programme can represent genuine financial value, but it requires sustained engagement with the platform and an understanding of how the tier qualification criteria work. Information aggregated at sources like http://casinos-neteller.com/ provides a useful reference point for players trying to map out how these fee structures and tier benefits apply across different compatible platforms, particularly given that individual casino operators may also offer bonuses or fee rebates specifically for Neteller deposits.

Platform Compatibility and the Landscape of Neteller-Accepting Casinos in New Zealand

Not every offshore casino that accepts New Zealand players also accepts Neteller as a deposit method, and this distinction matters more than it might initially appear. The relationship between gambling operators and payment processors is governed by a combination of licensing agreements, banking relationships, and the specific payment processing infrastructure that each operator has chosen to implement. Some operators have historically maintained strong relationships with Paysafe Group, Neteller’s parent company, while others have moved toward competing e-wallet solutions or have prioritised cryptocurrency payments as regulatory pressure on traditional payment processors has increased in some jurisdictions.

The period between approximately 2007 and 2010 was particularly turbulent for Neteller’s relationship with the gambling sector. Following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in the United States in 2006, Neteller withdrew from the US market and its founders faced legal proceedings. While this did not directly affect New Zealand players, it demonstrated the extent to which Neteller’s gambling-related operations were subject to geopolitical and regulatory risk. The company subsequently restructured its approach to compliance and rebuilt its relationships with regulated gambling operators in jurisdictions where online gambling was clearly legal, which ultimately produced a more stable operating environment for markets like New Zealand where players access offshore-licensed platforms.

By the late 2010s, the landscape of Neteller-accepting casinos available to New Zealand players had stabilised considerably, with the majority of major Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) licensed operators offering Neteller as a standard deposit option. The MGA, established under the Remote Gaming Regulations 2004 and subsequently updated through the Gaming Act 2018, requires licensed operators to maintain clear and transparent payment processing practices, which has created a relatively predictable environment for players using Neteller on MGA-licensed platforms.

Curaçao-licensed operators, which represent a significant portion of the offshore market accessible to New Zealand players, present a more variable picture. Curaçao’s licensing framework, which has been undergoing reform since the introduction of the National Ordinance on Offshore Games of Hazard and subsequent regulatory updates, has historically been less prescriptive about payment method requirements. This means that Neteller availability varies more widely among Curaçao-licensed platforms, and players cannot assume that a Curaçao-licensed casino will accept Neteller simply because it accepts New Zealand players.

CasinosNeteller, as a resource focused specifically on the intersection of Neteller and online gambling, addresses this compatibility question directly by cataloguing which operators maintain active Neteller integrations and whether those integrations apply equally to deposits and withdrawals. This distinction matters because some operators accept Neteller for deposits but require withdrawals to be processed through alternative methods, which can create complications for players who had anticipated using Neteller as their primary financial channel for gambling activity.

Practical Considerations for New Zealand Players Using Neteller

The account verification process that Neteller applies to its users has become more rigorous over time, reflecting broader trends in financial services compliance. New Zealand users opening a Neteller account are typically required to provide government-issued photographic identification and proof of address, consistent with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 obligations that apply to financial service providers operating in or with New Zealand. The verification process can take anywhere from a few hours to several business days depending on the clarity of the documents submitted and the current processing volume at Neteller’s compliance team.

Players who attempt to use Neteller without completing full verification will find their accounts subject to transaction limits that significantly restrict their practical utility for gambling purposes. Unverified accounts typically face deposit limits of a few hundred dollars and may be restricted from making withdrawals above a minimal threshold. Completing full verification removes these restrictions and is effectively a prerequisite for using Neteller as a meaningful gambling payment method rather than a casual one.

The question of responsible gambling tools is also relevant in this context. Neteller does not itself offer gambling-specific responsible gambling features such as deposit limits or self-exclusion in the same way that licensed gambling operators are required to do. However, the wallet structure does provide a degree of natural budgetary discipline: players must actively transfer funds into their Neteller account before they can use it for gambling, which creates a friction point that can help with impulse control in a way that direct credit card access does not. This structural feature is not a substitute for formal responsible gambling measures but is worth acknowledging as part of a complete picture of how Neteller functions in practice.

Tax treatment of gambling winnings in New Zealand is another area that intersects with payment method choices. New Zealand does not impose a general tax on gambling winnings for recreational players, which removes one potential complication that affects players in jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, where the tax treatment of winnings has influenced how some players structure their gambling finances. For New Zealand players, this means that the choice of Neteller is driven primarily by convenience, speed, and fee considerations rather than tax planning, which simplifies the decision-making process somewhat.

Exchange rate management deserves attention as a concluding practical point. New Zealand players who maintain their Neteller accounts in NZD will find that the conversion rates applied when transferring to casino accounts denominated in other currencies can vary day to day and are not always transparent at the point of transaction. Players who conduct significant gambling activity may find it worthwhile to monitor exchange rates and time their transfers accordingly, or to explore whether holding a multi-currency Neteller balance offers any practical advantage given their specific pattern of platform use. The fee and rate structures involved in these decisions are documented in varying degrees of detail across different information sources, and the accuracy of that information depends on how recently it has been updated relative to Neteller’s own policy changes, which occur periodically without extensive advance notice to users.

New Zealand’s online gambling environment will likely continue to evolve as regulatory discussions about domestic licensing periodically resurface and as global payment infrastructure continues to adapt to changing compliance requirements. Within this evolving context, Neteller occupies a specific and well-defined niche: a regulated, established e-wallet with a long history of gambling sector compatibility, meaningful fee structures that reward higher-volume users, and a verification process that aligns with contemporary financial compliance standards. For players who take the time to understand how Neteller’s mechanics interact with the specific platforms they use and the regulatory environment in which they operate, it represents a payment option with genuine practical utility — one that has maintained its relevance in the New Zealand market not through novelty but through consistent functional reliability across more than two decades of online gambling development.

RCare is accepting nominations now through January 31, 2022. Nominations must be submitted through our online form. Winners will be announced on National Caregivers Day, February 22, 2022.

Press Release: RCare Announces Webster-native Jeffrey Knauss as Chief Executive Officer

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RCare CEO Jeff Knauss

WEBSTER, N.Y. (PRWEB) JULY 07, 2021

Knauss Brings Proven B2B Sales Track Record.

RCare, Inc. (Response Care), creator of advanced nurse call and monitoring solutions, announced it has a new owner and CEO, Jeffrey Knauss. Knauss assumed day-to-day leadership of the company after purchasing RCare from founder, Myron Kowal, when he retired earlier this year.

Knauss brings a wealth of experience to the company, including 27 years at a Fortune 500 company, where his experience spanned the entire value chain, including electrical engineering, marketing, and international sales. Motivated by a passion to “make our world better,” Knauss looks forward to putting his broad skills to work scaling up the company’s product line and establishing a measured and focused roll-out strategy.

“RCare has a uniquely talented team with a comprehensive skillset,” Knauss remarked. “The senior living industry is making big changes, particularly in response to COVID. RCare will be innovating every step of the way to offer the best support.”

“We are really excited about the skills and focus that Jeff brings to RCare,” said Nick Garofoli, RCare’s Director of Operations. “As we expand our business and refine our product line, we are in good hands with Jeff’s leadership.”

Knauss has lived in the Rochester area his entire life, and was thrilled to find this opportunity in his hometown. “I’ve lived and traveled all over the world, but Rochester is home to me,” he said. “I am inspired by the passion that Myron has instilled in RCare. RCare’s mission, to improve the lives of seniors and those who care for them, remains strong and true to who we are.”

How to Reassess Your Long-Term Care Facility’s Staffing Schedule

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Reassessing Staffing Schedule

Finding the right balance for your long-term care facility’s staffing schedule is critical. Having too small of an overnight team can lead to slow call responses and delays between an alert and checking on a resident. Overstaffing, on the other hand, can be costly — and you may end up underutilizing your workers. Your facility has unique staffing needs based on your current facility size, available technology, and best practices. Utilize these tips help you more effectively assess your long-term care facility’s staffing schedule. 

1. Pay Attention to Staffing Regulations

Long-term care facilities must provide adequate staff to meet the needs of your residents. Your specific staff requirements can depend on the number of residents you have and their specific levels of care. Tracking that information through a staffing app can make it easier to keep up with the specific regulations in your area. You can also gain new insights into how they apply to your residents and facility.

2. Track Staff Utilization

One of the most effective ways to reassess your long-term care facility’s staffing schedule needs is taking a look at your current staff utilization. Do your employees frequently feel overworked or stressed, especially during overnight shifts? Do you have employees standing around with little to do on a regular basis? 

Track employee utilization and how they’re spending their time during their shifts. You can use a staffing app or ask employees and their supervisors to report:

  • The tasks they take care of during their shifts
  • How many employees were on that shift
  • How they think those factors impact patient care

Pay particular attention to what tasks staff members take care of during their shifts. Are staff members constantly on the go, with nonessential tasks getting put off until later? Or are staff members able to easily take care of the tasks they need to get done over the course of their shifts? Equally importantly, are staff members looking for work to do during their shifts? Too little to do can lead to low employee engagement and make it just as difficult to keep good, solid employees on your shifts as having too much work to do. You do not want your employees to feel as though they aren’t accomplishing their goals or are unable to provide adequate patient care.

3. Note Response Times

You never want a resident in your long-term care facility waiting too long to receive care from your staff, whether that resident has a medical issue or needs assistance getting out of bed, going to the toilet, and getting dressed. Typically, nurses and other staff members will have rounds that they perform in the morning and evening, helping residents get ready for the day or get ready for bed. 

It’s normal for there to be some delays during these busy times. But your residents should never have to wait too long for the attention they need. Track response times on a regular basis and set attainable goals. How long does it take between a resident indicating a need and a staff member responding? If you note your response times increasing, it could be time to increase the number of staff you have on hand. 

4. Utilize a Staffing Agency When Needed

Sometimes, you may temporarily need more employees in your long-term care facility. A staffing agency can provide you with those short-term employees. They can come in on a limited basis and take care of whatever tasks need to be done. Working with a staffing agency on a regular basis can help you create a better relationship with the agency. This will also provide that agency with more information about exactly what type of employees you need. 

5. Use Effective Caregiving Tools

Using the right caregiver tools can make a huge difference in your ability to track and report the care you’re providing to your patients. You can also use RCare Mobile to track ADLs, or Activities of Daily Living, including the time spent actually taking care of specific patients and their needs. 

Over time, this can provide you with much better insight into how many staff members you need on a shift at any given time. RCare’s nurse call reporting, for example, allows administrators to track response times and clearly identify scheduling gaps. You can even get more insight into times when your facility is overstaffed. 

RCare can offer the insights you need to help achieve better balance with your long-term care facility’s staffing schedule. You can leverage RCare reporting to identify where additional employees might be needed, and get a better look at how you are able to respond to and care for the residents in your facility.

Routinely Request Elder Resident Feedback to Provide Improved Care

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feedback for improved care

Senior living communities serve the incredibly important purpose of helping elder residents stay as independent as possible while getting the assistance they need for daily tasks. It can be a delicate balancing act. In the U.S., over 1.3 million people over the age of 65 live in a long-term care community of some sort. Staff members strive to provide the best possible quality of life for each resident in these communities they call home. As in any industry, it’s important to collect feedback to ensure that we are not missing the mark. It sounds easy enough. In fact you may have residents who are very comfortable regularly providing input and advice. However, some residents may be resistant to providing opinions, or responses may be filtered and incomplete. Without this feedback it can be difficult to get a complete picture of overall satisfaction from residents. 

Obtaining elder resident feedback is a valuable tool for:

Formal surveys may be ineffective with this audience. Instead, try these tips to help routinely request feedback from elder residents.

Use Conversations as a Tool to Collect Elder Resident Feedback

When collecting feedback, your first instinct might be to create a survey. But all too often, this can lead to canned responses that provide limited insight. Instead, consider the usefulness of simple conversation. When a familiar staff member inquires about the quality of special foods, enjoyable activities during the day, and how a resident is feeling, valuable feedback can be gathered to determine if there is any room for improvement.

Many residents enjoy having amicable relationships with staff members and will open up when provided the opportunity. Instead of using questionnaires periodically, encouraging staff members to ask questions during their visits can provide valuable feedback about gaps in care or other areas of dissatisfaction. Adding a checklist to a daily or weekly paperwork can remind staff members to initiate these important conversations. When residents are given regular opportunities to share their feelings about their daily life, staff members are more likely to learn where minor changes could create major improvements.

Ask Targeted Questions

If someone asks you if you like living at your home, you’d probably say yes. But as much as you love your home, there would likely be some things you would want to change. Instead of simply asking residents if they enjoy living in the community, create a list of specific topics to bring up naturally in conversation. Factors that impact their quality of life can range from call response time to enjoying a favorite meal. Use these examples to initiate simple conversations that will provide insight into your residents and community:

  • Daily Life: Have you interacted with your friends here today? What activities do you enjoy here? When was the last time you got to go outside?
  • Health Care: How are you feeling today? Do you have any issues you’re concerned about? Do our nurses and other staff members respond quickly when you call?
  • Diet: What did you have to eat today? Did you like it? What’s the best thing we serve here? What’s the worst thing we serve here? What do you wish we could add to the menu?
  • General Satisfaction: What’s your favorite thing about our community? What do you like the least about staying here? Do you like your apartment? How could we improve it?

Create a Resident Council

There always residents who are more comfortable sharing their opinions than other. These advocates have deep relationships with others throughout the community and can be a great resource for more detailed feedback. Resident councils are becoming more and more frequent in eldercare communities. They are a great way to solicit feedback from influential members of the community and they help to get elders more directly involved in their care.  These groups can be helpful for planning events, as well as providing general feedback and advice.  They can also be a useful means to share information throughout the community. If you are looking for a more direct and structured way to gather information directly from the residents, a resident council could be the answer.

Involve Family Members

Family members and other visitors are a great resource for deeper insight into any thoughts or concerns regarding overall care. The purpose of surveying residents isn’t to receive 5-star reviews. The goal is to use feedback to improve the quality of life in the community. With this goal in mind, family members can become natural advocates to help lead to positive changes. Whether residents enjoy face-to-face visits or telephone conversations with their loved ones, their families and friends have insights your staff might not. Talking to them can be a valuable opportunity to gather information about residents’ needs and opinions.

Start Incorporating Elder Resident Feedback Into Your Business Processes

Feedback is an essential part of growth and improvement in any business. However, it’s particularly important in senior care facilities where residents may feel their opinions go unheard. When feedback is honest and complete, it can provide valuable sources of information that allow you to keep a consistent measure of the quality of care within your establishment. Browse our blog to learn more about the ways RCare can help you improve the quality of care for both residents and staff members in your long-term care facility.

Celebrate Women of Distinction on International Women’s Day

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Women of Distinction

Today is International Women’s Day, which is a day set aside each year to commemorate the achievements of women. First observed in 1909 in New York City, it’s now a global holiday for celebrating the many contributions of women to society, culture, politics and business.

How are you going to celebrate? For those in the Senior Living industry, we recommend registering for the McKnight’s Women of Distinction celebration.

McKnight’s Women of Distinction

This 2-day virtual celebration is organized by McKnight’s Long-Term Care News and McKnight’s Senior Living. It recognizes and honors an amazing slate of women who inspire others and have a powerful effect on the lives of the individuals they serve in the senior living industry.

This year’s event, held virtually on May 18 and 19, celebrates women in three categories.

    • The Hall of Honor is for senior-level professionals in the C-suite or at a level equivalent to vice president or higher and have made a significant impact on their organization or the long-term care industry. This year, 19 women are being inducted into the Hall of Honor.
    • Veteran VIPs are women who have worked in senior living or skilled nursing for more than 15 years, and whose hard work and unrelenting dedication has helped make life better for countless residents. This year, the first for this category, 15 women are being recognized as Veteran VIPs.
    • Rising Stars are women under age 40 or with fewer than 15 years of experience in the senior living or skilled nursing fields. These 17 women have demonstrated an exceptional commitment at the community or corporate level.

In addition to celebrating and being inspired by this year’s honorees, attendees can learn from, engage with, and listen to the industry’s A-list leaders, network with peers, and get insights into issues important to women leaders working in long-term care today. 

Learn more about McKnight’s Women of Distinction 2021.

Caregiver of the Year Award

RCare has its own slate of amazing women to recognize. Over the next few weeks we’ll be sharing with you the inspiring stories of the three amazing women who were selected for this year’s RCare Caregiver of the Year award. We’re excited to tell you more about these three women making a difference in senior care.

Myron Kowal to retire: Jeffrey Knauss answers the call

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Myron Kowal and Jeffrey Knauss

Myron Kowal, CEO and Founder of RCare Inc., has announced his retirement. Webster native Jeffrey Knauss will acquire the business and serve as CEO of the company upon Kowal’s retirement. Myron Kowal and Richard Moore, the original architects of the RCube, will be continuing with RCare in an advisory capacity.

“Light precedes every transition. Whether at the end of a tunnel, through a crack in the door or the flash of an
idea, it is always there, heralding a new beginning.” – Theresa Tsalaky

Self-Advocacy

Self-advocacy. The ability to speak up for yourself. The power to ask for the care you need. What started as just a word transformed into a passionate idea, a dream of what eldercare should be. It’s this dream for the future of eldercare that grew into the thriving business of today, RCare. For RCare founder Myron Kowal, it all started when a bed-ridden family member couldn’t successfully advocate for help when he needed it. Kowal knew he had to step in. Acquiring basic parts from RadioShack, he got to work on building his very first nurse call system.

Answering the Call

That defining experience and the persisting idea of self-advocacy ignited a glowing passion in Kowal. He poured himself into improving and advancing nurse call systems for the eldercare community and the caregivers within it. In an industry that spends countless dollars trying to figure out what residents need, Kowal has always believed the solution is simple: residents need to be able to advocate for themselves and to know that when they call for help, it is going to arrive. Kowal believes nurse call to be an extension of the elder, their voice when they’re in need. He and his team have worked tirelessly to create call systems that improve the lives of elders while supporting care partners in providing better care.

Since its founding in 2006, RCare has been installed in nearly 1,400 facilities, has expanded available features, and has developed award-winning mobile capabilities. RCare has been honored by the Rochester Business Journal as a “Rochester Top 100” company and Kowal was personally recognized as a COVID-19 Hero for RCare’s work during the pandemic. Their systems help ensure more than 100,000 calls per day are answered. It’s safe to say that Myron Kowal and RCare have contributed to helping countless elders find their voice and advocate for themselves.

Passing on the Torch

Reflecting on what he has built, Kowal said he is proud and humbled. “Passing the RCare torch is bittersweet. It was absolutely critical to find a successor who would continue to grow RCare, and who would never relent in the mission to be the voice of the elder. I’m grateful that Jeffrey Knauss answered the call. I know he’ll continue to provide the innovation and the vision that will allow caregivers to provide better care.”

Knauss, a Rochester Business Journal 40 Under 40 winner, spent 27 years refining his skills in all aspects of the value chain from marketing to engineering to R&D. An expert in business strategy development, product development, and sales channel management, he has the experience and skills necessary to continue to scale a flourishing RCare business.

Different Leader, Same Mission

When considering his next move, Knauss said, “Two things about RCare stood out: the location in the community where I grew up, and the impassioned focus on improving the lives of not just elders, but also those who care for them.” An avid volunteer, Knauss served eight years as Vice Chairman of the Board at the Mary M. Gooley Hemophilia Center in Rochester, NY. “It was this experience that sparked a deep admiration and gratitude for the support that nurses provide not just medically, but emotionally for their patients. It was the nurses that made their mission possible,” Knauss said. The symmetry between this experience and the RCare mission was undeniable.

Como o Cashback em Cassinos Funciona na Prática, Segundo CasinosCashback

O cashback em cassinos online tornou-se uma das formas mais comuns de retenção de jogadores no mercado europeu e brasileiro ao longo da última década. Diferente dos bónus de boas-vindas, que funcionam como incentivo inicial, o cashback opera como uma rede de segurança parcial: devolve ao jogador uma percentagem do dinheiro perdido durante um período determinado. A mecânica parece simples à primeira vista, mas esconde variáveis importantes que afetam diretamente o valor real que o jogador recebe de volta. Compreender como esse sistema funciona na prática — e não apenas na teoria apresentada pelos operadores — é essencial para qualquer pessoa que utilize cassinos online com regularidade.

A Estrutura Básica do Cashback e Como os Operadores a Calculam

O cashback em cassinos é calculado com base nas perdas líquidas do jogador, que correspondem à diferença entre o total apostado e o total recebido em ganhos durante um intervalo de tempo específico. Esse intervalo pode ser diário, semanal ou mensal, dependendo das condições do operador. A percentagem devolvida varia tipicamente entre 5% e 25%, embora alguns programas de fidelidade em cassinos de alta gama ofereçam taxas superiores para jogadores VIP com volume de apostas elevado.

Um aspeto frequentemente ignorado pelos jogadores é a distinção entre cashback bruto e cashback líquido. No modelo bruto, o operador calcula a devolução com base no total das apostas realizadas, independentemente dos ganhos intercalares. No modelo líquido — que é o mais comum — apenas as perdas efetivas são consideradas. Por exemplo, se um jogador depositar 200 euros, ganhar 150 euros durante a semana e terminar o período com 50 euros no saldo, a sua perda líquida é de 150 euros. Com uma taxa de cashback de 10%, receberia 15 euros de volta.

Outro fator determinante é o momento em que o cashback é creditado. Alguns operadores creditam o valor automaticamente às segundas-feiras, cobrindo as perdas da semana anterior. Outros exigem que o jogador ative manualmente o cashback através do painel de conta, muitas vezes dentro de um prazo de 24 a 48 horas após o encerramento do período. Se o jogador não ativar dentro desse prazo, o benefício é perdido — uma condição que poucos leem nas secções de termos e condições.

Os requisitos de apostas aplicados ao cashback são outro ponto crítico. Ao contrário do que muitos assumem, o dinheiro devolvido raramente é sacável de imediato. A maioria dos operadores aplica requisitos de rollover que variam entre 1x e 5x o valor do cashback, o que significa que o jogador precisa de apostar o equivalente a esse múltiplo antes de poder levantar o dinheiro. Um cashback com rollover de 1x é considerado favorável ao jogador; qualquer valor acima de 3x começa a reduzir significativamente o valor real do benefício.

Tipos de Programas de Cashback e as Suas Diferenças Práticas

Nem todos os programas de cashback funcionam da mesma forma, e a distinção entre os diferentes modelos tem impacto direto no comportamento do jogador e no valor que efetivamente recupera. Existem quatro estruturas principais no mercado atual: cashback fixo, cashback escalonado, cashback por categoria de jogo e cashback integrado em programas de fidelidade.

O cashback fixo é o modelo mais simples: uma percentagem constante aplicada a todas as perdas, independentemente do volume de apostas ou do tipo de jogo. É o mais transparente, mas também o menos lucrativo para jogadores de alto volume, uma vez que não escala com a atividade. Operadores que adotam este modelo tendem a aplicar taxas mais baixas — frequentemente entre 5% e 10% — para manter a sustentabilidade financeira do programa.

O cashback escalonado funciona de forma progressiva: quanto maior o volume de perdas ou de apostas num determinado período, maior a percentagem devolvida. Este modelo é comum em plataformas que segmentam os jogadores por nível de atividade. Um jogador que perde até 500 euros por semana pode receber 10% de cashback, enquanto alguém com perdas superiores a 2.000 euros por semana pode receber 20%. Este sistema incentiva maior volume de jogo, o que levanta questões legítimas sobre o seu impacto no comportamento dos jogadores com tendências problemáticas.

O cashback por categoria de jogo é menos comum, mas relevante em plataformas com catálogos diversificados. Neste modelo, a percentagem de devolução varia consoante o tipo de jogo: slots, poker ao vivo, blackjack ou apostas desportivas podem ter taxas diferentes. Tipicamente, os jogos com maior margem para o operador — como certas slots com RTP abaixo de 94% — oferecem cashback mais elevado, o que compensa parcialmente a desvantagem estatística do jogador.

O cashback integrado em programas de fidelidade é o modelo mais sofisticado e o mais difícil de avaliar objetivamente. Neste caso, o jogador acumula pontos de fidelidade com base nas apostas realizadas e pode trocar esses pontos por cashback, bónus ou outros benefícios. A taxa de conversão entre pontos e euros reais é frequentemente opaca, e o valor efetivo do cashback obtido por esta via é muitas vezes inferior ao que seria obtido por um programa de cashback direto com a mesma taxa nominal.

Plataformas especializadas em comparação e análise de ofertas de cassinos, como as informações disponíveis em http://casinos-cashback.com/, documentam as condições específicas de cada operador, o que permite aos jogadores comparar não apenas as percentagens nominais, mas também os requisitos de rollover, os limites máximos de cashback e as categorias de jogos elegíveis — variáveis que determinam o valor real do benefício.

Limitações, Exclusões e Condições que Reduzem o Valor Real do Cashback

A diferença entre o cashback teórico e o cashback efetivo é frequentemente substancial, e compreender as razões para essa discrepância é uma das competências mais úteis que um jogador regular pode desenvolver. Os operadores utilizam vários mecanismos para limitar a exposição financeira dos seus programas de cashback sem os eliminar, uma vez que estes são instrumentos importantes de retenção de clientes.

O limite máximo de cashback por período é uma das restrições mais comuns. Mesmo que um jogador perca 5.000 euros numa semana e o programa ofereça 15% de cashback, o operador pode ter um teto de 500 euros por semana. Neste caso, a taxa efetiva de cashback seria de apenas 10%, não os 15% anunciados. Estes limites raramente são destacados na comunicação principal dos programas e exigem leitura atenta dos termos completos.

As exclusões por tipo de jogo são outra fonte frequente de surpresas. Muitos programas de cashback excluem as apostas em jogos de mesa ao vivo — como blackjack, baccarat ou roleta ao vivo — por serem jogos com RTP elevado (frequentemente acima de 98%) onde a margem do operador é reduzida. Nestes casos, apenas as perdas em slots ou jogos de casino virtual são elegíveis para cashback, o que pode representar uma fração pequena da atividade total de um jogador que prefere jogos ao vivo.

A janela temporal de elegibilidade é igualmente relevante. Alguns operadores excluem as perdas ocorridas com bónus ativos: se o jogador estiver a jogar com dinheiro de bónus — mesmo que parcialmente — as perdas desse período podem não ser contabilizadas para o cashback. Esta condição é particularmente complexa em plataformas onde o saldo de bónus e o saldo real coexistem e são utilizados em simultâneo, tornando difícil para o jogador perceber em que momento está a jogar com dinheiro real elegível.

A questão da jurisdição regulatória também tem impacto direto. Desde 2020, vários reguladores europeus — incluindo a Autoridade de Jogo do Reino Unido (UKGC) e o regulador sueco Spelinspektionen — introduziram restrições sobre a forma como os bónus e cashbacks podem ser estruturados e comunicados. Em Portugal, o Serviço de Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos (SRIJ) exige que os operadores licenciados apresentem os termos de todas as promoções de forma clara e acessível. Estas regulações reduziram algumas práticas abusivas, mas não eliminaram a complexidade inerente à estrutura dos programas de cashback.

A CasinosCashback, enquanto recurso de análise especializada, tem documentado ao longo dos anos como as condições dos programas de cashback evoluíram em resposta às pressões regulatórias, identificando padrões nas estratégias dos operadores para manter a atratividade nominal dos programas enquanto reduzem a exposição financeira real através de ajustes nas condições secundárias.

Como Avaliar se um Programa de Cashback Oferece Valor Real

Avaliar o valor real de um programa de cashback requer uma abordagem sistemática que vai além da comparação de percentagens nominais. O primeiro passo é calcular o valor esperado do cashback em função do comportamento de jogo habitual do jogador. Para isso, é necessário conhecer o volume médio de perdas por período, o tipo de jogos predominantemente utilizados e a frequência de atividade.

Um método prático consiste em calcular o cashback efetivo anualizado. Se um jogador perde em média 200 euros por mês e o programa oferece 10% de cashback sem rollover, o benefício anual é de 240 euros. Se o mesmo programa aplicar um rollover de 3x, o valor real diminui porque o jogador terá de arriscar o dinheiro do cashback antes de o poder levantar, o que implica uma probabilidade estatística de perder parte ou a totalidade desse valor. Com jogos de RTP de 96%, cada euro apostado em rollover tem um custo esperado de 4 cêntimos. Um cashback de 20 euros com rollover de 3x implica apostar 60 euros, com um custo esperado de 2,40 euros em perdas adicionais — reduzindo o valor líquido do cashback para 17,60 euros.

A frequência de crédito também afeta o valor percebido versus o valor real. Cashbacks semanais são geralmente mais vantajosos do que mensais, porque permitem ao jogador recuperar perdas de curto prazo e reinvestir esse capital mais cedo. Em termos de valor temporal do dinheiro, receber 50 euros por semana ao longo de quatro semanas é ligeiramente mais valioso do que receber 200 euros no final do mês, especialmente se o jogador utilizar esse capital para continuar a jogar dentro do período.

A comparação entre operadores deve sempre considerar o conjunto completo das condições: percentagem nominal, limite máximo, requisito de rollover, jogos elegíveis, prazo de ativação e método de crédito. Plataformas de análise como a CasinosCashback estruturam esta comparação de forma a tornar visíveis as variáveis que os operadores tendem a minimizar na sua comunicação comercial, oferecendo uma perspetiva mais próxima do valor efetivo que o jogador pode esperar receber.

Outro aspeto a considerar é a estabilidade do programa ao longo do tempo. Operadores que alteram frequentemente as condições dos seus programas de cashback — reduzindo percentagens, introduzindo novos limites ou alterando os jogos elegíveis — oferecem menor previsibilidade e, consequentemente, menor valor para o jogador que planeia a sua atividade com base nessas condições. Verificar o histórico de alterações às condições de um programa é uma prática recomendada antes de escolher um operador com base, em parte, na oferta de cashback.

Em síntese, o cashback em cassinos é um mecanismo com valor real para o jogador, mas esse valor é condicionado por um conjunto de variáveis que exigem análise cuidadosa. A percentagem anunciada é apenas o ponto de partida: as condições associadas determinam se o benefício é genuinamente favorável ao jogador ou se serve principalmente como instrumento de marketing com impacto prático limitado. Uma abordagem informada — baseada na leitura integral dos termos, no cálculo do valor esperado ajustado ao rollover e na comparação entre operadores — é a única forma de extrair valor consistente destes programas ao longo do tempo.

Knauss said that he looks forward to continuing to drive the RCare mission, creating products that help caregivers seamlessly do what they do best. He is also excited to build a legacy of his own at RCare. “I look forward to generating continued growth in this local community, which is my hometown.” The original architects of the RCube, Myron Kowal and Richard Moore, will be remaining with RCare in an advisory capacity.

Top Tips for Showing Employee Appreciation in Long-Term Care Communities

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Benefits of Showing Employee Appreciation

Long-term care communities rely on their employees to keep things running, set the tone of the community, and show compassionate care to their residents. Those employees are the bedrock of the community. They’re the reason why residents get the care they need and have a positive experience while living within the community. Employee Appreciation Day is an opportunity to give back to those employees and show them just how valuable they are. 

The Benefits of Showing Employee Appreciation in Long-Term Care Communities

Employee recognition and appreciation matter in any workplace. Showing employee appreciation in long-term care communities may be even more valuable. Consider these four benefits:

1. Employee appreciation increases morale.

After a hard year, many employees are struggling to keep up morale in general. Showing appreciation for employees in long-term care communities can help improve their moods and morale, giving them the tools they need to keep working hard in the future. 

2. Employee appreciation is directly tied to company culture. 

Employees who receive the appreciation they deserve are more likely to give their best and show a positive attitude. These elements are critical when it comes to caring for individuals in a long-term care community. Employees who know they are appreciated are more likely to go above and beyond, show residents a high standard of care, and interact well with other staff members. These are all key elements of company culture. 

3. Appreciated employees are engaged employees. 

Around 85% of employees across industries report not being engaged at work. For long-term care facility employees, that can mean disengagement with residents or lack of attention to the details of care, which can substantially decrease the treatment those individuals receive in the facility. Appreciation in the workplace, however, can raise employee engagement and get your employees back to providing the standard of care your residents deserve. 

4. Employee appreciation in long-term care communities can decrease turnover. 

Employees in long-term care facilities have a median turnover rate of around 44%. But showing your employees a high degree of appreciation can increase the likelihood that they will stay with your organization, which can help improve the standard of patient care. 

5 Ways to Show Employee Appreciation in Long-Term Care Communities

Ways to Show Employee Appreciation

This past year saw many long-term care facilities struggling with budget challenges. That can make it more difficult than usual to shower your employees with the appreciation they deserve. However, there are several strategies you can use to improve your employee appreciation efforts that may not cost as much as you think. Take a look at some of these suggestions and how you can make them work for your facility. 

1. Invite residents to join you in saying thank you.

Your residents and their families are highly appreciative of your facility’s employees, especially in a year where family visits have been restricted. Your employees have, in many cases, had a lot more contact with those residents than their family members have had. Invite your residents to join you in saying thank you. Some ideas are:

  • Have residents make cards for specific employees. You can assign employees to residents at random or encourage residents to create cards for their favorite employees — or both! Encourage your residents to include specific reasons why they appreciate the employees who work with them every day.
  • Ask residents to help put together a banner (or several banners, depending on the size of your facility) that expresses their appreciation for employees in the organization. Encourage them to sign their names and write positive affirmations and thanks to the workers. 
  • Have residents participate in an event that expresses why they appreciate all the employees in the facility. Encourage them to share the things they appreciate most about your employees, including the actions they take. Give them the chance to give speeches or to otherwise share their appreciation verbally. 

2. Don’t forget the support staff that makes your daily routine possible.

When you’re showing appreciation for employees throughout your long-term care facility, make sure you take notice of the employees that often remain behind the scenes. This list includes the cooks, janitorial staff, maintenance personnel, and more. All of your employees deserve appreciation, especially after this year! So highlight the contributions of those employees with signs, banners, and emails that detail the efforts they put forth every day to make your community a happier one for your residents.

3. Give the gift of time to show employee appreciation in long-term care communities.

If you’re on a tight budget, then you may be able to offer your employees a gift that costs little: the gift of time. Without understaffing your facility to accommodate this idea, consider:

  • Offering your employees additional vacation time.
  • Providing them with longer breaks throughout the course of those employee appreciation days.
  • Offering them some work hours when they can relax. 

That gift of time can help employees relax in ways that they may not usually have the chance to over the course of a normal workday. 

4. Provide specific, written recognition to employees.

Let employees know that they are seen — not just by the residents in your long-term care facility but also by the management team. Send out emails or offer a written note that specifically thanks them for what they do. Try to take note of what sets specific employees apart. 

For example, is there an employee who always seems to be positive and upbeat, even in the midst of trying times or difficult shifts? What about an employee who always seems to see what’s needed most and takes care of it without anyone noticing? Show that you have seen these attributes in your employees and offer them specific appreciation and recognition for them. 

5. Offer small rewards. 

Bring in doughnuts, give out a small candy treat, or offer employees gourmet coffee treats for a day. While these things do have a monetary cost, they may not substantially impact your budget. But they can certainly go a long way toward letting your employees know that you appreciate their efforts. Make sure you combine these efforts with direct thanks or recognition for employees. 

Employee Appreciation Day is an excellent opportunity to show your long-term care facility employees how much you have appreciated them and their efforts, not just this year but in all the weeks and months before it. Help them see how valuable they are by providing them with recognition and thanks on this important day.

Is Your Refrigerator Running? The Importance of Refrigerator Temperature for Senior Communities

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Importance of Refrigerator Temperature

Hey….Is Your Refrigerator Running?

Unlike the old prank call joke, refrigerator temperature in long term care is no laughing matter. When health inspectors check out your senior community’s kitchen, one of the first places they’ll look is at your refrigerators. Are they keeping food at the proper temperature? This is important because food-borne illnesses are surprisingly common and can be very serious, especially among the more vulnerable populations. According to Federal government estimates, “Each year these illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.”

Good refrigeration is easy to get right by using RCare’s advanced temperature sensors to monitor temperatures inside refrigerators.

It’s a critical responsibility to ensure that all dining facility refrigerators are within the proper cooling range. However, many times residents have refrigerators in private apartments too, which need to be consistently monitored as well.

But food safety isn’t the only reason refrigerator temps needs to be monitored. Perhaps equally important are the medications and vaccines which require refrigeration, including insulin for controlling diabetes, some rheumatoid arthritis medications, some common antibiotics, and many more. For these medications, temperature stability is critical, and even small temperature fluctuations can render them ineffective, or even dangerous.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, refrigerator temperatures that drop even 5 degrees can freeze medications and vaccines, rendering them totally ineffective. The CDC also warns that temperatures varying the other direction, and are too warm, can melt some meds, and can cause others to become useless. While medications can cause harm by being made ineffective, what’s potentially even worse is that they can cause an adverse event in the resident.

The solution is to make sure that you know the temperature in your refrigerator at all times, and that you get alerted if the temperature spikes or falls. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends using a thermometer to check the refrigerator temperature frequently, but in a facility with dozens or hundreds of refrigerators, this is a process that clearly needs to be automated. What’s more, according to CDC guidelines, it’s important to test at different times of day, at different times during the refrigerator cooling cycle, during different seasons and weather conditions, and during different user activity patterns, to ensure that the refrigerators are always maintaining a safe, stable temperature. And it’s important to be able to refer back to a log, to verify that over time the temperature has remained at a safe level.

RCare Refrigerator Temperature Sensor in Senior CommunitiesRCare offers the ideal solution, a digital refrigerator thermometer that is integrated right into the facility’s nurse call system. Temperatures are monitored continuously, and logged, so you can check the history of any refrigerator. Should the temperature veer outside of the safe range, caregivers receive a discreet alert, letting them know immediately when there is a problem. This means that food and medications can be moved to safer storage right away.

Whether it’s food or medicine, you can’t count on knowing whether they’re safe just by how they look. “Some medications may visibly show a compromised medication through cloudiness and/or clumping. However, other medications may not show any signs of alteration, thereby leaving the impression the medications are fine.”

How Slot Volatility and RTP Shape Player Experience, Notes Casimatic

When players sit down at a slot machine — whether in a brick-and-mortar casino or on an online platform — two numbers quietly govern almost everything about their experience: volatility and Return to Player (RTP). These metrics are not marketing constructs. They are mathematical properties embedded in the game’s design, and understanding them changes how a player interprets every win, every losing streak, and every session overall. The relationship between these two variables is more nuanced than most casual players realize, and the industry has spent decades refining how to communicate them — or, in some cases, how to obscure them.

What RTP Actually Measures — and What It Doesn’t

Return to Player is expressed as a percentage and represents the theoretical long-run return of a slot game to players. A game with a 96% RTP will, over millions of spins, return €96 for every €100 wagered. This figure is calculated and certified by independent testing laboratories such as eCOGRA, BMM Testlabs, or Gaming Laboratories International (GLI), and it forms a core part of licensing requirements across regulated jurisdictions including the UK Gambling Commission, Malta Gaming Authority, and the Dutch Kansspelautoriteit.

The critical word is “theoretical.” RTP is not a session guarantee. In a short playing session of, say, 200 spins, the actual return can deviate dramatically from the stated percentage. A player might receive 130% back, or 40% — both outcomes are statistically plausible. The 96% figure only stabilizes across sample sizes that no individual player will ever personally generate. This distinction is not academic; it directly affects how players should interpret their results and manage their bankroll expectations.

From a regulatory standpoint, minimum RTP thresholds vary by jurisdiction. The UK Gambling Commission has historically required a minimum of 70% for slot machines in physical venues, though online slots typically operate between 94% and 98%. Some jurisdictions, like New Jersey in the United States, set floors closer to 83% for land-based machines. These differences explain why the same game title can be configured differently depending on the market it is deployed in — a fact that is rarely communicated clearly to players.

Volatility: The Shape of the Distribution

If RTP describes the total amount returned over time, volatility — sometimes called variance — describes how that return is distributed across individual spins. A low-volatility slot returns small amounts frequently. A high-volatility slot returns large amounts infrequently, with extended dry spells in between. Both can share an identical RTP of, say, 96%, but they deliver radically different experiences in practice.

Consider two hypothetical games with identical RTPs. Game A pays out on roughly 40% of spins, with wins averaging 1.5x the bet. Game B pays out on 15% of spins, but when it does, wins average 5x or more, with occasional jackpot-style events reaching 500x or higher. A player with a modest bankroll faces ruin risk much faster with Game B, even though the long-run mathematics are equivalent. This is the core practical consequence of volatility that is often underappreciated.

Game developers like NetEnt, Play’n GO, and Pragmatic Play now routinely publish volatility ratings alongside RTP figures in their game documentation, typically using a scale of 1–5 or descriptors like “low,” “medium,” and “high.” However, standardization across the industry remains inconsistent. Casimatic, which monitors and analyzes game data across multiple regulated markets, has noted that the same game can be categorized differently by different operators, creating confusion for players trying to make informed choices.

Independent researchers and player communities have developed alternative measures. The “hit frequency” metric — the percentage of spins that produce any win — offers a more granular view than broad volatility labels. Some analysts also examine the “win distribution curve,” plotting the frequency of wins at various multiplier levels. These tools are more commonly used by professional players and game analysts than by casual audiences, but their availability has grown substantially since around 2018, as data transparency became a more prominent regulatory and consumer concern. More detailed breakdowns of such metrics are available here, where researchers have compiled comparative volatility data across hundreds of certified game titles.

How These Metrics Interact With Player Psychology

The interaction between RTP and volatility does not just affect financial outcomes — it shapes the psychological texture of the playing experience in measurable ways. Behavioral research in gambling studies, including work published by the Journal of Gambling Studies and the International Gambling Studies journal, has shown that near-misses and frequent small wins activate reward pathways in ways that can encourage continued play, independent of net financial outcome. Low-volatility games, with their higher hit frequencies, tend to generate these near-miss conditions more often.

High-volatility games, by contrast, create what researchers sometimes call “loss absorption” — players endure extended losing periods sustained by the anticipation of a large payout. This pattern is particularly relevant in games featuring bonus rounds or free spin features that are triggered rarely but carry disproportionate value. In some high-volatility titles, the bonus round accounts for 60–80% of the game’s total theoretical return, meaning the base game is essentially a delivery mechanism for reaching that feature.

Casimatic has observed that player retention patterns differ markedly between volatility classes. Players on high-volatility games tend to show higher session abandonment rates during cold streaks, while low-volatility players tend toward longer but more consistent sessions. Neither pattern is inherently problematic, but both have implications for responsible gambling frameworks. Operators using behavioral analytics tools — now required under certain UK and Swedish regulatory frameworks — can identify when a player’s session pattern deviates from their historical norm, which can be an early indicator of problem gambling behavior.

The 2019 introduction of mandatory “reality check” prompts in UK-licensed online casinos, along with the ongoing review of the UK Gambling Act (originally passed in 2005), reflects a broader regulatory acknowledgment that game design features — including volatility structures — are not neutral. The UK Gambling Commission’s 2021 consultation on slot machine design specifically addressed maximum spin speeds, autoplay features, and turbo modes, all of which interact with volatility to affect how quickly a player’s bankroll depletes or grows.

Practical Implications for Different Player Types

Understanding volatility and RTP allows players to make more deliberate choices about which games align with their goals and risk tolerance. A player with a limited session bankroll who wants extended entertainment value is better served by a low-to-medium volatility game with a high RTP — something in the 96–97% range with a hit frequency above 30%. Chasing large jackpots with a small bankroll on a high-volatility game is mathematically likely to result in rapid depletion before the bonus features are triggered with enough frequency to matter.

Conversely, a player specifically targeting large wins and willing to accept significant variance — and who has the bankroll depth to weather losing streaks — may find high-volatility games with progressive jackpots or high-multiplier bonus rounds more aligned with their objectives. Games like Mega Moolah (Microgaming) or Dead or Alive 2 (NetEnt) are frequently cited examples of high-variance titles where the statistical range of outcomes is extremely wide, but the ceiling for individual wins is correspondingly high.

Professional players and serious hobbyists increasingly use game math sheets — technical documents that developers provide to regulators and sometimes to operators — to evaluate games before playing. These documents include not just RTP and volatility ratings, but also the full paytable mathematics, bonus trigger frequencies, and maximum win caps. Some jurisdictions now require operators to make simplified versions of this data publicly accessible, a practice that Casimatic supports as a baseline standard for consumer transparency in regulated markets.

Ultimately, slot volatility and RTP are not just technical specifications for game developers and regulators — they are the fundamental architecture of player experience. A player who understands that a 96% RTP is a long-run statistical property, not a session promise, and who can interpret volatility as a description of outcome distribution rather than a quality judgment, is in a substantially better position to engage with these games on informed terms. The gap between how these metrics are understood by the industry and how they are communicated to players remains one of the more significant challenges in responsible gambling design, and closing that gap requires both regulatory pressure and genuine commitment from operators and developers alike.

With RCare monitoring your refrigerator temperatures, you can be confident that your refrigerators are running exactly as they should be. And if they’re not, RCare will let you know. Your residents count on you for their health and safety. RCare can help.