The progressive slot is one of the most popular casino games on today’s market. Although experienced players know that there are plenty of games with a much lower house edge such as blackjack or poker, they still flock to popular networked progressives because they want to be able to win money by playing against the house.
Progressive jackpots started appearing in some slot machines across Las Vegas several decades ago, but their jackpots were fed only by bets on specific machines and payouts rarely went beyond $10,000. Today, progressive video slots attract thousands of online players each day, building jackpots that can reach $10 million or more. And with a little bit of luck, a player can win life-changing winnings with a single bet worth only a few dollars.
How Progressive Jackpots Work
Unlike most slot games, which have a fixed jackpot, progressive slots have incrementally increasing jackpots. In other words, the total amount of money placed on a progressive slot increases by a small percentage each time someone makes an order. The highest jackpots can be won on games with the highest bets and the most players. There are several things to keep in mind before you invest your time and money into a progressive game.
Qualifying
One of the most important things players need to learn is how to qualify for a jackpot. Not all bets on a progressive slot machine can lead to a winning payout.
Jackpot Meter
A lucky streak is a feature of many of these games. Once you win a jackpot, the amount of your highest payout resets and gets back to where it started.
Odds and Expected Return
The probability of hitting a progressive jackpot on a slot game is extremely small. The house edge can be much higher than the odds of winning the lottery, but if we remove the jackpot from the calculation, this changes.
Here are a few tips for playing additional games. If you decide to play additional games, make sure you don’t bet more than $10 per spin or more when you bet on all lines; this is because many of these games require maximum bets and that means money. If you are playing a loose game and have a big bankroll, chasing the jackpot may be worth it.
When playing progressive slots, you should always keep the size of your bet in mind. You should play with as many coins as possible, but also make sure to choose a small denomination so that you can afford to lose more money before you ever get to the jackpot round. Unlike other slot games where you need to make a side bet in order to be eligible for the jackpot, progressive slots do not have an entry fee that you have to pay up front.
The jackpot level in slot machines, also known as a progressive jackpot, is preset at a minimum level. The bigger the bet you make, the more money you pay out to the winner. For example, if you play regularly and keep finding winning combinations over time, you may win $2 million instead of $100 or $1 million.
All progressives feature a jackpot meter, which is an electronic representation of the constantly rising pool. Gamblers use it to find out how much money is in the pot for a specific game and when it will increase. The jackpot meter also shows whether a slot machine is popular or not. In popular games that attract more bettors, the jackpot size escalates much more quickly and the displayed amount rises accordingly.
It is possible to win the jackpot with just one bet. The odds of winning with a single bet range from 1 in 250,000 to 1 in 50 million. It is not necessary to play 50 million times before winning. However, it is better to make a few bets rather than trying to collect the big prize with one or two bets.
Slot experts say that progressives have a smaller return percentage than flat-top slots. A return or payback percentage in a slot machine or another casino game is the average amount of money the player receives back as winnings. In theory, online slots have an RTP (Return to Player) of around 88%-97%, while blackjack and video poker over 98% and sometimes even more than 100%. In progressive slots, however, a portion of the bet goes to feed the jackpot pool. Imagine a slot with an RTP of 95% – 5% is the house edge or profit for each hand played, while the rest is returned in winnings. As long as there are enough players betting this way, then even with a 5% house edge there will be enough players betting these types of slots to make them profitable for casinos.
Though the odds of losing money seem bad, gamblers still love playing progressives. The reason for this is that if you win a jackpot, your return percentage becomes astronomically high. If you win $15 million in one go, all previous bets become irrelevant and you can forget about any calculations.
Popular Progressive Jackpot Games
Slot machines with progressive jackpots have become popular in the online gaming industry. The majority of slots at an online casino will not have this feature, so you may have to do some research before finding a good progressive slot game. Still, there are several progressive games that are just as lucrative as they are fun to play. Designed by some of the most respected companies in the gaming software development industry, they attract huge crowds with the promise of once-in-a-lifetime winnings.
Mega Moolah
The Mega Moolah slot machine is one of the most generous, popular slot games around. Developed by Microgaming, one of the giants in this industry, it features a $1 million jackpot and is part of Microgaming’s large Progressive Jackpot Network. It is linked with other games and can pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars over its lifetime.
Watch Mega Moolah Gameplay
Mega Moolah is Microgaming’s famous slot machine. Set in Africa and featuring five reels and 25 paylines, this game is designed to bring out the thrill-seeker in you. The bonus game on this game is triggered randomly when you win a big prize – it gives you the chance to win one of four jackpots! The highest winning prize on this game starts at 1 million credits, provided by Microgaming.
Mega Fortune
The 5-reel, 25-line Mega Fortune game from NetEnt is one of the most popular slots on the market today. The progressive jackpot is inspired by a yacht and features Champagne as a Wild symbol, while Scattered symbols include a bottle of bubbly. Players can choose the number of active pay lines they wish to bet on while maximum bet size is $50.
Watch Mega Fortune Gameplay
Mega Fortune’s jackpot game can be unlocked by lining up at least three Bonus symbols. Once you’ve achieved this, you’ll get to spin the Wheel of Fortune and choose either a coin prize or play for the jackpot–there’s even a Mega Jackpot! The theoretical return of this game is 96.6% and 5.39% of every bet contributes to the highest jackpots.
Jackpot Giant
Jackpot Giant is a 5-reel, 50-payline slot designed by Playtech, an innovative developer of casino software solutions that use cutting-edge technologies. The company offers modern games with superior graphics, beautiful animations and tons of special symbols and bonus features.
Watch Jackpot Giant Gameplay
The progressive Jackpot Giant game comes with all kinds of wilds and scatters, multipliers and free spins. For example, Wilds will help you win the jackpot by triggering the slot’s progressive feature when you get five on the first line at the max bet per spin of $4. The max coin value for this game is 0.08, which makes it perfect for budget players who want to throw down some bets. Unlike other progressives out there, you can only bet one coin per line and max out at $0.08/$0.10 per spin. The jackpot pool is accumulated in a smaller network (instead of a larger network like most games), so all bets that fuel the jackpot here are made only on this specific game
Hall of Gods
Hall of Gods is an adventure-filled, five-reel slot with 20 pay lines and a host of high-paying symbols. Developed by NetEnt, it’s based on Scandinavian mythology and features Nordic gods like Odin, Idun, Freya and Thor. The expanding wild symbol is a dragon that can trigger 20 free spins when three win symbols appear anywhere on the reels. When two ravens are scattered anywhere on the reels as a scatter symbol during these free spins, you get up to 10 coins for each of them.
Watch Hall of Gods Gameplay
If you want to win the jackpot, you can do so by getting three Bonus symbols on the third, fourth and fifth reels. The Bonus symbol is represented by a hammer hitting a warrior’s shield. This can happen during the bonus game if you match three Bonus symbols in succession. The game is incredibly popular in Scandinavia and has an average return percentage of 95.5% overall.
African Legends
African Legends, a progressive title at Microgaming online casinos, offers a high-tier jackpot. The slot was developed by Slingshot Studios for Microgaming, with 243 ways to win. Higher bets increase the chance of landing the progressive prize.
Watch African Legends Gameplay
African Legends is a fun and rewarding slot game for players who love to play for big cash prizes. The game features a Rolling Reels feature that increases the chances of winning with every win. If you are lucky enough to have four consecutive wins in a row, you will be awarded 12 Free Spins with this feature applied to your base game multipliers.
The Wild Blast feature can be triggered by five consecutive winning rolls. The highest possible multiplier for the Win Multiplier trail will be 10x, if there are seven or more consecutive wins. If there are eight in a row, players win the Wow Major Jackpot, which is their chance to win the highest tier of Microgaming’s WowPot progressive jackpot pool.
Book of Atem: WowPot
Book of Atem: WowPot is linked to Microgaming’s progressive jackpot, which means players could win one of four jackpots. This slot has an ancient Egyptian theme and features special symbols and bonus segments, so it’s very engaging.
The bet per spin amount can be adjusted, with the maximum being $100. Players who make higher bets have a better chance at winning the progressive jackpot bonus game.
Watch Book of Atem: WowPot Gameplay
Book of Atem: WowPot offers a wide range of symbols, including the base game’s playing cards and low-paying icons. The high-valued symbols include a lotus flower, snake, falcon, and charming pharaoh.
The Book symbol will act both as a Wild and as a Scatter, replacing other symbols of the game and offering higher payouts when matched three or more times anywhere on the reels. The Book Scatter will also randomly trigger the jackpot wheel, which is guaranteed to award one of four progressive jackpots.
Wheel of Wishes
As you can see, this Microgaming title offers progressive jackpots as well as Wheel of Wishes. This software provider has earned a reputation for offering some of the biggest progressive jackpots out there, and also for its slot titles being linked to the WowPot jackpot prize pool. The game spins across five reels and three rows, with ten paylines awarding wins for combinations of three or more matching symbols.
The game has two different modes: base, which allows you to bet between $0.20 and $20, and power, which raises the maximum bet to $200. The Power Spin feature, which can trigger a jackpot prize, is activated when you play in the power mode.
Watch the Wheel of Wishes game.
The Wheel of Wishes features symbols that payouts are determined by matching them three, four or five times on a payline. A Wild symbol can substitute for other icons in the game and trigger the bonus feature of Wheel of Wishes.
Power Spin can also be triggered when two Scatter symbols land in any position on the reels. Three-layered Scatter symbol awards will appear on the middle three reels of the game, increasing the chance of landing more winning combinations or Wheel symbols. When a Wheel appears fully in the middle three reels of the game, it triggers a special Wheel bonus games where players have a chance to win one of four progressive jackpots.
Divine Fortune
Players might enjoy Divine Fortune by NetEnt, a game that was first launched in 2017 and gives players the chance to win decent payouts in its base game or snag a generous progressive jackpot if they trigger one of the bonus features.
A video slot has five reels, with 20 paylines. The game has a progressive jackpot that goes up by $1,000 every time one spins the reels. Players can choose between $0.20 and $100 to wager per spin, which increases their chances of getting a big win on this game.
Watch Divine Fortune Gameplay
Divine Fortune offers its players a chance to win big. The symbols that are most valuable are represented by low-value cards such as J and A and high-value icons such as Medusa, the Minotaur, the Nemean Lion, and the Griffin. Medusa is the highest-paying symbol, bringing 600x your bet per line for a five-of-a-kind combination.
Wild Pegasus will substitute for regular symbols when they appear, but Free Spin Scatters can award up to 12 free spins. A special feature of this slot called Wild on Wild causes regular Wilds to expand into Expanded Wilds. This means that if you get a Wild twice in a row, it will move down one position on successive spins, giving you more chances of winning prizes! Re-spins are also included after this bonus round, making Divine Fortune an excellent choice for players looking to have fun while they play.
The progressive jackpot of Divine Fortune can be won by playing the Bonus Game, which is activated by a combination of Bonus symbols at the end of the special segment. Players can win either a Minor jackpot, Major jackpot or Mega jackpot depending on the number of rows covered in Bonus symbols at the end of the special segment.
Absolootly Mad: Mega Moolah
In response to Microgaming’s Mega Moolah becoming one of the most popular progressive jackpot games on the market, the company is expanding its list of games linked to the massive prize pool. This means that players now have an opportunity to play a fun game such as Absolootly Mad: Mega Moolah, with a progressive jackpot that attracts players from around the world.
The slot game Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is inspired by the novel of the same name. The colorful game has five reels and 243 ways to win; minimum bets start at $0.20, with a maximum of $50.
Watch Absolootly Mad: Mega Moolah Gameplay on YouTube!
Mega Moolah is a low-paying slot machine, so it’s best to play in small amounts. The highest-paying symbols are playing card suits, with the highest-valued suit paying 2.4x your total bet when matched five times. Another good symbol is The Cheshire Cat at the Mad Hatter’s tea party, which pays 10x your total bet when matched five times.
Mega Moolah features rolling reels, which means that every win will force the winning symbols to disappear from the screen. This will allow symbols above them to take up the empty positions and possibly bring consecutive wins. Rolling reels also increase your chances of winning big with a Multiplier Symbol and bring you bonus rounds of free spin.
Mega Moolah lets you play with Wilds that substitute for regular symbols on the reels, helping you complete winning combinations. Whenever a Wild lands, it is also collected in a pot of gold above the reels, increasing your chances of randomly triggering the progressive jackpot wheel that awards Mini, Minor and Major jackpots from the Mega Moolah series.
Leprechaun’s Luck
If you’re a believer in lucky charms, you’ll love Playtech’s Leprechaun’s Luck. The game features a generous progressive jackpot prize and five reels to keep things interesting. The design is simple and based on Irish legend, but it’s still fun to play!
Leprechaun’s Luck offers a generous progressive prize, but it also comes with a few bonus features. You can wager between $0.20 and $20 per spin, but if you increase your bet, your chances of winning the jackpot go up too.
Watch Leprechaun’s Luck Gameplay
Leprechaun’s Luck is a slot game offering a local progressive jackpot that can be won with the right combination of symbols. However, there are several casinos that offer players the chance to become instant millionaires by landing the jackpot prize of this game.
Leprechaun’s Luck has a relatively low RTP, but it is a high-volatility slot machine with lots of special features that can grant big payouts. The Rainbow of Wealth game and the Wishing Well bonus can be generous, too, but players need to play for at least five hours to win the progressive jackpot.
Funky Fruits
The next progressive slot we offer to players is Funky Fruits by Playtech. The fruit-themed game has five reels, and players will find several different types of fruit on each reel. The only thing that differs from the standard game is that instead of having paylines or several ways to win, this title offers payouts for clusters of five or more identical symbols on adjacent reels.
The game has a rather small bet range but that is because the bet size determines the percentage of the jackpot prize you can receive if you get extra lucky. If you get lucky and play at least 10 times, it’s possible to win up to $40 in one spin thanks to the cherry symbol of Funky Fruits.
Watch Funky Fruits Gameplay
Funky Fruits offers many fruit symbols, including watermelon, plum, pineapple, orange, and lemon. The highest-paying fruit is the lemon. When you match five identical symbols in a cluster of 16 or more on the reels, the jackpot prize is 5,000x your total bet. When you match six identical symbols in a cluster of 16 or more on the reels and they are still present when it’s time for another win round, that jackpot prize will increase to 50x your total bet instead. If you match seven identical symbols in a cluster of 16 or more on the reels and they’re still present when it’s time for another win round, that jackpot prize will increase to 2,000x your total bet instead. Finally, if you match eight or more identical symbols in a cluster of 16 or more from one spin on Funky Fruits , then you’ve won the progressive jackpot win!
The amount that you win when you land eight or more cherries will be the same regardless of how much money you have bet. The only thing that affects the size of your progressive payout is whether you bet $1, $2, or $5 on a spin. If you wager $10 per spin, then you will be guaranteed to win 10%, 20% and 50% of the jackpot prize respectively.
Joker Millions
If you’re a fan of classic fruit slots and love the thrill that comes from playing with a progressive jackpot, then you’ll love Joker Millions by Yggdrasil. The game’s design is nothing unusual but it does have the Joker icon which gives players the chance to sweep a rather generous progressive prize.
Joker Millions offers a fun and rewarding experience for slot players. Players can enjoy 25 paylines with the bonus game and can apply a multiplier when they win enough money to make it worthwhile. The maximum wager per spin is $25, with the minimum being $0.25.
Watch Joker Millions Gameplay
Joker Millions has an unusual feature–the Joker icon, which acts as a scatter. When matched five times across the payline, you can trigger the Jackpot Spin feature of the slot. The symbols of this game include lemons, oranges, plums, cherries and watermelons. The lowest-paying symbol is the lemon which awards 20x your bet per line when matched five times across a payline. The highest-paying symbol is the red 7 which can bring you 300x your bet per line when matched 5 times across a payline. There are no Wilds in this game but there is an image of the Joker icon acting as a Scatter symbol which triggers Jackpot spins if you get 3 or more Scatters anywhere on screen
The symbols on the reels will freeze when a winning combination is made, triggering a respin for all players. This can happen multiple times until there are no more symbols of the same type on the reels. If it happens, you’ll get the payout for this winning combination. If you have any multipliers on your winnings, these multipliers will be applied to these winnings.
The most fun part of this slot is the Jackpot Spin game, which triggers when one or more Jokers appear on all reels. If this happens, it awards Mystery Wins and moves onto the Jackpot Spin screen. From there, you have to get 15 Jokers on the screen before you win a prize. The prizes can go as high as 1,000 coins per symbol!
Age of the Gods
Playtech’s Age of the Gods series has a variety of slots and even table games. The progressive jackpot has increased steadily over the years, thanks to many players contributing to it. The original slot in the series is Age of the Gods, offering players the chance to win either the Power, Extra Power, Super Power or Ultimate Power jackpot.
The Age of the Gods slot features five Greek deities, each of which spins across the reels and grants payouts for landing in matching combinations on 20 paylines. The minimum wager per spin is $0.20, but you can increase your chances of winning by betting higher amounts. The maximum wager is capped at $40.
Let’s watch Age of the Gods gameplay!
Age of the Gods introduces a number of low-paying icons, including playing cards like Q, K, and A as well as an ancient Greek helmet. These will pay 150x your line bet when matched five times, while mid-range symbols include Hades and Aphrodite–both of whom pay 300x your bet per line when matched five times.
The high-paying symbols include Hercules, Poseidon, Zeus, and Athena. The most valuable symbol pays 1,000x your single-line bet when matched five times on a payline. Additionally, there is a special payout of 200x your line bet when all gods except for Hades form a winning combination across the five reels. Four of the highest-paying deities will also represent the four different Free Games modes you might enjoy: Zeus will represent the Free Play with Gold mode and Hades will represent the Free Play with Silver mode; Athena represents the Free Play with Bronze mode; and Hermes represents the Free Play with Gems mode.
A Wild can substitute for all symbols except the Scatter that triggers the bonus game. We should mention that the progressive jackpot can be won in Age of the Gods by using a random feature called the Golden Geese Bonus Game. It is triggered randomly on any spin, even a losing one–and it launches a bonus game with 20 golden coins that hide the names of four progressive jackpots. Players must pick from these coins until they reveal the same jackpot three times during the bonus feature, at which point they will win that prize.
Aztec’s Millions
This Realtime Gaming (RTG) slot is a progressive jackpot game with a generous payout. The seed starts at $1 million, but a player could win the big prize only after several years of play. In 2021, the major prize was $4 million.
The game has five reels and 25 paylines, with most symbols awarding a payout every time they appear three or more times on a winning line. High-paying icons can award an even bigger payout than others, but the queen symbol is capable of paying out for just one symbol on a winning line. Players can make a $5 bet per spin or split it between lines manually by choosing either “autoplay” or “user choice”.
Watch Aztec’s Millions Gameplay
The base game will include several playing-card symbols, which will represent the low-value icons of the slot. The symbols ranging between 9 and A will pay out between 100x and 200x your line bet when matched five times. The mid-range symbols bringing 500x your bet per line when matched five times include an amulet and a bracelet. The next symbols in the paytable include a bird mask, a leopard and Aztec Queen. All three of them have even payouts whether appearing on one or two reels; however Aztec Queen pays 2x your bet per line when appearing only on one payline.
The Aztec King will substitute for other symbols and help you complete winning lines. The Aztec idol will give you free spins if you match three or more of them anywhere on the reels. Three or more idols will also trigger Aztec’s Millions feature, which awards players with a cash prize based on how many special icons appear during gameplay.
If you see the Aztec’s Millions logo on any of the 25 paylines, you have won the progressive jackpot.
A Night With Cleo
Rival Gaming has another progressive slot solution on offer, A Night With Cleo. This Egyptian-themed slot offers players 20 paylines and the chance to match symbols across them to win huge prizes. While the jackpot is not as big as others from a similar offering, it does typically pay out every three days or so.
The five reels of A Night With Cleo award wins for matching 3 or more identical symbols. If a player wins during Free Spins and Games, they can wager up to $200 per spin. You may also win free spins by playing the bonus feature–just keep in mind that increasing your bet might improve your chances of winning the jackpot.
Watch A Night With Cleo Gameplay
Cleo is an online slot game that has a wild symbol, which substitutes for other symbols on the reels. The eye of Horus is the most valuable icon in Cleo, bringing players 500x their bet per line for five-of-a-kind on a payline. The low-paying symbols include playing cards between 9 and A, which will pay between 100x and 150x the bet per line when landing five times on a payline. The high-paying symbols include golden jewels with the Eye of Horus ornament being the most valuable icon, bringing players 500x their bet per line for five-of-a-kind.
Land three or more Scatters to win 15 free spins, with a 3x multiplier applied on all wins during bonus spins. The only exception is that a win made out of five Wilds does not count as a Scatter win. The free spin feature can be retriggered any time three or more Scatters appear, with the maximum number of bonus spins per single trigger being 180 spins.
Every time you win in the base game, be sure to use the Gamble Feature and double your profit. The Gamble Feature is a risk/reward system. You need to choose the correct flower to increase your win, or else you will keep your current amount of wages. If you do not choose correctly at any point in the Gamble Feature, all of your wages will be lost.
The jackpot prize of A Night With Cleo is pretty simple: all you have to do is spin the reels and hope for the best. There’s no combination or bonus game, but the progressive jackpot can be won on any spin.
Choosing a Casino to Play Progressives
Most online and land-based casinos offer attractive progressive jackpots. At many sites, you can choose from at least five different titles by different providers. There is a great variety of progressives that cater to all types of players, so if you are looking for a good casino where you can play for the jackpot, stick to sites with large collections.
It is always important to check the reputation of a casino before you deposit money, so that you can be assured that you are playing at an honest and reliable gambling site. You should also check whether or not the site has a policy of limiting all withdrawals or there is an exception to the max cashout limit when a progressive jackpot is won.
Progressive Jackpot Withdrawal
When a player wins the jackpot, he will certainly have an unforgettable experience. The amount that he wins is usually small compared to the amount of money he would have won if he had played for long enough. However, a player can win several million dollars if he plays long enough at a casino with a large jackpot prize pool. This kind of payout is overwhelming for casinos because they cannot afford to pay out such huge amounts of money. That’s why game developers usually pay out large jackpots by themselves rather than letting casinos handle it.
While jackpot withdrawals are a great way to win big, the payout structure of many brick-and-mortar casinos is not conducive to frequent play. In fact, many online casinos have fixed cashout limits based on a weekly or monthly basis. So if you have won $10,000 or more recently, you may have to wait 20 years before you can withdraw all your winnings!
It’s important to keep in mind that most online gambling operators don’t pay out on progressive jackpot wins. In fact, they usually require players to wait months or even years before they are paid out. Fortunately there are some casinos that make exceptions to this rule. They will pay you out in full if it is a progressive jackpot win.
Bet Sizes
There are not many strategies or systems you can use to improve your winning chances in progressive slots. One of the most important things, however, is to check what amount of money you need to bet in order to qualify for the jackpot. If a particular game has a max bet feature, make sure you’re playing at least that much before placing any bets. Different games have different rules, so before putting your money in a particular slot, check its pay table and rules.
Many slot games allow you to win a jackpot if you play with the maximum bet. For example, in Mega Moolah, you can win a million coins by playing on different pay lines and with all coins loaded at once. But it’s not always as easy to win a big prize as it seems. The best chance of winning a big jackpot is when you play on all pay lines and in most cases, with the maximum number of coins.
You can continue playing for longer by playing with low-value coins. You can also change the currency you play with if the jackpot remains the same amount when converted between different currencies. For instance, you can bet $10 per spin and in Euros, the bet size that will qualify for the jackpot will still be €10. However, while the jackpot in US dollars is $1,000, in Euros it will be €700. This means that a bet in US dollars has a lower real value, yet placing it can still win you money offered to Euro players.
The Biggest Progressive Jackpots Are Coming!
The highest progressive jackpot payout ever recorded is $39.7 million, which was hit in the Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas on one of the most famous slot games, IGT’s Megabucks. As of late, Megabucks has become available online as well and it can be played at several online casinos including the popular ones such as Bovada and SlotsMillion. Online slots are quickly gaining popularity and they are bringing high payouts to players who decide to try their luck by playing them.
Mega Moolah, a popular online slot machine that dispenses large payouts to players, is known for its generous payout amounts. In 2015, one player won £13,213,838.68 at Betway after placing £0.25 bets. Just a few months later, a man in New Zealand had won NZ$10,144,395.82 by playing at Mega Moolah’s casino website.
In January 2013, Paf Casino in Estonia paid out €17,861,813 to an anonymous Finnish man who had the right combination of symbols while playing NetEnt’s Mega Fortune. In 2011, a Norwegian student won €11,736,228 playing NetEnt’s Arabian Nights slot machine. Other slots from NetEnt have also been quite generous–on November 23, 2012 another unnamed Finn became richer by exactly €8,636,041.54 while playing Hall of Gods. The biggest payout registered from it is €7,820,888; however players hit the jackpot approximately twice a year.
In August 2016, a woman playing Microgaming’s Mega Moolah mobile slot hit the jackpot–taking €7,968,311.26. But in less than a year, an instant millionaire was claimed by another player at Tipico Casino. In April 2017, this player won €8,012,153.35 on his mobile phone.
Progressive Slots FAQ
What Is the Difference between a Jackpot and a Progressive Jackpot?
The jackpot in many casino games is a fixed amount, such as slots and video poker. Progressive jackpots, on the other hand, are determined by a meter that displays how much money you have won. These jackpots increase as you play more often and become increasingly difficult to win. In some cases, you can even win millions of dollars from a single progressive machine!
Is It Possible to Say When You Can Win a Jackpot?
No, predicting when a progressive machine will pay out is impossible because these games are random. You cannot predict when a slot machine will pay out a jackpot because the symbols landing on the reels when you push the Spin button are nothing more than graphical representations of what has already been determined by this piece of technology.
How much will I spend on average on progressives?
In order to win a progressive jackpot, you must bet the maximum amount of coins possible. Some progressive slots will not require you to qualify for a jackpot win – this is known as a “bonus round” and it can be triggered randomly. There are also penny slots that you can play without having to qualify for the jackpot game – these are more accessible than average progressives and are often more fun than the more popular games.
How Can I Withdraw When I Win the Jackpot?
Cashing out a big win at the casino is different depending on whether you play online or offline. If you play at a traditional land-based casino, you’ll get your winnings right away — with one exception: really huge jackpots are paid in installments and it can take years for you to collect everything back. Online casinos have specific rules about when you can cash out your winnings and how much can be withdrawn each week or month.
Progressive Slots Glossary
Bankroll
Your bankroll is the money you have in your gambling balance. You should manage it properly because if it gets too high, you may start playing games with higher stakes, or play more than what is allowed. It is essential to set daily limits on how much money you can spend playing each day to keep your bankroll in check. A higher bankroll gives you more spins on progressive slots or the chance to sit at a high-stakes poker table; however, a lower bankroll limits how much money you can spend playing each week.
Bonus Round
In progressive slots, bonus rounds or bonus games are activated once a player has made three or more Scatter symbols or special Bonus symbols appear on the reels. These bonus rounds can include multi-level arcade games, Pick Me games, matching symbols games, and others.
Coin Size
The basic bet is the value of the coin you put down to play a single spin. This can be anything from $0.01 to $5 or $10–or even higher–depending on the denomination and number of active pay lines. Choose the maximum coin size ($5 or $10), max number of coins per line (usually up to 10), and number of active pay lines when placing your basic bet.
Fixed Jackpot
Many slots have fixed jackpots that pay out the same amount to each player.
Flat-Top Slots
Flat-top slots are the simplest kind of slot machines. They offer fixed payouts and do not offer progressive jackpots.
Jackpot Meter
In online slots, the jackpot meter appears at the top or bottom of the game screen. It shows how quickly a progressive jackpot is rising and attracts players who like to see large numbers and bright lights blinking on their screens. In land-based casinos, this meter is often placed on top of the game and is visible from across the room.
Loose Slots
Loose slots are those that have a higher return percentages and lower house edge. They are often called “doubled-up” or “truncated” slots because they tend to do better in the long run than others, but these terms are not widely used. The term “tight” is used to describe slots that have a low return percentage over time.
Max Bet
Practically speaking, the maximum bet is the highest amount of money that can be wagered in a single spin. By choosing it, you give yourself an opportunity to win big. Most slot machines have a “Max Bet” button because most slot machine players want to play for the highest payout possible.
Pay Line
The pay lines on a slot machine are the areas of reel space where matching symbols will win you a payout. In the past, slots had a single line that ran horizontally across the middle of the reels. Today’s video slots have multiple lines (up to 100) which come in shapes such as zig zags, diagonals and Vs; players should try to bet on all pay lines available when playing these modern machines in order to increase their chances of hitting the jackpot.
Pay Table
Every slot machine has its own pay table, which tells players how much they will win on each line and also displays special symbols and their effects. In addition, most games offer a bonus round in which players can win a jackpot.
Progressive Slots
Progressive slots are those games that have a progressive jackpot, which pays out based on how much money you bet. These types of games are usually found in networks with large numbers of players and can be won quickly by placing just a little bit of money.
Return Percentage
The return or payback percentage (RTP) of a casino game is the portion of your total bet that will be returned to you if played perfectly. Blackjack, with its perfect strategy, has an RTP of 94%, while slots have an RTP of 88%. The expected return for progressives is even lower.
Seed
A minimum of $100 is the base amount for a progressive jackpot. This pot is usually contributed by many different sources, including the player’s wager, and the more money contributed, the higher the chances of winning. The seed value can be $100, $1,000, or $1,000,000 and it is usually one of the contributing factors to the popularity of a particular game — if the jackpot started from $15, no one would want to place bets on it knowing how tiny their chances were at winning.
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What kind of strategy can I use for my progressive slot betting sessions?
We must remind you that slot machines are games of chance, and there is no way to beat the house if you are unlucky. While we cannot recommend any specific strategy that can guarantee the big win, we can suggest several steps to follow when you play a progressive slot machine.
To maximize your chance of winning, always bet the maximum amount. However, if the prize is randomly triggered, we recommend playing reasonable amounts to continue playing. You should also set a loss limit at which you should quit the game even if you have not won the jackpot. The amount of the jackpot is also important as it’s not recommended to play when there has been a major win and virtually nothing has accrued over base jackpot’s value! Check out RTP and variance ratios–a decent RTP and low-to-mid variance is always better than high RTP and low variance.