If you’re going to play online video slots, you might as well play jackpot slots. These games give you the chance to win bigger and better jackpots than regular slot machines. We’re going to show you everything you need to know about progressive slots, and we’ll recommend 10 of the best progressive jackpot games.
What Are Jackpot Slots?
Every slot machine has a jackpot. From 100x your stake to 10,000x your bet, every game offers you the chance to win much more than any other casino game.
The jackpot is the top payout you can win. Usually, a regular jackpot is won by matching five of the highest value symbols on a payline. For example, you might land five red candy symbols across the centre of the reels for a 1,000x payout.
However, progressive jackpot games are different. They have the regular jackpots mentioned above, but they also have larger jackpots which every player contributes to until someone wins it.
Let us explain with an example: Mega Fortune slot by NetEnt.
This slot has three progressive jackpots. The largest one (the Grand Jackpot) can win you instant millions. How does it get so big? Because every single player who plays this game at every casino which offers it contributes a small cut of every bet to the jackpot pool.
Since this is one of the most-played slots online, the jackpots can grow quickly. In fact, the bigger the jackpot gets, the more people tend to play it, and the bigger it grows, and faster. This is what leads to some progressive slot games having jackpots worth $10 million or more.
To summarize, regular jackpots are fixed, and progressive jackpots grow because every bet made on the slot machine contributes to it. This does mean that progressive jackpot games have lower RTPs than regular slots, but that’s the price you have to pay for a shot at the biggest jackpots.
Seven of the Best Progressive Jackpot Slots Online
There are hundreds of progressive jackpot slots on the web. We’ve played, tested, and reviewed most of them. We’ve selected seven of the top jackpot slots which you can play now. Why seven? Because it’s a lucky number, of course.
(1) Mega Fortune – NetEnt’s headline jackpot slot has a theme based on the lifestyle you might be able to live if you win the jackpot. Lots of bling and luxury items can be seen on the reels. There’s a free spins round with multipliers of up to 8x, and there’s a bonus wheel round which offers three progressive jackpots.
(2) Mega Moolah – Microgaming is known to produce some of the top slots online. Mega Moolah is its best progressive jackpot slot. It has a free spins feature, all wins featuring a wild are doubled, and there are four Mega Moolah progressive jackpots in the bonus wheel feature.
(3) Age of the Gods – Playtech has lots of great jackpot slots such as Gladiator. However, we picked Age of the Gods because it is a series of slots, and all of the jackpots are interlinked. These slots are themed on ancient Gods from ancient Greece. Free spins, sticky and expanding wilds, and picking games are regular features. The progressive jackpots tend to be well into the hundreds of thousands.
(4) Hall of Gods – This is another NetEnt progressive slot game. It is themed on ancient Norse mythology and has awesome graphics. This game has expanding wilds, lots of free spins, and a picking round which has three progressive jackpots. The biggest of these could win you multi-millions. One lucky click is all it takes for this slot to change everything.
(5) Frankie Dettori Sporting Legends – Most horse racing fans will already know who Frankie Dettori is. He’s a legendary jockey, and this Playtech jackpot slot is themed on him. As well as having wild respins, multipliers of up to 7x, a free spins feature, and multiple progressive jackpots. As well as a regular one, there are daily and weekly progressive jackpots which must be won within those timeframes.
(6) Cleopatra Mega Jackpots – IGT also has a bunch of progressive jackpot slots, and just to supercharge the payouts, several games are interlinked in a network known as MegaJackpots. One of them is Cleopatra. It’s themed on ancient Egypt, free spins, double win multipliers, and the massive progressive jackpot. If you like Egyptian slot games, you’ve got to try this one.
(7) Jackpot Giant – Playtech creates slots which stand the test of time, and Jackpot Giant is one of them. This is a simple game with two features – free spins and a picking game. In the latter, you pick from three volcanoes, and the giant flips a coin into the one you pick. A cash amount will then appear. On any spin, you could get five jackpot simples across the middle and win millions.
Progressive Jackpot Slots – Important Tips
Progressive jackpot slots play just the same as every other video slot. However, there are some things you need to know about them. Try to memorize these tips before you select one of the games above.
Pay Attention to Minimum Bet Amounts
One thing which many new players aren’t aware of is that some progressive slots have a betting minimum to qualify for the jackpot.
For example, in Jackpot Giant, the minimum bet is $0.25 per spin. However, you can’t win the progressive jackpot unless you bet at least $1 per spin.
Imagine landing the correct symbols to win the progressive jackpot and then realizing you haven’t bet enough to qualify? You don’t want to go through that sort of turmoil. Always check the paytable to find out if there are minimum bet qualifications.
You can find out about this and other information in our jackpot slot reviews.
Jackpots Don’t Depend on Bet Size
While some jackpot slots will require a minimum bet amount, you should be aware that betting bigger won’t do much to increase the progressive jackpot sizes.
Sure, every bet you make contributes, and the more you bet, the bigger your contribution will be, but it’s a tiny percentage overall. If you opt to bet $1,000 per spin and win the progressive jackpot, you probably won’t win much more than you would if you were betting $1 per spin.
When playing progressive slot games, try to find a bet amount which qualifies but which also maximizes your number of spins. You want as many opportunities as possible to win the jackpot.
For many players, it makes sense to bet the minimum qualifying bet. If you have a $100 bankroll and bet $1 spins, you get 100 chances to win. If you bet $10 per spin, you only get 10.
Some players believe (and operators claim) that bigger bets increase your chances of winning the progressive jackpots. We’re not sure we believe it, and plenty of players have won massive multi-million jackpots from $0.50 spins.
Understand How the Jackpots Can Be Won
Every progressive jackpot slot is different in the way you can win their jackpot. For example, some can be won by matching five symbols on a payline just like in regular slots, whereas others have bonus features and jackpot rounds you need to trigger first.
Some of the most common progressive jackpot bonus rounds include bonus wheels and picking game. You typically trigger them by landing three scatter symbols. You could be one spin or a few clicks away from a multi-million dollar jackpot.
You can always find out how to win the progressive jackpot in the paytable before you play. It’s always worth checking this out so you can create a strategy.
Don’t Overlook the Other Features & Jackpots
Lots of players focus on the size of the progressive jackpot and forget about everything else. However, some progressive jackpot slots have highly respectable base-game jackpots. For example, in Mega Fortune, you can win 10,000x.
And it’s not only the jackpots. There are also lots of great bonus features which offer the chance at big wins. Free spins, bonus wheels, expanding wilds, and multipliers which can triple wins should not be overlooked.
Look, let’s be straight – we all know the chances of winning a progressive jackpot are slim. It’s that one spin in a lifetime that we’re all after. As you hope it comes in, you might as well bet at a size that would maximize your wins in the event that you don’t win the multi-million jackpot.
Again, read our slot reviews to find out about the bonus features, RTP, volatility, and other features.
You Can’t Use Bonuses on Progressive Games
It’s incredibly rare that you’ll be able to use casino bonuses and free spins on progressive jackpot games. Casinos have to manage their risk, and they just can’t afford for you to use the money they’ve given you to raid them for millions.
Most bonuses will give you a list of slot games which you can play with your casino credit. We’d almost guarantee you that it won’t include progressive jackpot games.
Now it’s time to pick a jackpot slot and try your luck. We highly recommend any of the games listed above.
