Progressive Slots

Slot games are known as the most rewarding online casino games, and this partially due to progressive jackpots. Unlike regular slot payouts that are fixed and only change according to the placed bet, progressive prizes increase over time. A fraction of the placed wagers is used to feed the pooled prize, and it will continue to grow until a gambler gets lucky and wins it.

The basic gameplay in progressive games does not differ from regular free slots. Punters place a bet before spinning the reels. Some slots require players to meet a minimum bet limit to qualify for the jackpot win. Usually, the jackpot win is awarded in one of several ways, including:

• Getting the biggest combination of the most valuable symbols on the active payline
• Landing bonus symbols that, in turn, activate a bonus round, which is either picking or wheel feature
• Triggering randomly after any round, whether it results in payouts or not

Once the jackpot win is collected, it resets to a seed value, which can be anywhere between 10 to 1,000,000 credits.

Progressive Jackpot Types

The progressive jackpots in slot machines fall into different categories depending on how they function beyond growing as time goes by. The pooled prizes fall into three categories which are:

• Standalone jackpots: Standalone jackpots are the simplest of all slot pooled prizes since they are offered in individual machines. As the name suggests, these jackpots take a part of the bets placed in a specific pokie, and the collected amount can only be won in the same machine. This limit makes the amounts offered in standalone jackpots smaller than those of other pooled wins.

• Local progressive jackpots: Local progressives expand the covered ground to collect a portion of the wagers placed in a single gambling platform rather than a single machine. For instance, the same progressive mobile slot can be featured on two gaming sites, but the wins offered in each one vary from one to the other. This is because the stakes from one casino only feed the jackpot of the pokie it carries. The pot can be connected to other machines on the same network in the gambling den as well.
• Wide Area Network Jackpots: Most of the popular progressive slots online fall into this category. WAN jackpots are fed by bets placed in different casinos. This means that a lot more people compete for the same payout, which makes it more significant than the other two. On the downside, it makes the chances of landing the pooled prize smaller. In some cases, the jackpot can feature in more than one slot machine as well. For instance, the Age of Gods slot franchise has tens of titles under its banner, all of which carry the same jackpot.

The Biggest Pooled Jackpot Payouts

Slot games can have progressive jackpots of as little as a few hundred euros to life-changing amounts that range in the millions. The biggest jackpot ever collected was awarded by the Microgaming pokie Mega Moolah, which has an African savannah theme. The payout was a little over 18.9 million euros and was awarded to an anonymous gamer in Grand Mondial Casino. This win, which was collected in 2018, dethroned a previous record set in 2015 by Joy Heywood, who landed around 17.87 million euros in Betway online casino. Other big wins that have been awarded in progressive slots include:

• Mega Fortune – 17,861,800 euros
• Mega Fortune – 11,736,375 euros
• Mega Moolah – 11,546,388 euros
• Jackpot Giant – 10,710,483 euros
• Arabian Nights – 8,635,872 euros

Popular Jackpot Slots

Progressive slots are famous toppers of popularity lists in online casinos. Some of these that have been consistent in drawing the attention of the masses include:

• Mega Moolah – This is a classic title that has been around since 2006. The game holds a high position in popularity lists for being the highest paying progressive pokie of all time. Albeit, the set has a very traditional video slot appearance with simple graphics that convey a savannah theme. This medium volatility game includes four jackpot prizes dubbed Mini, Minor, Major, and Mega. The prizes are awarded in a bonus wheel feature that activates randomly after any spin. The title also includes free spins, wilds, and scatters to boost the regular winnings.
• Mega Fortune – Mega Fortune online slot is NetEnt’s biggest jackpot slot and has awarded pooled prizes in the tens of millions of euros. The slot machine is themed around luxury with yachts, sports cars, private jets, and expensive watches at the disposal of gamblers for credit wins. The pokie machine accepts stakes of between 0.01 and 0.50 credits. 
• Hall of Gods – This is another jackpot giant by NetEnt that has awarded around twenty big wins since it was released in 2013. The most valuable payment in the game was around 7.8 million euros, while the smallest one was close to 610,000 euros. On average, the game offers 5.5 million euros.
• Arabian Nights – Arabian Nights slot by NetEnt is a heavy hitter based on the famous tale of Aladdin and the genie lamp. When players rub the golden lap placed to the side of the screen using stakes of between 0.50 and 5 credits, they can land the jackpot win that counts in the millions.
• Beach Life – Beach Life slot is Playtech’s entry onto the list of biggest progressive jackpots. The pokie machine takes players to sandy beaches on a five-reel white grid. The jackpot win in the game is awarded for a combination of five wilds.
• Millionaire Genie – Millionaire Genie online slot is a GVG slot released in 2011 and falls in the category of classic pokies. The game targets small spenders with bet limits of between 0.01 and three credits.

Winning Progressive Jackpots

Each slot has a special procedure to collect the progressive prize. In all cases, punters have to play progressive slots for real money. When playing for fun, fake coins are used that do not add to the jackpot. Therefore, they do not qualify punters to collect the win. Depending on the slots, the wins can be awarded randomly, through triggered bonuses, or character combinations.

Closing Thoughts

Progressive jackpot slots are an exciting venture for pokie lovers since they offer the chance to provide significant amounts that are not awarded typically in fixed jackpots. These games are mostly available to play for real money.