Progressive slots are casino games that have varying prize pools that change over time.
If you’re a fan of casino games with ever-increasing prize pools, you’re in the right place. Our platform is dedicated to showcasing the top progressive slots bonus offers available.
We’ll not only provide you with a list of the best sites to play progressive slots but also offer detailed explanations on how these games work and the optimal timing to maximize your chances of winning big. For even more slot options, check out our recommended slot sites.
What Are Progressive Slots?
Progressive slots are casino games with fluctuating top prizes. To put it another way, they’re slots with jackpots in a constant state of progression i.e. move onwards and upwards. Although these slots have fixed prizes, the largest payout/s will change over time. In contrast, video slots and fruit machines in bars, clubs and land-based casinos have fixed prizes across the board.
Because the value of a progressive slots jackpot is never set in stone, there’s always a certain amount of uncertainty. This, in turn, creates an exciting dynamic that players have come to love. Indeed, when you play hits like Mega Moolah and Mega Fortune, you never know how lucrative the jackpots will be or if you’re going to win.
This is why progressive slots have been big business in the live gaming arena for decades and, more recently, popular online. The combination of uncertainty, excitement and ever-changing payouts means all the best online casinos, including the top PayPal casino sites, all offer a wide range of progressive slots.
In the rest of this section, we’ll explain how these games work and why you can win prizes worth upwards of £1 million!
How Do Progressive Jackpot Slots Work?
There are two types of progressive online slots: networked and standalone. Both have the same fundamental mechanics. But, before we get into that, let’s define what networked and standalone mean:
Networked Jackpot Slots
Networked jackpot slots are different games linked by a single prize pool. These games are also known as global jackpot slots because there’s a whole world of nodes connected to the same prize pool. In simple terms, a progressive prize pool is the central point of the network. Then, around this prize pool, there are a selection of slots that feed into it.
The number of slots can and will vary. However, let’s say there are five different slots linked to a global progressive jackpot. That means everyone playing those five slots will contribute to the same prize pool. In turn, everyone, regardless of the game they’re playing, has a chance of winning the jackpot.
Standalone Jackpot Slots
Standalone progressive jackpot slots operate in isolation. This means the prize pool is linked to one game and one game alone. Everyone playing a standalone jackpot slot will contribute to the prize pool and, therefore, have a shot at winning the top prize.
How Do Progressive Slots Work Online?
In establishing the difference between networked and standalone progressive slots, we’ve also highlighted how all of these games work. Progressive jackpot slots are based on one principle: collective effort. Basically, a small portion of everyone’s bet is added to a communal prize pool. This means the value of a jackpot is always increasing. The only time it goes down is when someone wins.
Depending on the slot, you’ll win the top prize in a certain way. For example, in Mega Moolah, you’ll need to roll in a certain combination of symbols and complete a bonus game to unlock the jackpot. In other progressive online slots, you’ll win the jackpot via free spins bonuses, lining up certain symbols or some other type of special feature.
In short, the way you win will depend on the game in question. However, once someone wins a progressive slot jackpot, the prize pool resets to a predetermined amount aka a seed amount. From there, it will increase in value until someone wins again.
Are Progressive Slots Better than Regular Slots?
If money is your sole objective, progressive jackpot slots are the best games in town. Because there are thousands of players contributing to the communal prize pools, jackpots can reach obscene amounts. For example, Mega Fortune regularly has a top prize worth more than £1 million. Even if you’re betting the minimum, you could win that prize. Therefore, in terms of payout potential, progressive slots are better than their counterparts.
However, if you’re looking for free spins, bonus features and other added extras, video slots are fantastic. What’s more, it’s important to remember that casino gaming should be about entertainment and not money alone. So, on balance, we can’t say that progressive jackpot slots are better. Instead, it’s more the case that they offer different opportunities, in particular opportunities to win mega prizes.
How Often Do Progressive Slots Hit?
Somewhere in the world there is probably a progressive jackpot dropping right now. Because there are so many games out there, you can always find a winner in one form or another. From bad beat jackpots in land-based casinos to online progressives paying out millions, there’s always something going on. That’s great news for you because it means there are hundreds of ways to win each day.
However, even though that’s the case, we can never say X game pays out at this frequency. If we could, slots wouldn’t be much fun because someone would calculate when a jackpot was going to drop and swoop in. The beauty of all casino games is that you never know what’s going to happen next. On top of this, anyone can win. It doesn’t matter if you’re a high roller or a newbie, everyone has a shot at winning.
Therefore, it’s a good thing we don’t know how often progressive jackpots drop. That being said, you can look through online databases to see who won and when. Online progressive jackpot slot trackers list all the times someone has banked a significant prize. Glance over these and you’ll see that, in general, someone wins a real money progressive jackpot almost every day.
Is there a Way to Tell if a Slot Machine is Going to Hit?
The traditional answer to this question is no. There’s a longstanding myth in casino games that says you can find “hot” and “cold” slot machines. The way to classify games in this way is by monitoring them for a certain amount of time and noting down the spins to wins ratio. In other words, if a slot hasn’t paid out a prize and/or jackpot for a while, the chances of spinning in a win increase.
The logic is fairly sound. Because slot machine games are programmed to pay out at set rates, it stands to reason that more time in between winning spins increases the chances of a prize dropping. If you subscribe to this idea, you’ll think that it’s possible to predict when a huge progressive jackpot is going to drop. However, the reality is that you can’t.
Problems with Slots Probabilities
All casino games, including slots, have theoretical return rates (RTP). These rates dictate how much a game pays out, on average, over a significant number of betting rounds. For example, a 98% RTP means that, in theory, you’ll win 98 units for every 100 units you bet. The problem here is that RTP scores are calculated over 100,000+ rounds.
Over time, the total number of results should converge on the RTP score. However, in a single session, your results could fluctuate dramatically. This is why it’s virtually impossible to predict your chances of winning slot jackpots. In turn, this kills the notion that you can find “hot” and “cold” progressive slots in order to improve your chances of winning.
Timed Progressive Slot Jackpots
Having said that, new slot sites do offer something known as daily jackpots and must-win jackpots. These prizes work in the same way as traditional progressive jackpots. However, they differ in the fact that they have more predictable payout schedules.
Daily Progressive Jackpots
Daily jackpot slots will pay out a progressive prize once per day. You won’t know when. However, you know that a jackpot will hit at some point within a 24-hour period. To make things even clearer, there will be a timer next to the progressive prize so you can see how long is left. Naturally, the closer it gets to the end of the day, the more chance there is that the top prize will be won.
Must-Win Progressive Jackpots
Must-win progressive slots operate in a similar way to their “daily” counterparts. For example, let’s say an online casino added a must-win jackpot to Wheel of Fortune and the target set was £100,000. This means someone will win the slot’s progressive prize before it reaches £100,000. Again, this means you’ve got some idea of when a jackpot will drop. Indeed, if the top prize is £99,000, you know that it will have to drop soon because it’s close to the must-win target.
So, while you can’t know for certain when online progressives are going to pay out, there are some slot features online that can help. If you can use these to your advantage and https://www.punterslounge.com/slots-sites, you’ll always have a chance of winning a huge progressive jackpot.
What is the Best Time to Play Casino Slots?
The best time to play online slots is whenever you feel like it. You can’t predict when a jackpot is going to drop. Therefore, you should focus on doing what’s best for you. If you enjoy playing at night, go for it. If you prefer a quick spin on your mobile in the afternoon, do that. As long as the conditions are right, it’s up to you.
All the best jackpot slot casinos have games running 24/7. So, you’ll never be short of options when you play online. As long as you’re having fun and playing within your limits, that’s the main thing. If you happen to win a progressive slots jackpot at the same time, all the better!
