Progressive Slots

We at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk think that progressive slot machines have been somewhat revolutionary in the online casino space.  Prior to making the transition over to the remote gambling industry, jackpot slots were reserved primarily for Las Vegas casinos. However, it is now possible to win a life changing amount of money from the comfort of your own home. Even better, you can also access progressive slots via your mobile device.

If you’re interested in finding out what a progressive slot game actually is, how they work, and where to find the best online slots titles, be sure to read our comprehensive guide.

In a nutshell, a progressive slot machine is the commonly used terminology for online jackpot slots that pay huge prizes. In fact, this segment of the online gambling arena offers you the chance to win a significant amount of money. While most progressive machines offer jackpots in the hundreds of thousands of pounds, some go into the million pound-plus range.

Back to the terminology, the reason that online jackpot slots are called progressive slots is that the jackpot pool increases progressively. This is completely different to the traditional pub fruit machine sector, as prizes are capped.

At the time of writing, fruit machines still only offer you the chance of winning £100 (plus repeat chance). This means that you could put hundreds of pounds into a fruit machine, and you’d still only be able to win £100 (plus repeat chance), regardless of how much goes in.

On the contrary, there is literally no limit to the amount that you can win on a progressive slot machine, as the jackpot increases in size as more and more money goes in.

If you’re wondering how online casinos are able to offer jackpots that often exceed £1 million, we at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk think that it’s important for you to understand how the link-up system works.

In order to set the scene, let’s take the hugely popular progressive casino slots title Mega Moolah as an example. The game - which was developed by leading software provider Microgaming, is available to play at hundreds of individual casinos.

Now, all these casinos that host the Mega Moolah slot title will have the game interlinked with one another. As such, each and every pound that is spent by a player on the game will go into a centralized pool.

For example, if a player lost £100 at casino A, £200 at casino B, and £50 at casino C, then the vast majority of the £350 would go into the main Mega Moolah pool.  We say vast majority, because each casino platform that hosts the game will take a micro-commission payment, which is fair enough.

As noted earlier, every time a player stakes money on the game, the total jackpot prize will increase in size. No matter which casino you are playing the progressive slot machine at, all players will be able to view the current jackpot amount in real-time.

So, when it comes to winning the jackpot, only one player can do this across the entire pool of linked casinos. As soon as a player wins the progressive slot jackpot, all other players that are playing the slot game will be notified, as the prize pool will have to reset.

Progressive slot titles very rarely reset to zero when the jackpot has been won, as linked-up casinos will each contribute a proportionate amount to build the starting balance.

So now that you have an understanding of how casinos are able to pay-out life changing wins, we at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk are now going to explain how progressive machines actually work.

Firstly, it is important to note that playing a progressive jackpot game works in exactly the same way as any other online slot you have played before. Whether its classic 3-reel slots or bonus slots, the process remains constant.

If you’ve never played an online slot machine before, don’t worry, as it is super easy. When you first load up the progressive slot game, you will need to choose your stake size.

The good news is that the vast majority of online jackpot slots will still allow you to win the main prize even if you decide to play at the minimum stake. In rarer cases, the slot game might ask you to play at higher stakes if you want to be eligible for the progressive jackpot.

Once you’ve set your betting parametres, you are then ready to start spinning the reels. Outside of the main jackpot, progressive slot titles also offer a number of other chances to win. You’ll still net wins when you land a winning combination, and some also offer side bonuses and features.

Every time you do win a prize, the funds will go back into your account balance. You can withdraw this out at any time, or instead, use your winnings to chase the big prize!

Finally, you won’t be able to see what other players have won, unless it's the main jackpot.

We at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk mentioned earlier that online progressive slots pay life changing amounts of money. So just how big are these wins?

Well, the two largest wins of all time are almost like-for-like, coming in at just over £16 million. The largest was won on the previously mentioned Mega Moolah slot game, with the lucky UK player netting the top-prize in 2015 via BetWay Casino.

Just behind was the £16 million win netted by a Finish player in 2013. Landed on a single 25p spin, the player won the jackpot at PAF Casino. Outside of the aforementioned two wins, there have been dozens of players that have won multi-million pound jackpots.

Interestingly, the vast majority of the largest wins on-record were won via Mega Fortune and Mega Moolah. As such, if you're looking to chase the highest wins possible, it might be worth concentrating on these two titles!

As a side mention, the largest progressive jackpot win obtained via a mobile device was that of the £7.3 million won on Mega Moolah in 2017. It remains to be seen what the lucky player was doing when they landed the winning spin, however, we at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk think that it would have been amazing if the player won it while at work!

Regardless of the online slots machine you are playing, every title will have an in-built RTP (return-to-player). This is expressed as a percentage, and it indicates what your long-term chances of winning are.

For example, if the RTP is set at 96%, this means that over the course of time, you should retain 96% of what you put into the machine. Obviously you can win or loss on a progressive slot machine, so payout amounts are split-out accordingly.

Now, we at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk  find that in the vast majority of cases, progressive slot games will have a much lower RTP in comparison to standard-paying slot titles. The reason for this is that progressive jackpots pay prizes in the millions of pounds, and thus, the rate at which prizes are paid needs to be less frequent.

However, we should also note that this isn't always the case. For example, Mega Fortune - the hugely popular progressive slot game developed by the team at NetEnt, pays a whopping RTP of 96.6%. Not only is this above the industry average for jackpot slots, but it's higher than the average RTP of the online slot spectrum in its entirety.

As such, when making the ‘progressive slots vs regular slots’ comparison, don’t be fooled into thinking that the latter offers a higher chance of winning!

Much like in the case of all slot machine types, progressive casino games are developed by software providers, as opposed to the casino platforms themselves. As such, when you’ve found a particular game that interests you, you’ll then need to find a casino that hosts it.

Popular titles like Mega Moolah and Mega Fortune are hosted by hundreds of individual top casino sites, subsequently making it somewhat difficult to know which one to go with.

This is why we at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk have compiled the ultimate list of the best progressive casino platforms currently operating in the market. We utilise our team of in-house experts to actually open accounts with these platforms before publishing our review.

We will consider everything from the number of payment methods the casino supports, what gaming licenses it holds, what its customer support is like, and of course - the number of progressive jackpot slots it hosts.

Once you’ve read through one of our in-depth reviews, you can then make an informed decision as to whether or not the platform is right for you. Take note, we have no relationship with any of the casinos that we review, and thus, you can be sure that each and every publication is impartial and independent.

Although we at BestRatedSlotSites.co.uk mentioned earlier that progressive jackpot games are based on a random number generator, there are a few things that you can do to give yourself the best chance possible of winning.

Firstly, you should always target machines that have built up a considerable jackpot prize. If for example the machine pays out an average prize of £1.5 million, but the jackpot is currently at £2 million, then this would indicate that the machine is close to paying.

Secondly, you should always target games that offer a higher RTP percentage. This will ensure that you are able to obtain more frequent wins while you chase the jackpot prize.

Otherwise, if you choose a progressive slot machine with a super low RTP, you might find yourself going through long periods without netting any wins. As noted earlier, you can still find progressive jackpot games that pay high RTP percentages, with Mega Moolah being a prime example.

Thirdly, it is well worth trying to obtain casino sign-up bonuses before you deposit funds. As most of the progressive slot casinos that we recommend on our platform offer a matched deposit bonus when you register for an account, you’ll be able to increase your starting bankroll. Ultimately, the more funds that you have to start with, the more chance you will have of winning!