In October 2015, Jon Heywood, made headlines around the world when he won £13.2 million pounds online from a 25p bet. The 26-year-old British soldier’s win occurred on Microgaming’s Mega Moola – a progressive slot. Indeed, due to their massive jackpots, progressive slot games are all the rage these days. So, we decided to create this guide to help you learn everything there is to know about progressive slots.

What Are Progressive Slots ?

Progressive slots are slots with progressive jackpots that increase incrementally as players play the game. Progressive slots can be standalone machines (where the jackpot rises on that one machine) or networks of machines (where the jackpot increases on a group of machines). Each time a player spins the reels on one of these slots, some of their stake is added to a progressive jackpot. Thus, since millions of people are connected to progressive jackpots via their smartphones on certain slots, the prize money can become extremely large.    

Pros of slot games

The most appealing thing about progressive slots is their jackpots. Many people have won six and seven-figure sums and thus progressive jackpot wins can truly be life-changing. And with so much prize money on offer, progressive slots are also hugely exciting. I mean, every time you spin, you can’t help thinking about recording a colossal win. Furthermore, the more that people play one of these slots, the more the return to player percentage (RTP) increases.

Cons of online slots

The biggest drawback to progressive slots is their base payout. Because the jackpot makes up a large part of their RTP, payouts occur less often. Thus, even though the RTP rises after each spin, you’re unlikely to benefit from this rise as a lot of it is made up by the jackpot. Another disadvantage with progressive slots is you’re effectively competing against thousands of other players for the top prize.

Choosing a Progressive Slot

With so many progressive games out there, choosing one to play can prove quite difficult. Nevertheless, popular progressive slots boast the biggest jackpots and since these are the biggest advantage with these slots, you should probably look for some of these. So, here are three for you to consider.

Though NetEnt’s 5-reel, 25 payline slot, Mega Fortune, looks like a regular game, it once held the record for the biggest ever online slots payout. One lucky Finnish student won €17,860,868 on this game in 2013.

And of course, Jon Heywood’s aforementioned win, occurred on another famous progressive slot from Microgaming – Mega Moolah. One punter playing at the Grande Mondial casino in 2018 entered the Guinness Book of Records for winning €18,915,872.81on this 5-reel, 25 payline slot.

NetEnt’s 5-reel, 10 payline Arabian Nights is another hugely popular progressive slot. And a Finnish player scooped €8,635,872 on this game in 2013.

Final Thoughts on progressive jackpot slots

If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll know what progressive slots are, their pros and cons, and how to choose one to play. Thus, why don’t you take one for a couple of spins now?