Best Online Slots

This guide is designed to highlight the following:

• Discuss which are the best online slots
• Explain a little more about the industry
• Provide insights into why certain games are more popular than others
• Highlight the features that make a great slot

...and much more!

In reality, it’s impossible to say definitively that certain slots are “the best”. Not only are there too many games to consider, but we also know that everyone has their own preferences. However, with a little bit of knowledge and a few facts, you can sort the hot slots from those that are less impressive. So, with that being said, here’s our guide to the best slots online.

• What is an Online Slot Game?
• How Do Online Slots Work?
• Defining the Best Slots Online
• What are the Best Slots Online?
• Can I play the Best Online Slots For Free?
• How Can I Find the Best online slots?
• Play the Best Slot Games Online
• FAQ

Online slots are casino games that give you the chance to line up matching symbols and win prizes worth many times you stake. Look at any casino, regardless of whether it’s a brick and mortar venue or based online, and you’ll see that slots dominate in terms of quantity. This is because they’re easy to play and offer generous payouts. These qualities make them popular with players across the board. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner, a novice or a pro, slots have the power to entertain people at every level.

Online slots are among the simplest casino games to understand. That doesn’t mean they’re unsophisticated or boring, far from it. However, their fundamental mechanics are easy to master, particularly when compared to games such as baccarat. The basics of slots are simple because all you have to do is set your bet and spin. There are some instances where secondary decisions are required, but these often involve nothing more than choosing a random box to open.

In context, the process of playing the best online slots looks like this:

1. Choose one of our recommended online slot sites.
2. Scroll through the gaming lobby and select a spinner that looks appealing.
3. If you want to play for free, use the demo software. If you want to win cash prizes, make a deposit.
4. Use the toolbar to set your bet. Each slot will have its own betting limits, but it’s typically the case that minimum bets start at £0.01 per payline.
5. In certain games, you’ll also be able to adjust the number of active paylines and the number of coins (i.e. bets) per payline.
6. The more variables you can adjust, the more control over your bet size you’ll have.
7. Once you’ve found the sweet spot, hit the spin button and wait.

As you can see, there are a few variables you can toggle. But the main thing you’re aiming to do is find the ideal bet size. Anything after that is in the lap of the slot gods. The reels spin and, if you match enough symbols across an active payline, you’ll win a prize. It really is that simple.

If slots are simple, why are they so popular? There are multiple reasons. Firstly, they’re hugely entertaining. Secondly, you can play at a quick pace if you desire. Thirdly, the potential returns far exceed anything other casino games can offer. Those are three reasons slots in general are popular. But what about the best online slot games? Why are spinners such as Starburst, Gonzo’s Quest and Mega Moolah perennial favourites?

Before we answer that, it’s important to note that “best” is a relative term. No one can point to an objective reason as to why X is better than Y. It’s all subjective. Some people like classic slots with three reels, others prefer Megaways games with 117,649 paylines. Therefore, any list we produce will always have an element of subjectivity. But what we also try to do is look at the facts. Our slot reviews assess a variety of metrics before offering some comparisons between games.

We want you to use our reviews as a starting point. Use them to learn more about a particular game, the features it offers and how to play. From there, you can compare these qualities to other slots and find one that suits your preferences. Finding the best slots online is part scientific enquiry, part art. With that in mind, here are five features that all of the top online slot machines have in common:

Broad Betting Limits

The best online slots are accessible to everyone. Although demo slots allow you to use virtual chips and play for free, there’s an undeniable financial element to playing these casino games. You have to make real-money bets if you want to win cash prizes. Therefore, there needs to be betting limits that suit all players. The best slots have these. As a general guide, you should be able to bet as little as £0.01 per payline.

Varying Variables

Many slots don’t allow you to adjust anything other than the size of your bet. However, there are some that allow you to adjust the number of active paylines and the amount you’re betting per payline. Having the ability to adjust these variables isn’t a necessity but it is nice to see. The more things you can tweak, the more control you’ll have over the amount you’re betting.

Plenty of Prizes

Prizes form the core of any slot and, the more there are, the better the game is. This doesn’t mean you should focus on prize money alone. However, if you’ve got more ways to win, it creates a greater sense of anticipation and drama.

An Abundance of Added Extras

An online slot becomes a hot slot when it’s packed with extras. Spinning symbols is great but we all love an unexpected surprise. This is where mystery pick’em bonus rounds, wilds, free spins and multipliers come in.

Each of these extras adds something to the base game and, in turn, give you more ways to win. What’s more, they give developers a chance to indulge their creative sides and build a narrative into their games. This combination of storylines and random surprises is entertaining and the reason many slots stand out from the crowd.

Entertainment and Engagement

The final quality that all popular online slots share is entertainment. Although the themes and underlying storylines will be different, all the hits encourage a certain amount of engagement. This could be through some atmospheric sound effects, in-game videos or interactive bonus rounds. If you’re playing the best mobile slots, you can also use things such as swipe-to-play and shake-to-play. These features make your experience even more tactical and, therefore, immersive.

The best slot games online are those you enjoy the most. We can call games such as Immortal Romance and Wild Buffalo the industry’s finest. They’ve been around for a while and always appear as “popular” slots at our suggested casinos. However, as we’ve said, “best” is subjective. That means you need to decide which spinners you enjoy the most.

Making a decision requires a certain amount of prior knowledge. We’ve already explained the traits top-rated slot machines share. We also need to explain the types of slots you can find online. The following list covers the main games you’ll find at our recommended casinos and some top titles within each.

These games are digital replicas of one-arm bandits and fruit machines of old. They tend to feature three reels and 1-5 paylines. Add to this a collection of familiar symbols, such as fruit, bells, and 7s, and you’ve got online games that hark back to a time before the internet.

Some of the best classic online slots are:

• Mega Joker
• Jackpot Jester 50,000
• Sizzling Hot Deluxe
• Fruit Rainbow
• Route 777

Video slots form the backbone of almost every online casino. Numbers can vary but it’s not uncommon to see 500+ video slots packed into a single site. Some of these games can feature three reels but it’s much more common to see five.

The number of paylines can be anything from 5 to 100+ and there will often be at least one bonus feature. In fact, it’s bonus features that help define video slots and make them popular. The other major selling point is the “video” element. Animations and in-game video clips add another layer of entertainment to the overall experience.

Some of the best video slots online are:

• Gonzo’s Quest
• Starburst
• Vikings Go Berzerk
• Rainbow Riches
• ThunderStruck II

Jackpot slots are considered royalty in the online gaming world because they offer the richest payouts. These larger than average prizes are created through a system of communal contributions. A small percentage of each bet you make goes into a communal prize pool. The same goes for everyone else playing the jackpot slot in question.

Because there are thousands of players adding to the pot every day, the top prize is always increasing in value. Moreover, the value of said jackpot far exceeds anything non-progressive games can offer. This means prizes worth more than £1 million are common. And, depending on the game in question, you might be able to win a jackpot by staking less than £1.

Some of the best progressive jackpot slots online are:

• Mega Moolah
• Mega Fortune
• Divine Fortune
• Major Millions
• Hall of Gods

Modern technology has transformed slots in recent years. One of the latest innovations to strike a chord with players across the UK and beyond is Megaways. Dreamed up by Big Time Gaming, this technology creates a random payline structure. The premise is thus: the number of paylines changes each time hit the spin button. There are usually six reels in play and the number of active paylines can range from a few hundred to 117,649.

In fact, some of the more recent Megaways slots have over 200,000 paylines. This level of potential is obviously appealing. However, the main reason more players are spinning these slots is that you never know what’s going to happen next. One minute you’ll have 500 ways to win, the next you’ll have 5,000. That’s entertaining.

Some of the best Megaways slots online are:

• Great Rhino Megaways
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Megaways
• White Rabbit Megaways
• Extra Chilli Megaways
• Starz Megaways

You can play the best slots online for free in two ways. The first way is demo slots, which you can read about here. The second way is through free spins slot bonuses.

Demo Slots are free-play versions of their real-money counterparts. They offer full functionality without the cost. For example, you can play the demo version of Starburst and toggle the bet size, spin five reels and try to match celestial symbols in pursuit of prizes worth 500X. The only difference between the demo version of Starburst and the real-money version is that you’re betting with virtual chips. Anything you win will be paid out in virtual chips that don’t have any real-world value.

Another way to play the best online slots for free is through bonuses. Our partner casinos offer everything from free spins to free credits. You can use slot bonuses to play an array of games without spending your own money. What’s crucial here is that you’ll have the chance to win cash prizes. There may be certain post-win wagering requirements. However, the main point to note here is that you can use bonuses to play slots for free and win some money.

We’ve talked about the nuances of slots, how they work and what they can offer. The final step in finding the best slot games online is devising a plan. Again, the process of finding the right game is part science, part art. You’ll have to follow your innate desires in order to satisfy the latter. However, in terms of developing a scientific method, we’d suggest going through the steps below to find the best online slots:

Read Our Slot Reviews

The first step towards finding your ideal slot game is reading. Our reviews and game guides provide a complete breakdown of a slot’s mechanics, how they work, what you can win and their main selling points. You can use this information to compare and contrast games before committing to one.

Join Some Top-Rated Casino Sites

Once you’ve got an idea of what you want to play, the next step is to find a place to spin. Our recommended online casinos are all licenced, legal and safe. That means you can focus on the site/s you most like the look of, that have the games you want to play and that offer promotions to suit your playing preferences.

Filter, Filter, Filter

All the best online casinos allow you to filter their gaming lobbies. Our top tip is to use options such as “popular” or “hot”. These filters will show you the games attracting the most attention that day. You can also use filters such as “new” or “jackpots”. The former will list New Slots Onlines listed within the last month or so. The latter will show games with the largest jackpots.

 Try the Best Online Slots for Free

When you’ve reviewed and filtered, the best thing you can do is play the demo version of a game. Everything may look good on paper but the actual experience of playing might be different. Therefore, it’s important to make sure you’re completely convinced that a slot is right for you before betting with real money.

Don’t Be Afraid to Switch and Don’t Get Stuck

You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to online slots, so don’t get stuck on a game you don’t like. If you get tired of spinning the same set of symbols, switch things up. There are so many ways to play that you’ll never not find something you enjoy. It’s also important to say that you shouldn’t play beyond your means or play for too long. When you stop having fun, stop playing. These games aren’t going away. You can play the best online slots via your computer or mobile at any time. Therefore, don’t feel like you have to keep playing just because you think you’ll miss an opportunity.

The best online slots are always going to be the games you enjoy the most. However, as we’ve discussed, there are certain characteristics that the top spinners have in common. Accessible betting limits, plenty of prizes and a variety of in-game bonuses all add to the excitement of playing. We’ve provided a few examples of slots that are widely regarded as the most impressive in the business. Use these as a starting point.

However, we’d also urge you to read our casino reviews and game guides. These will give you some fresh ideas and help form a starting point from which you can use your newfound knowledge to find the ideal games. Once you’ve found a place to play and some slots to spin, the only thing left to do is enjoy yourself. Don’t get too hung up on what you can win. Enjoy the process of playing, bet within your means and you’ll have plenty of fun when you play the best online slots.

Yes, all online slot games, including the best ones, are completely safe. We only recommend online casinos that are licenced and regulated. That means the games within these sites are tested and certified as safe and fair. These tests are carried out by third-party agencies such as eCOGRA so there’s no tampering with the results. Therefore, if you use one of our sites, you can play the best slots confident in the knowledge they’re 100% fair and safe.

Yes, you can. If you’re happy to play for fun and don’t mind the fact you can’t win cash prizes, demo slots are ideal. These games offer full functionality without the cost. If you want to play for free but win cash prizes, you can use online slot bonuses.

The best online slot machines are housed inside our recommended casinos. Using our secure registration links, you can access sites such as BGO and Energy Casino and play all the top slots, including Starburst, Gonzo’s Quest, and more.

The best online slots are made by NetEnt, Microgaming, Playtech, Yggdrasil, and others. In fact, there are almost too many developers to mention. The slots market has become so competitive in recent years that everyone has raised their game. This means you can find world-class products from almost every developer. What’s more, you’ll be able to play the best slots on mobile and desktop devices. 

Check out our top-rated casinos, create an account and start playing the best online slots today!