The Best Progressive Jackpot Slots

If you’ve ever heard about someone playing a casino game and winning £1 million+, the chances are it happened on a progressive jackpot slot. These slots take the power of collective effort and communal contributions to the next level in order to create payouts that no other casino game can match. In this article, we’ll explain: 

• How progressive slots work
• The difference between fixed wins and communal pots
• How you can play progressive slots
• Different types of progressive slots

and more!

Add to this a few tips on where to find the best jackpot slots online with leading betting site, Oddschecker. Launched in 1999, this site partners with only the most trusted brands and puts customers first by providing real-time updates, tips, and a wide range of games. Then, you’ll be ready to join millions of users around the world and spin for seven-figure prizes within just a few minutes!

• What is a Progressive Jackpot Slot?
• How to Play Online Jackpot Slots
• Types of Progressive Jackpot
• What Are the Best Jackpot Slots Online?
• How Can I Find the Best Progressive Slots Online?
• Play for the Biggest Slot Jackpots Online
• FAQ

What is a Progressive Jackpot Slot?

The fundamental premise of online slots is always the same. Regardless of the game, its theme, and main structure, the aim is to line up matching symbols. Each winning combination you spin-in unlocks a prize. It’s a simple premise but it’s one that has made slots extremely popular over the centuries. However, although every slot shares the same underlying mechanics, there’s a dividing line and that line appears when you look at jackpots.

The industry is broadly split into two categories: progressive jackpot slots and fixed jackpot slots. The latter is by far the most numerous. What’s more, “fixed jackpot” is a catch-all term that encompasses subcategories; including classic, video, and Megaways. They’re called “fixed” because the payouts don’t change.

Yes, prizes can vary in value but that’s only because you can bet different amounts. The prize multipliers remain the same regardless of the stakes you’re playing for and the number of people spinning. For example, if a game has a jackpot worth 1,000X, that means you’ll always have a chance to win 1,000X whatever amount you’ve wagered.  

Progressive jackpot slots have fixed prizes. However, the very top prize (i.e. the jackpot) changes based on the amount of money added to a communal pot. Indeed, this is why we call them “progressive” games. The jackpot is always progressing. The only time it regresses is when someone scoops the top prize. That causes it to reset before the process restarts.

So what’s a “communal pot” and how do players add to it? All instances of a progressive slot are linked. For example, Mega Moolah has a central prizepool into which everyone playing the game adds money. This central prizepool is the communal pot. The way people add to it is by making bets. A small percentage of each player’s stake is added to the pot.

As thousands of players are adding to the pot every day, jackpots can reach sizeable sums. What’s more, their value can increase at a rapid rate. You could be playing Mega Moolah one day and the jackpot could be £100,000. Check back an hour later and it could be £150,000. A day later it could be worth £300,000. The more people that play, the faster the progressive jackpot grows. This process continues until someone wins. That’s what separates fixed and progressive slots.

You don’t have to do anything special in order to play progressive jackpot slots. The only thing you need to focus on is betting an amount you can afford. Regardless of the prizes up for grabs, don’t wager irresponsibly. It’s worth noting that some jackpot slots require you to stake a certain amount in order to win the top prize.

Some will give you a percentage of the progressive jackpot if you bet anything less than the maximum. However, these systems are becoming increasingly uncommon. Inclusivity is the operative word in today’s gaming industry, and operators are moving more towards progressive slots that allow anyone to win, regardless of the stakes they’re playing for.

Not all progressive slots are created equal. Each one offered by our recommended online casinos will have progressive payout structures. However, these structures can be divided into three main categories. Games within each category are lucrative but some are more so than others.

Standalone jackpots are linked to a single game. Major Millions is an example of a standalone progressive slot. Only bets made on this game go into the communal prizepool. Standalone jackpots can also refer to prizepools that are only available at one casino site. For example, BGO might offer an in-house progressive slot. The prizepool would only be available to people playing that specific game on BGO.

Universal Progressive Jackpots

Universal prizepools are available across multiple sites and multiple games. A great example of this system is the Age of the Gods series. There is one “Age of the Gods” communal prizepool into which money from every game in the series is added. So, someone playing Age of the Gods Furious 4 will have a shot at winning the same progressive jackpots as someone playing Age of the Gods Fate Sisters.

Must-win jackpots are fairly self-explanatory. Their structure is such that they have to be won by a certain point. That point can be set by the casino in question or the developer. It’s usually a predetermined amount. For example, if the must-win target is £100,000, someone will win the top prize before that amount. These games aren’t as common but they’re popular because, in some ways, you have an idea of when a payout is more likely to occur.

Daily jackpots are a type of must-win payout. The defining feature of these is that they’re site-specific and usually time-based. Paddy Power Casino is well-known for its Daily Jackpots. There are three progressive payouts to play for. One is released before its value hits £1,700. One is released before 11 pm every day. One is a general progressive jackpot that grows indefinitely until someone hits a winning combo. 

The best progressive jackpot slots online are Mega Moolah and Mega Fortune. Naturally, there’s a certain amount of subjectivity in this statement but these games are consistently ranked among the most popular spinners in the business. What’s more, they’re responsible for the largest online slot jackpots in history. So, if we’re looking at payout potential alone, there’s no denying that Mega Moolah and Mega Fortune are the best.

However, that doesn’t mean you won’t find other value or entertainment in other progressive slots. In fact, you might find that you prefer other games. Our top tip is to check out our recommended online casinos and try a few of their most popular titles. Before you do that, here are some of the leading jackpot spinners according to our experts:

The Age of the Gods progressive jackpot slot series was created by Playtech. Each game has independent prizes but also a central prizepool that all slots in the series link into. Bets start at £0.20 and these games have more bonus features than almost any other jackpot slot. On top of this, there are four progressive prizes up for grabs and each one can be triggered at random on any spin at any stakes.

This Microgaming slot is somewhat retro in its appearance, probably because it’s been around since 2009. Despite its old-school looks, the five reels and 15 paylines of Major Millions still pack a punch. Its progressive jackpot is worth, on average, more than £5 million every 21 days and you can play for this prize by betting £3 or more per spin.  

What happens when you take a standard video slot and enhance it with a random payline structure and progressive jackpots? That’s right, you get Mighty Griffin Megaways Jackpot King. This impressive offering from Blueprint Gaming lets you spin six reels from as little as £0.10. The Megaways structure means you’ll have up to 117,649 ways to win fixed prizes topping 50,000X. If that’s not enough, the Jackpot King network means you’ll have three progressive payouts to play for as well.

This Norse-themed slot is a tribute to Odin and warrior gods of a time gone by. There are five reels and 20 paylines in play and you can spin from as little as £0.20. What’s impressive about this progressive jackpot slot is that it has three top prizes: Mini, Midi, and Mega. Based on the stats, Hall of the Gods slots pay out a progressive prize every 24-26 weeks.

Another industry classic from Playtech, Beach Life started spinning back in 2006 and it’s still going strong today. A bet of at least £0.50 will set the five reels and 20 paylines in motion. As tropical symbols roll into view, wilds and scatters are on hand to help you pick up wins. If you can hit five wilds across an active payline, a progressive jackpot worth upwards of £1 million could be yours!  

The biggest progressive jackpot in history (as of 2021) was won by Brit, Jon Heywood. The retired serviceman wagered £0.25 on Mega Moolah in 2015 and bagged a top prize worth just over €17.8 million (£13.2 million at 2015’s conversion rate).

The record will probably be broken at some point. However, it’s an example of just how lucrative progressive slots can be. If you’re still not convinced, here are some more of the biggest slots jackpots won online:

• Mega Fortune – €17.8 million – Won by a mystery man from Finland in 2013.
• Mega Moolah Mobile – €8 million – Won by an anonymous mobile casino player in 2017.
• Hall of Gods - £6.3 million – Won by Neil, a Scottish man playing online slots for the first time in 2018.
• Jackpot Giant- £4.5 million – Won in 2016 by an anonymous player using an Android device.

You can find the best online jackpot slots at our recommended casino sites. We’ve worked hard to review all the leading platforms to ensure you get easy and direct access to the finest games in the industry. Therefore, if you want to find the top progressive jackpot slots, you should read our reviews. From there, it’s a case of testing out what’s available and settling on the spinners that suit.

To find the biggest progressive jackpots online, follow these four steps:

1. Read our online casino reviews.
2. Test out some of our recommended casinos to find a few you like.
3. Use the free-play demo slots at your preferred sites to get a feel for what each game offers.
4. Make a deposit and start playing for cash jackpots that could be worth millions.

Progressive slots are the proverbial top dogs when it comes to payout potential in the casino world. That doesn’t mean they’re the best games. You might prefer video slots or blackjack. However, if you’re interested in playing for the biggest prizes, nothing can top jackpot games. Now we’ve given you some background knowledge and a few pointers on where to start, the only thing left to do is join our top-rated casinos, make a deposit, and spin for mega slot prizes.

FAQ

Yes. Every online progressive jackpot slot at our recommended casinos will have a certificate of fairness issued by a third-party agency such as eCOGRA.

There’s almost no limit to the amount you can win from jackpot slots but prizes are usually worth more than £1 million. The top progressive slots online, such as Mega Moolah, often have prizes worth more than £10 million.

The biggest online progressive jackpot won (as of 2021) was £13.2 million. The largest slots jackpot won in any venue is $39.7 million. That was won on Megabucks at the Excalibur in Las Vegas.

Yes, you can play jackpot slots for free at our recommended online casinos. The free-play demo software gives you a virtual bankroll so you can enjoy everything the game has to offer. The only thing you won’t be able to do is win cash prizes.