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What is a Progressive Slot Machine?

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Top online casinos host plenty of exciting games, but few match the thrill of a progressive slot machine. Such titles are easy to play and offer exciting themes, dynamic mechanics, and a chance to win the industry’s biggest jackpots.

Sounds intriguing? Learn more about progressive slots with our comprehensive guide. Explore their design, features, biggest wins, and most popular jackpot games you can play today. 

Progressive slots explained

Progressive slot machines are similar to any other slot games found at the best slot sites. They feature grids with various reel, row, and payline combos, vibrant themes, special features, and fun visuals paired with immersive soundtracks.

What makes these games stand out is their reward potential. Instead of a fixed max payout, they feature jackpot prizes that grow over time with every player’s losing bet.

These jackpots have the potential to reach life-changing amounts before someone wins them, giving players a chance to score a massive payout on a single spin. Naturally, this perk makes them some of the most sought-after games in both land-based and online casinos today.

Mega Moolah slot jackpot

How do progressive slots work?

To answer the question “what is a progressive slot machine?”, you need to delve into the mechanics of how the jackpot both rises and eventually triggers.

Each game has a jackpot seed value — the initial amount the jackpot starts from and resets to once it’s won. This sum increases by taking a percentage of each losing wager placed in the game. Yet, its growth doesn’t unfold similarly for all progressive slots.

Local progressive slots accumulate their jackpots from bets placed only on that particular game. In contrast, network progressive slots collect funds from a collection of the same developer’s games across multiple casinos. These variations impact how quickly the jackpots grow and how high they can reach.

Still, both categories run on the same basic idea. To win, all you have to do is:

  1. Choose your bet size
  2. Spin the reels
  3. Land a specific group of symbols

In some cases, you need to unlock a special feature with the symbols you hit (Mega Moolah or Divine Fortune), and in others, you must place a specific bet size to qualify for a shot at the jackpot amount (Dancing Drums or King Cashalot).

Online vs. brick-and-mortar progressive slot machines

Progressive jackpots in online slots have emerged from their land-based counterparts, carrying over the fascinating maths and economics of slot machines. However, new trends in tech and iGaming have led to certain disparities between the two.

Here are a few points where brick-and-mortar and online progressive slot machines differ:

Jackpots: Most land-based progressive slots draw their jackpots from a limited number of games in a single casino. The result of this is smaller maximum jackpots compared to the ones in online progressives, which pool funds from multiple casinos and larger slot networks.

Payout frequency: Online progressive slots tend to pay out more frequently because they draw from larger player bases. Brick-and-mortar games are restricted by a limited number of players who can access the machine at any one time.

Convenience: Land-based and online progressive slot games aren’t equally accessible. Online slots are available 24/7 on desktop and mobile, making them easier to play at your leisure.

Variety: Brick-and-mortar casinos’ space limitations and smaller player bases make hosting many progressive slots unprofitable. Online casinos, however, don’t have these issues, so they often offer a wider variety of progressive jackpots.

Brick-and-mortar casinos tend to have a slot machine-dedicated section.

What type of progressive slot jackpots are there?

Progressive slot jackpots come in different structures, with various mechanisms deciding how prizes are awarded. While many jackpots build continuously and are triggered randomly, others follow a ‘must-be-won’ model, where the prize is guaranteed to drop before a specific parameter. Let’s take a look:

What is a progressive slot with tiered jackpots?

A progressive slot with a tiered jackpot is a game with multiple payout levels. These may be styled as something like Mini, Minor, Major, and Mega, although different categorizations may be used depending on the game.

The lower tiers offer fixed jackpot sums, typically between 10x and 1,000x your stake, and trigger more frequently. However, the top jackpot prizes sometimes use a progressive mechanism, which rises over time until eventually dropping into a lucky player’s account.

What is a progressive slot with a must-be-hit jackpot?

“Must-hit-by” jackpot slots function similarly to standard progressive jackpots, where all losing players’ bets contribute to the prize pool. However, instead of triggering randomly, these jackpots are guaranteed to drop before a certain specification is met. There are two main types:

Time-based jackpots – Must be won before a specific deadline, such as an hour, day, or week.

Value-based jackpots – Must be won before a specific value, such as $50,000.

This design brings an element of anticipation and suspense, drawing more players in as the jackpot nears its limit.

How do you know when a progressive slot machine is going to hit?

Various strategies for landing the jackpot have been sought over the years, with players attempting to bet at optimal times when they believe the main prize will drop. For instance, this could be finding hot slot machines that haven’t paid out for a while at the best slot casinos and land-based venues.

Others use online jackpot trackers to help. Here, you can check whether the current jackpot is higher than its recent average payout and if more time has passed since the last win than its usual win frequency suggests. These trackers update in real time, giving you the best chance of picking out the best possible slot.

Some land-based progressive slot machines pay out life-changing amounts.

There are also theories explaining how to use the expected value (EV) in “must-hit-by” slots to your advantage. Subtract the game’s return-to-player (RTP) from its EV and check whether the jackpot outweighs the expected loss. This tells you if you will reduce the house edge on this particular game.

However, it’s important to remember that all slots are games of chance, and there is no surefire method for predicting when a jackpot will trigger. Slots operate on random number generators (RNGs), ensuring that each spin’s outcome is independent of previous results.

While certain strategies may enhance the playing experience, such as betting maximum wagers, the ultimate result is always left to chance.

Biggest progressive jackpot wins of all times

Progressive jackpot games have paid out millions to lucky winners over the years. Here are a few of the biggest rewards:

$39.9 million jackpot — The highest online slot jackpot win was recorded by provider Games Global on their WowPot Mega slot. This game is part of a progressive network that’s paid out to over 5 million players throughout the years.

$39.7 million jackpot — In 2023, a 25-year-old player hit a $39.7 million jackpot on the Megabucks(R) slot in the Excalibur Hotel-Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. By then, the game had rewarded over $400 million to 58 players.

$22.4 million jackpot — Mega Moolah, arguably the most iconic online progressive slot machine, paid out over $22 million to a Belgian player in 2021. The win held the world record title for the largest online slot jackpot for several years.

$18 million jackpot — Mega Fortune, NetEnt’s famous progressive slot game, released more than $18 million to a 40-year-old Finnish player in 2013. The reward marked this renowned developer’s second jackpot-related global record.

While the overall structure of progressive jackpot slots is similar, the specific themes, features, and top prizes will vary from game to game. Likewise, casinos source their games from different providers, meaning you won’t find the same collection on each site. We’ve picked out three of the most popular jackpot slots online today.

Mega Moolah (Microgaming)

Mega Moolah is a simple African safari-themed slot featuring a jackpot wheel, which is where the major payouts lie. Despite its simple graphics and mechanics, it’s among the most rewarding online games you can play today, as the jackpot records show.

Players call it the “million maker” for delivering more jackpots worth over $15 million than any other slot in the last decade. So, if you were wondering, “What is a progressive slot machine where I can win a hefty jackpot?” — this game fits the bill.

Aztec Millions (RealTime Gaming) 

Aztec Millions is another popular progressive slot that launched during the mid-to-late 2000s. Much like the above, it was designed to play on a 5-reel, 25-payline structure, though with an Aztec-inspired theme.

According to statistics, its bonus-based jackpot has triggered every 5 years or so, paying out over $2 million on average.

Hall of Gods (NetEnt)

NetEnt’s Hall of Gods is another progressive slot machine players gravitate toward. The game centers on the ever-popular mythology theme and plays on a straightforward 5×3 grid with 20 fixed paylines. Plus, it offers tiered jackpot rewards.

The bonus round lets you smash shields with Thor’s hammer for a chance at Mini, Major, and Mega jackpots. In 2017, a Norwegian player scooped the $8 million jackpot through this feature alone.

Conclusion

Progressive slot machine games are one of modern casinos’ most sought-after categories for a reason. Besides being fun and easy to play, they offer a shot at lottery-like rewards within a single spin.

Of course, no progressive slot machine strategy can guarantee you’ll win this amount, but that’s part of the thrill. These slots’ jackpots trigger randomly, giving everyone an equal shot at hitting it big.

FAQ

What’s the difference between progressive and non-progressive slots?

How can you tell if a slot machine is progressive?

How often do progressive slots hit?

References

The Fascinating Maths and Economics of Slot Machines (The Guardian)

World Record Slot Jackpot Hits at Excalibur in Las Vegas (IGT)

New world record – Net Entertainments slot game Mega Fortune™ pays out 17.8 MEUR (NetEnt)

Games Global WowPot! pays out €38.4m (iGaming Business)

Our Editorial Standards

At ValueWalk, we’re committed to providing accurate, research-backed information. Our editors go above and beyond to ensure our content is trustworthy and transparent.

Aman Jain
Finance & iGaming Writer

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