We are all secretly hoping for that windfall – a sudden downpour of money that will change our lives forever. They say there is more chance of being struck by lightning than winning the lottery, but most of us still hold onto that ‘rescue fantasy’.
A progressive jackpot is one that gets bigger and bigger – until it is won by a lucky player. In years gone by, we could only access big prizes like this by heading to the nearest land-based casino. These days, the vast majority of progressive jackpot games are played online.
Fancy having a go at winning a jackpot prize worth or millions of pounds – but don’t know how they work?
Stay right there. In this guide, we at Casino Bonus explain the nuts and bolts of what a progressive jackpot is – as well as how to choose the best title for your gambling needs.
What are Progressive Jackpot Games?
A progressive jackpot game is the top prize of a slot, bingo, or other game such as video poker. The payout will continue to grow until someone is lucky enough to win it – often resulting in a pot worth a million or more pounds.
In fact, the biggest UK winner to date won a reported £17 million from an online slots game. If you are curious about how the online casino is able to payout such huge prizes then it will all make sense when we tell you – they don’t.
That is to say – and comparable to the national lottery, the reason a progressive jackpot continues to grow is that players buying tickets create a ‘pool’ – that collectively creates the top payout.
To get such impressive progressive jackpots, hundreds – if not thousands of different casino platforms join forces. As such, game after game, the pot will get bigger and bigger. This will continue until one person strikes lucky!
How Will the Progressive Jackpots be Paid?
We noted above that one progressive jackpot game will actually be held across hundreds or thousands of different casino sites. This is referred to as a ‘progressive jackpot network’ – meaning a centralised accumulation of player stakes is created.
Put simply, the developers who provide the underlying software act as a link between all participating online casinos. This ensures that each time someone places a bet, some of that stake goes into the progressive jackpot. This continues until a player wins. When they do the prize reverts back to zero, and the process starts again.
How to Select the Best Progressive Games
If you think that selecting a title to play is a simple case of finding the biggest prize – you might want to think again.
Instead, there are a handful of other factors to consider when looking for the best progressive jackpot games. To help you along the way we have listed the most important below.
Win Frequency
The win frequency at an online casino will be displayed to you as a percentage and will refer to a rate out of 100.
For instance, if the predicted win rate is 35% – this means that if you play the same slot title 1,000 times, you might expect to be successful on 350 individual spins. As such, the lower the percentage, the less often you will see a payout.
Minimum Stake Size
In order to be entitled to the progressive jackpot on offer, you may find that there is a minimum stake size in place.
For instance, just because the platform allows you to bet as little as £0.25 for a spin on your favourite slot – doesn’t mean you will be eligible for the big prize! On the contrary, some online casinos stipulate a slightly bigger stake – like £1.50 for instance.
Bigger bets mean a bigger jackpot for all – although with that said, millionaires have been created from stakes of less than 50p.
As such, whether you are playing at an online casino for fun, or consider it a potential money-making hobby – you don’t need to blow your whole budget based on the hope of bagging one impressive payout.
Average Jackpot Size
By checking historical jackpots on specific games, you will be able to calculate the payout average of it.
The reason for doing this is that you will be more likely to notice if the progressive prize on offer is higher than the average. In turn, this gives you an indication that the jackpot might be won in the very near future – therefore you may decide to jump on the bandwagon yourself.
Return to Player (RTP)
The RTP is the percentage an online casino game aims to payout. Importantly, this is worked out based on 1 million or more plays. In other words, this does not mean if you spend £10 in a day – you will get £9.50 back on a 95% RTP title.
To further clarify:
- Let’s say the RTP is 96% – this indicates that it’s probable you will win back 96% of every £1 bet on that specific game – over millions of plays
- Put another way, if you were to bet 100 x £1 bets on a game with an RTP of 98% – you could expect around £98 back – but over a very long period of time
Always check the RTP on any progressive jackpot game. Most titles these days are over 95%.
Progressive Jackpots: On the Move
The same handful of respected game developers tend to dominate the online casino space. Think along the lines of RealTime Gaming, Microgaming, Net Entertainment, and Playtech.
As such, the vast majority of progressive jackpot titles are designed to work like a dream on mobile phones and tablets alike.
Most of us are never too far from our phones, so it’s good to know that you will be able to play and enjoy the same standard of immersive progressive jackpot titles across all devices.
Progressive Jackpots: Promotions and Bonuses
It’s important to be mindful of the fact that, as mentioned above, it is the software providers themselves that are tasked with the responsibility of managing progressive jackpots.
As such, we at casino-bonus.me.uk often find that promotions and bonuses on offer cannot be used in conjunction with this type of game.
For instance, if you are offered free spins, matched deposit, or welcome deposit bonuses – there will usually be a stipulation that these free spins and credits must be used on non-progressive, themed or classic games.
Are Progressive Jackpot Games Trustworthy?
As you likely know, online casinos are usually regulated. The same goes for the developers providing the games to them. Well-known and respected regulators in this industry include the Gambling Commission, MGA, AGCC, and more.
The aforementioned regulators are responsible for giving online casinos a license to operate. Not only that, but platforms must submit audits, follow a multitude of rules, and pass all games onto an approved third-party Test House.
Test houses such as eCogra, GLI, and TST are tasked with conducting rigorous testing. Amongst other things, this includes playing the title thousands of times to assess the RNG.
Once the lab is satisfied that the game is truly random and fair – the casino is able to release it to the general public. As such, progressive jackpot games are generally trustworthy.
Progressive Jackpots: Finding the Best Sites
With so many online casinos opting into progressive jackpot networks, it can be hard to see the wood for the trees when looking for a good one.
It’s not a great idea to join an online casino purely for the impressive progressive jackpot on offer. Instead, we at casino-bonus.me.uk believe that the key to finding the best online casino for your playing style is to look over every aspect of the site.
For instance, as well as the progressive jackpot prizes, you should look at the RTP of games you know you are likely to play, check the wagering requirements, as well as the minimum deposit and withdrawal.
Finally, keep progressive jackpot games fun by not betting more than your casino budget allows.
