How Do Progressive Jackpot Slots at Online Casinos Work?

What makes lotteries exceptionally popular is that they give people the chance to win huge, life-changing sums of money. People around the world take part in national lotteries, while also buying tickets for other countries’ draws, hoping to win a large cash prize. You have to be incredibly lucky to win, but this doesn’t stop people from trying.

This is why progressive jackpots at online casinos are such a big hit with players. People who enjoy gambling online mostly spend money on casino games to win big. They know the odds are against them, but they’re still prepared to spend a bit of spare cash to see if they’re fortunate enough to become a major winner. If you’re curious about progressive jackpot slots and want to learn how they work, carry on reading this guide.

What Are Progressive Jackpot Slots?

Some online slots that you play at casino sites have one or more fixed jackpots. When a jackpot is fixed, this means it’s a multiple of your bet, usually a high one. Lots of respin rounds have several jackpots you can win. There could be one worth 10x your bet, another worth 100x and one worth 1,000x, for example.

Progressive jackpots work differently. They’re not a multiple of your bet; instead, they start at a set amount of money and grow whenever someone places a bet on the slot. They keep increasing until someone is lucky enough to win. When this happens, the progressive jackpot resets to its starting amount (known as the seed value) and starts growing again as people play the slot.

Some slots have just one progressive jackpot, whereas other slots have more than one. If there are multiple progressive jackpots, they usually have different seed values. The bigger the starting amount, the higher the progressive jackpot tends to reach and the less likely you are to win. 

Types of Progressive Jackpots

There are quite a few online slots with progressive jackpots and they don’t all work in the same way. Some progressive jackpots are unique to a particular slot. In other words, only people playing that specific online slot will contribute to the prize fund and can win it. 

Then there are progressive jackpots that are shared among multiple slots. The Mega Moolah series from Games Global is a prime example. There are around 30 slots with Mega Moolah in the title. Play any of these and a portion of each bet you place will contribute to the four Mega Moolah progressive jackpots. You also have a chance of winning any of these.

Some online casinos may have their own progressive jackpots that are unique to the site. Spin the reels of any eligible slot to make the prize grow and be in with a chance of winning it.

How to Win a Progressive Jackpot Prize

To win a progressive jackpot, even a relatively small one, you have to be extremely lucky. Your chances of winning are very low, especially for the jackpots that can reach six, seven or even eight figures.

Before playing a slot with a progressive jackpot, consult the paytable to find out what the features are and how they work. The paytable should clearly explain how to win a progressive jackpot. If there’s just one, any player has a chance of winning it whenever they place a bet. However, bigger bets have a better chance of winning. In some slots, your bet has to be a minimum size or greater.

If a slot has multiple progressive jackpots, there’s usually some kind of bonus round where you can win any of the cash prizes. This can trigger at random or when enough symbols of a certain type land on the reels. In the Mega Moolah slots, for example, you spin a wheel made up of 20 segments.

The biggest progressive jackpot, Mega, has just one segment. The smallest, by comparison, has 10. Even if you manage to play the bonus round, you have just a 1/20 chance of winning the biggest cash prize. You’re much more likely to win the smallest prize, which is still substantial.

Tips for Playing Progressive Jackpot Slots

It can be tempting to spend lots of money on progressive jackpot slots to boost your chances of winning. However, it's in your best interests not to do this. By all means, you should spend some spare cash on these slot games if you want, but you shouldn’t overdo it. Gambling is always best when its done in moderation.

If you want to play progressive jackpot slot games, focus on enjoying the slots for what they are. Don’t expect to win because the chances of doing so are ridiculously slim. Spend a little bit of money that you can afford to lose every once in a while. Keep your expectations in check and always stick to a budget.