If you’re the kind of person who likes to play for the big bucks, then you’re in the right place.
This site is dedicated solely to the eye watering progressive jackpots that you can find at various online casinos, the kind of jackpot that will turn you into an instant millionaire!
We cover everything from how these jackpots work, where the money comes from, even what happens when you win one, so if you have questions then chances are we have the answer.
There is a lot of general information below, but you can find detailed articles on some of the biggest progressive jackpot slots around by using the menus above or to the right.
Enjoy, and good luck jackpot hunters.
Popular Jackpots
What’s the Biggest Jackpot That’s Been Won Online?
We go into this in more detail on our jackpot tracker page, but if you’re looking for a quick answer as to how big these wins can get here’s a quick run down of the top five:
- Mega Moola – £16 million
- Hall of Gods – €7.8 Million
How Do Progressive Slot Jackpots Work?
As you can see from the above list, we’re talking some pretty serious numbers. But where does it come from? The answer to this is quite simple. Every time you spin a small portion of the bet goes into a prize fund, meaning that the longer the jackpot goes without being won the bigger it is.
Most commonly this will be 1% of your stake; so if you are playing £1 spins a penny of each spin will contribute to the jackpot. It might not sound like much, but the number of people playing these games, sometimes all over the world, means that the prize pool climbs rapidly – you can often see it growing in real time on the more popular games.
So, in this way the slot playing community continually chip in until one lucky so and so triggers the big one and takes home the lot.
This is always a random occurrence, not even the developers know when the jackpot will be triggered, it is all left to the algorithms in the game’s random number generator. This is the same device that decides which symbols show up each time you spin, and every slot has one built in. An RNG (as it is more commonly known) is a finely tuned mathematical machine that runs through hundreds of possible outcomes each second, keeping the game true to its RTP percentage and ensuring randomness and fairness.
The RTP of a progressive slot is often lower than that of a regular slot, but this is normal and understandable as the jackpot has to be factored in.
That’s the basics covered, but there are a few other things to be aware of too.
Network Jackpots vs Local Jackpots
Now, a lot of people think the casino they are playing at is responsible for the jackpot they are hoping to win, but this is becoming less and less true.
Network jackpots are much more common these days. These are run by the game developer rather than the casino, and the developers will license their games out to as many casinos as possible as that is how they make their money.
These types of jackpots are more common because they allow prize pots to grow much higher much more quickly, and multi-million pound jackpots get headlines and attract players, which is the ultimate aim for developers and casinos alike.
So a network jackpot is actually one single prize being played for across multiple different casinos, often hundreds of them. For example, Mega Moolah is a network jackpot. It is attached to the same game in every casino, but the people playing at casino A in the UK and the people playing at casino B in Finland (or wherever) are all contributing to the same pot.
This means that thousands upon thousands of players are all chipping in their 1% so the pot grows in no time – it’s a bit like crowdfunding – but the downside is that there is obviously a lot more competition.
On the other side of things, a local jackpot (sometimes called a casino specific jackpot) is only contributed to by players at a single casino, so the pot tends to be much smaller but your chances of winning it are higher.
A local jackpot is still a progressive though, because the pot builds in the same way, but from fewer players.
Multi Game Jackpots
On a similar note, there are some jackpots that can be played across a number of different games, sometimes referred to as being ‘linked jackpots’.
This is the exact same prize pot, but it is being contributed to from several different games meaning players can get some variety while remaining in the running for the big prize.
Playtech’s Age of the Gods series is probably the most famous example of this, but their DC Comics slot series are the same deal. There are six or seven different slots with varied base games and features, but they are all attached to the same progressive jackpot. These are network jackpots too, so you can play any game from the series at any number of casinos and you will be trying to win the exact same pot of money.
Local multi game jackpots exist too, but again, they are rarer.
The Jackpot King is a good example of this. It is a jackpot mechanism that can be integrated into a pre-existing non-jackpot game, to turn it into a jackpot game. In this instance, the pot is spread across a number of games, like The Goonies, King Kong Cash, and Fishin’ Frenzy, and the prize builds like any other progressive. However, the amount available to win is different at each site you visit.
This is because the pot available at Ladbrokes, for example, will have been built by Ladbrokes players only, while the pot built across the same line of games at William Hill will be a different amount, because only William Hill players have contributed to that one.
If you do see the same amount at different sites it will be because both sites are owned and operated by the same company. Ladbrokes and Coral are a good example of this as they are both owned by Entain plc.
Jackpot Seeds
If a jackpot has just been won, why would anyone go back and play the game? The incentive is gone so it is just a regular slot with no jackpot and a lower RTP, right? Not true.
Every progressive has a seed amount. That is to say an amount at which the jackpot starts from. The developers need players to keep spinning the reels or the jackpot will never build back up enough to make the game appealing, so they start it off with say £100,000. This would make the game in question one that seeds at £100k.
The seed has to be high enough to attract players, but it can’t be too much as it is taken from the contributions to the previous pot, so the developers need to get the balance right.
A recently won jackpot slot does tend to slow down a little immediately afterwards as players seek more lucrative opportunities, but as the pot grows the crowds come back in their droves and the money starts to rise faster and faster.
Does Stake Size Affect Chances of Winning?
It does and it doesn’t.
Some jackpots require players to bet a minimum stake or to bet on all paylines to be in with a chance of winning, so in this instance the stake definitely impacts your jackpot chances because you are simply excluded unless you bet past a certain level; but even in progressive games that don’t have such strict rules the stake size will have an effect.
That’s not to say you can’t win on a 10p spin, many people have done, but the stats are better if you are spinning for bigger amounts.
The reason it’s a yes and no question is because it is all scaled fairly. So whilst a 10p bet might give you a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of triggering the jackpot (we are picking numbers out of the air here just to demonstrate the point), a £1 bet might give you a 10 in 1,000,000 chance of triggering the jackpot.
Think of it like a raffle; the more tickets you buy the more chance you have of winning, but each individual ticket has the exact same chance of being drawn whether it was bought on its own or with 100 others.
Daily, Hourly, Must Drop Jackpots
Some jackpots have a time or prize level limit, which adds another dynamic.
It stands to reason that a jackpot that is close to its ‘must drop’ point is going to be more popular than usual, because it has to drop soon. Players aren’t stupid, so they know that if they spot an as yet untriggered jackpot that is close to its time limit they should get involved.
Some of these are actually part of other progressives, such as the Jackpot King game mentioned earlier, but they work a little differently.
In the case of Jackpot King, all those 1% contributions go to the overall pot, which is then divided into three. The main jackpot has no limit and will trigger completely at random, but the other two both have prize level limits:
- The Royal Pot – Must be won by £3,500
- The Regal Pot – Must be won by £35,000
The Royal drop much more regularly than the Regal for obvious reasons, but each give players an extra incentive to play especially if the current prize is close to the must drop amount. In our image below, both pots are a little way off yet:
This isn’t to say that the pots drop when they get to the upper limit, they can drop at any time before, but there is a definite cut off point.
Other jackpots are structured differently and may have hourly, daily, and weekly pots alongside a main life changing jackpot. Sometimes these can be tailored to each individual casino, so the casino can decide on the time limit for example, and some make it possible to trigger the jackpot feature but not actually win a jackpot at all, rather an increased multiple of your stake.
This keeps things exciting right up until the last moment, but it’s also not disappointing when you don’t win a jackpot because you will at least walk away with 80x your stake, for example.
What Happens When You Win a Major Jackpot?
The smaller jackpots are usually paid out like any other win would be, but what if you hit a jackpot worth hundreds of thousands, or even millions of pounds?
Well, once the screaming stops, you should make a note of the time, the game you were playing and the amount you have won, or even better take a screenshot. This is just for extra safety in case of any bumps in the road, but provided you are playing at a legitimate licensed casino you should be fine.
The money will usually be credited to your account instantly, and the casino may also call you up to congratulate you and discuss how to take things forward. With it being such a large amount of money there may be some extra ID checks or double checks too, as well as confirming the win was genuine and not a technical glitch; this can happen – can you imagine the disappointment!?
Another thing they may do is ask whether or not you want to go public with your win. Many do not for fear of hassle from begging letters and the like, but some don’t mind. Some casinos even offer to put big winners in touch with financial advisors who can help them adjust to their new found wealth and give them advice on how best to handle the money.
However the casino manages things, you should be able to get all of the money transferred to your bank account fairly quickly and in one transaction. Alternative banking options don’t tend to be recommended for such large amounts though – the fees would be pretty big for a start.
Depending on your location and the developer of the game you were playing when you won the jackpot, the deal may be that the money is paid to you in instalments over the course of a year, and some questionable casinos may even try to hold you to their weekly withdrawal limits which can be as low as £5k a week.
This is why you need to know the terms at the site you are using before you start playing, but if you stick to well known names with UK gambling licenses and do a tiny bit of research this is unlikely to be an issue.
Can You Play Jackpots with a Bonus?
Play? Yes. Win? That depends.
You have to be extremely careful with your expectations when it comes to winning jackpots with bonus funds because there is no definitive answer. Some casinos do allow you to claim a jackpot win using bonus funds, but many still do not.
A casino might let you play your bonus on slots with jackpots attached, but the terms of the offer will often contain a maximum win limit from bonus funds, and even wagering requirements. This maximum limit may still be applied even if you land a jackpot worth millions.
On the one hand it is fair enough; you didn’t actually wager your own money so what makes you think you have the right to such a windfall? One the other hand it’s outrageous; they have agreed to an offer that can be used in conjunction with a jackpot game, so if you are lucky enough to win that jackpot it should be yours, regardless of where the stake came from.
It doesn’t really matter what your opinion is here, all that matters is the rules at the casino you are using, so make sure you check them before you play and that you understand what you are agreeing to when you accept a bonus.
It used to be the case that no company would ever pay out a jackpot win on a free spins offer, but things have changed in recent times. This is better for players but until a consensus is reached industry wide it will remain a slightly confusing grey area.
Jackpot Games
Age of the Gods
This is the first in a huge series of progressive jackpot games, all themed around ancient Gods and Myths.
Arabian Nights
A traditional style low volatility slot with a big jackpot that will be either local or global depending on where you play.
Beach Life
Another Playtech title, this is a holiday and hedonism themed slot which requires a bet on all 20 paylines to be in with a chance of winning the jackpot.
Cosmic Fortune
This space themed game had a five tier jackpot that could pay anything from a few hundred pounds to a few hundred thousand pounds.
Divine Fortune
Plenty of special features alongside the jackpot make this a serene and tranquil slot a firm favourite with players. A Megaways version also exists but does not contain the jackpot.
Esmeralda
A very modest jackpot among the others on this list, but it pays out on average once a day and the free spin feature can retrigger indefinitely.
Funky Fruits
This is a simple game which pays out for grouping symbols together rather than having paylines. Aside from the jackpot there are no other features.
Gladiator
Based on the famous film and even featuring characters as symbols, this jackpot drops fairly frequently and seeds at £50,000.
Hall of Gods
One of NetEnt's flagship jackpot slots, Hall of Gods is based on Norse mythology and has three different sized pots avaialble.
Jackpot Giant
This 50 payline progressive seeds at £100,000 and boasts an entertaining base game thanks to its medium to low volatility.
Jackpot King
Available on a number of games, the Jackpot King contains 3 pots and can also be worth different amounts at different online casinos.
Joker Millions
A simple slot with basic symbols and a modern look, but a potential multi-million jackpot that could change lives.
King Cashalot
One of the earliest jackpot slots still in operation, having been released in 2004. There's nothing old and dusty about the jackpot though.
Leprechaun's Luck
A bright and colourful slot with a tasty jackpot, plenty of in game features, but a very low RTP.
Major Millions
An old school title from an equally old school developer. There are no bells and whistles with Major Millions but it has made plenty of people rich.
Mega Drop
Offering a unique take on global progressive jackpots, the Mega Drop offers players the chance to play as part of a syndicate if they want to.
Mega Fortune
This NetEnt slot dropped a world record breaking prize in 2013 when it paid out over 17 million Euros to one lucky winner.
Mega Fortune Dreams
A progressive with three tiered jackpots and a decent freespins bonus round to boot.
Mega Jackpots
A single jackpot that seeds at £500,000. The chances of winning are weighted by the size of your bet.
Mega Moolah
Microgaming developed one of the most famous progressives in the world in Mega Moolah. It's a simple game with a jungle theme and 4 different pots won through a bonus round.
Mercy of the Gods
A NetEnt title boasting 3 jackpots; two fixed pots and a progressive serving as the main event. The game can be played for as little as 20p per spin.
Reel King Mega
Comprised of 3 progressive jackpots; a daily jackpot, must go jackpot, and a limitless progressive. The base game also has a few random features including super symbols.
Super Lucky Frog
A NetEnt game with 3 themed jackpots, each one worth more than the last. A simple game which uses a wheel spin to dish out the top prizes.
Tunzamunni
A 3 reel game by Microgaming from way back in 2004, with a jackpot that can only be won by playing the maximum bet.