Progressive Jackpots

For those of you that may not be familiar with the online casino gaming world as much as others, you may ask: what are progressive jackpots? The answer can be explained rather simply. There are non-progressive jackpot games, and progressive jackpot games. Non-progressive jackpots always contain a fixed jackpot, whilst progressive jackpots have no fixed jackpot. This means that progressive jackpot games’ prizes can rise quite high, and will continue to do so until they are won.

How are progressive jackpots created?

Progressive jackpots can see their prize total rise in one of two ways. There are those that are wager based, and those which aren’t. Wager based progressive jackpots will see the jackpot total increase every time that a wager is made on the game. However, those which aren’t based on a wager are always rising, irrespective of whether somebody is placing a bet on the game at that moment, or not. The progressive jackpots which aren’t based on wagers, often have a considerably higher jackpot total than those that are based on wagers.

By and large, the most popular progressive jackpot games are online slots. There are many ways that progressive jackpots can be won on slots. Some require specific winning combinations, others are awarded at random, and some are offered via bonus games. There are even a handful of slots that offer you a prize-draw progressive. We’ll explain each of the different ways that you can win a progressive jackpot a little bit here.

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Winning combination/paylines

Many progressive jackpot slots require players to line up specific icons in order to win a progressive jackpot. These may be jackpot icons, the highest paying standard symbols, or even wild icons. Using the paylines that are in play, the player must make a five-of-a-kind using the same symbols on a payline, in order to win the progressive. This is quite a challenging way to win a progressive jackpot on a slot game. The task becomes even more difficult if the player is required to match up those icons on a specific payline, as is sometimes the case. Playtech’s Beach Life is a prime example of this kind of progressive jackpot.

Randomly triggered jackpots

Randomly triggered jackpots are by far the easiest progressives to win. There are little to no requirements for you to win a progressive jackpot randomly. All you need to is ensure that you are wagering an appropriate amount. Some progressive jackpots can be randomly triggered after a winning spin. Some have even been known to award their jackpot to a player who has just lost on a spin. There is no protocol for it. If it happens, it happens. Your chances of winning a randomly triggered jackpot are just as good as anybody else’s. Microgaming’s The Dark Knight is an excellent example of a randomly triggered progressive jackpot slot.

Pick and Win progressives

Some progressive jackpot slots only pay out their progressives in a bonus game. Some bonus games ensure that players will win a progressive, and others also have consolation prizes if the player fails to win a progressive. One of the ways that this can happen is via a pick and win bonus.

If the player triggers a progressive bonus round (and it is a pick and win bonus), they will need to choose from a number of boxes or icons on the screen. If they match up the three jackpot icons, they will win the progressive. More often than not, these bonus rounds result in consolation prizes being paid out. Playtech’s Marvel themed progressive jackpot slots have a pick and win bonus game, where you are guaranteed to win a progressive jackpot.

Jackpot wheel progressives

Another way to win progressives in a bonus round can be via a jackpot wheel. This is the format that Mega Fortune (a major progressive jackpot from Net Entertainment), has chosen to go with. Once the bonus round has been triggered, the player must spin a series of wheels, and on the innermost wheel will be the big money progressive. You could end up with a progressive jackpot, or a consolation prize with this kind of bonus game. Microgaming’s Mega Moolah game however, ensures that you win a progressive via a jackpot wheel.

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Prize-Draw progressives

There are a handful of progressive jackpot slots that carry prize-draw progressives. Playtech’s The Love Boat is one such example. Here, the player must acquire specific bonus icons, with each one that they pocket giving them one entry into a prize-draw. At the end of a predetermined period of time, those players with those entries are entered into the prize-draw. One lucky winner will be drawn to win the progressive.

Shared progressives

The final type of progressive jackpot slot is that which offers shared progressives. If one player wins a progressive jackpot, then several other players will also share in that jackpot. The terms for sharing vary from game to game. Some state that you have to have wagered X amount on the day that the jackpot has won, and others say that you have to be currently wagering when the jackpot is won. Either way, you can win a share of the progressive without having actually won it yourself. Everybody’s Jackpot is a solid example of this kind of progressive jackpot slot.

Multiple progressive jackpot slots

Lately, slots with multiple progressive jackpots have become quite popular. There is a good reason for slots having multiple progressives. Not everybody can afford to place high bets in order to win big money. So, by having multiple jackpots, everybody can have a crack at it. Which jackpot you are currently playing for often depends on how much you are wagering. Small stake bets may entitle you to play for a mini jackpot, whilst big money bets may get you a chance at the mega jackpot. Both Microgaming and Playtech’s major slot machine games are quality examples of slots that feature progressive jackpot slots. There are four progressives in their games.

The price of playing a progressive

It is quite common for online slots that only contain one progressive jackpot to ask a lot of you. This means that you are going to have to wager the maximum bet, in order to stand any chance of winning it. By asking you to place a ceiling bet, the slot ensures that players who place smaller bets won’t win a progressive over those who gamble a lot. It is kind of unfair, but fair at the same time, if you follow?

If you happen to be playing a progressive jackpot slot offering just one jackpot; it is always advised that you read the rules on the pay-table. Nobody would like to land the best paying five-of-a-kind combination, only to realise that the combination they have only pays out X coins instead of the progressive, because they didn’t place the maximum stake bet!

The biggest ever progressive pay-outs

Over the years there have been some really impressive jackpots paid out to online casino revellers from progressive games. At present, the current record is £15,143,600, which was paid out to a Finnish player on Net Entertainment’s Mega Fortune slot in 2013. Hilariously – and in so doing, becoming the envy of the gaming world – the man only wagered 25p to win the entire lot!

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In 2014, one player scooped over £6,000,000 playing Net Entertainment’s Hall of Gods slot; and there have been many multi-millionaires made with the Mega Moolah, Gladiator, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Beach Life, and Dark Knight slots, as well as Playtech’s Marvel progressive jackpot slots. To be fair, Playtech’s Marvel slots are won more regularly, so their jackpots are never as high.

Non-slot progressive games

It isn’t all about slots, though. There are many other types of progressive jackpot casino games on the net. Some poker games contain progressive jackpots, and it is not unheard of to find progressives in online bingo, keno and instant win games, too. Of course, the way that these progressives are constructed, and the way that they pay out differ from online slots. How could they not?

Take poker progressives for instance. Some poker progressives are found in tournaments. When this happens, it will be the winner of the tournament, not the winner of an individual hand, which will win the progressive. Other poker games can see you win the progressive on the outcome of a single hand. You will often need to place side-bets in order to stand a chance of winning the progressive, and you’ll often need a Royal Flush to make it happen. You see – it is no small feat!

Bingo game progressives are often won by calling a full house within a specific number of balls. Sometimes, these are known as snowball games. They aren’t really true progressives, but many consider them to be the same.

Keno works in a similar way. In Keno, it is exceptionally rare to land all of your predications, but in some games, if you do, you’ll win a progressive jackpot. Instant win games can have progressives, though it is rare. Lottery games can also have progressive jackpots, although to be fair, they are progressive by nature, anyway. This is true as the jackpot of a lottery game increases with every wager that is made, much like bingo. The more bets that are placed, the bigger the sum that you can win.