Progressive jackpots, particularly those for slots, are responsible for the largest wins in the history of the online gambling industry. There have been a number of major wins in the eight-figure range, maybe a dozen or two, in the 20+ years that this industry has been running, and they always make the news rounds because people are so interested to see how someone could take down a life-changing sum of money on a single spin.
The basic concept of the progressive jackpot
The concept of a progressive jackpot itself is pretty straightforward, and it has been the basis for a number of major jackpot prizes in a ton of different non-slot games like the lottery, poker, table games and more. The basic idea is that the jackpot is started off by what’s known as a seed value, which is an amount put up by the house to start off the jackpot. Once that seed value is established, every bet made on the game in question adds a small amount to the jackpot. Generally, about three to five percent of each wager is added directly to the progressive jackpot itself.
This adding to the pool happens over and over again, and the jackpot itself gets larger and larger, until someone eventually hits the right winning combination and takes it down. From there, the house sets up a new jackpot with new seed money, and the process repeats itself again. There are a number of variations on this theme, however, and there are different ways that online casinos in particular can make the jackpots even higher that we’re going to take a look at here.
Pooled progressive jackpots
The easiest way to make sure that you end up with really big jackpots several times each year is to make sure as many people as possible are playing the game in question. To achieve this, many online casino software providers have what are known as pooled progressives, and this means that people who play the same game across several different online casinos are all contributing to the same jackpot prize pool. This allows a ton of people from all over the world to contribute to the same jackpot, and the biggest prizes on the world record list have all been the result of pooled progressives that follow this same pattern.
The Biggest Names when it comes to progressive jackpot slot machines
For example, there are two big names in online progressive jackpot slots that have traded the world record title back and forth for a while. Those names are Mega Fortune by Net Entertainment and Mega Moolah by Microgaming. Both of these games actually have multiple progressive jackpots, but the top one always has a seed value of 1 million, so players always have a shot to become an instant millionaire in each of these games, regardless of how long it’s been since someone hit the jackpot last.
Why progressive jackpot slots are so popular
Major jackpots mean a lot of attention and a lot of players looking to get in on the action. For these reasons, it’s in an online casino’s best interests to make sure that players have a great experience with their progressives. It’s also what drives the need for pooled progressives and for ridiculously large prizes that will completely change the life of the eventual winner. Even though these progressives get larger and larger over time, eventually someone always wins them, and then it’s time for the jackpot to start over at the seed value to see it all happen again.
Where to play online jackpot slots
Most online casinos now have a wide selection of different progressive jackpot slots from the most popular game providers such as NetEnt, Microgaming, Blueprint Gaming and Playtech, to mention a few. If you wan’t to try your luck on a progressive slot, we recommend that you do so at established and renowned online casino.
Find a recommended online casino to play at here