What makes a progressive jackpot game different to a regular game or slot?
Seeing as most progressive jackpot games are slots, let’s use slots as an example.
On a regular slot, you enter your stake, press the button and the reels spin and when they settle, you have either won a predefined sum of money based on the combination of symbols, or you have lost.
A progressive slot operates in exactly the same way, but how your money is divided up for each spin is slightly different.
On a traditional slot your cash is divided two ways, a small percentage goes to the casino, the rest goes into the machine to pay out winning combinations.
On a progressive slot, the stake is split three ways. The largest share goes into the pot to pay out winning combinations, a small chunk goes to the casino and the third chunk goes into the progressive jackpot fund.
With every player and every spin, the amount in this progressive fund grows and given that this jackpot is rarely triggered, this can mean progressive games can see progressive jackpots well in excess of the highest traditional payout.
Although progressive jackpots are most common on slot machines, there are a number of new games, such as poker games, that are also using the progressive jackpot concept to offer customers huge potential jackpot wins.
How much could I win?
How much you can win on a progressive jackpot game depends on the machine, depending on the game jackpots can range from a few thousand pounds, to prizes guaranteed to be in excess of $1m and often well in excess of that.
The biggest ever Microgaming progressive slot win is $9.49m (£5.88m) by John Orchard on the Mega Moolah slot in December 2012.
Which are the most popular progressive jackpot games?
If you want to try some of the top progressive jackpot games just take a look at the list above, choose your favourite and play!
The key point to remember with progressive jackpots is that they are not won as often as traditional payouts on your choice of casino game, however when they are won, the amount people win can be a life-changing amount of money.
