The jackpot will always be the most captivating part of gambling. The very sight of such a big sum of money will always make the imagination of gamblers run wild, thinking of the reality of being able to call such a big sum of money their own. What would you spend it on? Where are we going on holiday? How many Mars bars could you buy with fifty grand? These are the kind of questions which must run through the heads of gamblers all across IE every day, as thousands of us gamble online in hope of cashing in and winning the lusted after the jackpot. Join Star Slots to win up to 500 Starburst Spins.
If you have found your way here to this article, you are about to learn all about jackpots online. This is an ultimate guide to jackpots and how they work, touching on the classic jackpots of fixed jackpot slots, as well as the popular progressive jackpot that is all the rage right now in the exciting world of online gambling. Slot games, in particular, are famous for their jackpot offerings, with so many games to choose from online that offer a jackpot feature. The modern online slot game really has grown into something spectacular in recent years, making for some amazing possibilities in terms of their themes, graphics, animations and of course, their jackpots. If you want to know more, simply read on deep into this ultimate guide to how jackpots work and more.
Read our article on why we are exciting for 2020's online slots!
What is a jackpot anyway?
A jackpot is, quite simply, a large cash prize given in a game. More often than not, it is the biggest prize that one can win during a certain game. The phrase jackpot originates from poker, in which the sum of money put in the middle of the table to play for was referred to as the jackpot. The pool or pot accumulated until a player could open the bidding with two jacks or better, hence the name jackpot. ‘Hitting the jackpot’ has now become a well known and often used phrase to describe being lucky or having something that may have been in doubt, very much go your way,
Different kinds of jackpot
Not only is the jackpot the most exciting part of gambling, it also comes in various forms, It tends to be a bit of an odds game, with the most unlikely jackpots offering bigger prizes and this being the result of them being attached to the outcome not only of the game before you, but of every single version of that game being played on the same server as you. This, of course, would make the likelihood of you being the lucky one who gets to cash in that jackpot more unlikely, making the rewards of doing so all the more sweet. Here we explain the different kinds of jackpots that you can expect to come across as you gamble online, spinning the reels of various slot games - some of which that have narratives almost exclusively tied to the jackpot in question. Let’s get into it and see if you learn a thing or two about different kinds of jackpots.
Standalone fixed jackpot
The standalone jackpot or the fixed jackpot more specifically, is basically the classic jackpot type. You will be used to seeing this jackpot style on old school fruit machines in the likes of pubs, clubs, chip shops, bars and wherever else you are able to put a few coins into the flickering box that is an offline slot machine. The online slot machine has fixed jackpot slots in abundance too as, despite the rise of progressive jackpot slots, some people to prefer to play new slot games the old fashioned way.
With a standalone fixed jackpot, you know what you are getting - or you know what you could be getting more so, should you activate that greatly lusted over jackpot. The fixed jackpot is called as such because it offers a fixed amount that you could win. The amount being offered as a jackpot does not change, it will stay set at an amount which, of course, will be the biggest amount you can win. As such, the fixed jackpot will be the most unlikely outcome that you can have on a slot machine, with the compensation being a hefty prize. In relation to some of the other jackpot types, these will also offer a smaller grand total. However, fixed jackpots tend to be easier to win than those jackpot types which we will cover shortly. So that is something to love about a classic jackpot, too.
Games with a fixed jackpot
There are so many games online with a fixed jackpot. So much so that is hard to pick out a few highlights in all honesty. For the sake of a classic, we recommend checking out the legendary Rainbow Riches, one of the oldest online slot games and still one of the most popular. It’s cheeky, Luck o’ the Irish offers plenty of Irish charm and a fixed jackpot that is well worth you hunting the proverbial pot of gold.
Other examples of great slot games with a fixed jackpot include Codfather, Foxin Wins and the Yggdrasil produced, Penguin City. This slot game is wonderfully well designed, as ever, Yggdrasil always hit the mark with their production value and good sense of humour. The game has 5 reels and plenty of animations going on in the background, with the Penguin City being set in some kind of China Town location inhabited exclusively by penguins. As you provide fish for the hungry inhabitants of this polar urban environment, you are rewarded with cash wins. A maximum win of 164700 coins in evidence of how fixed jackpot slots can provide huge wins, too. Another example of a good fixed jackpot slot game from Yggdrasil is their title, Wilhelm Tell. This game has a beautifully designed look and a great theme that goes into depth. The game offers a jackpot of 150x your stake that can amount to over €300,000. The game is geared around the character Wilhelm Tell, who is known for being handy with a bow and arrow. He can hit the bullseye with ease, let us hope that you can hit the jackpot!
Standalone progressive jackpot
Moving onto the progressive new online slots, these standalone progressive jackpots are good fun, too and also known as local progressive jackpots. Unlike the following jackpot types, these are not reliant on any other activity except what is going on in your slot game before you. No other online players will impact your likelihood of hitting this progressive jackpot which, as you make more bets, will steadily increase. It is very likely that you will be able to see the jackpot amount grow on your screen, as jackpots with a progressive slot tend to use the narrative of the jackpot growing and growing as the main point of focus in the game. These games reward patience and, despite being more unlikely to throw out a jackpot win than the likes of the classic fixed jackpot slot game, the rewards for hitting the big money is often larger. There has been a real rise in progressive jackpot slot games with a standalone style since slots began to thrive online. The possibilities of animation and growing game features makes this jackpot possible online, whereas you will find this kind of slot game very hard to find in a brick and mortar casino. As mentioned, you can expect a decent size prize in these games and they provide good fun for the manner in which that jackpot grows and grows. On the flip side, you will be a little underwhelmed if you hit a jackpot too early. That said, a jackpot is a jackpot at the end of the day so we are sure that, no matter what point you cash in a progressive jackpot, you will be happy with your takings.
Wide progressive jackpot
Wide progressive jackpot slots take the jackpot to a whole new level. Through the magic of online gaming, these jackpot slots are linked together on one server, often combining different titles to create one biog jackpot which is the result of all of the above. Linked online via one online casino at a time, these kinds of jackpots have been won and known to reach increased amounts of money that would change one’s life forever. The betting in these games can spread worldwide, with the nature of the global online gambling industry allowing for the potential for shared prize pools and jackpots. The amounts of money in said pots will grow and grow and grow and grow and, well, you get it. This will continue until one lucky player manages to trigger the jackpot in question. These games blur the lines between lottery-style gaming and slot games, offering smaller wins along the way of course. The result of this is a lottery fund sized prize, too, with some eye-watering amounts of money has been one over the years on these kinds of progressive jackpot slot games.
What with all the money on offer being the main pull or attraction of titles with a wide progressive jackpot, they tend to be more limited in terms of themes compared to the likes of jackpot slots. If you are looking to play a subversive slot game that takes you deep into another world, we would recommend finding a good slot game with great graphics and quite likely, a fixed jackpot. However, for many, other slot games cannot compete with the thrill of the progressive jackpot and the potential to become a millionaire with one simple spin of the reels.
Games with a wide progressive jackpots
The progressive jackpot of this kind is a phenomenon in its own right. The accessibility to games such as these has become amazing in recent years, with access to online gambling titles such as progressive slot games that have the potential to dish out millions, being possible from your smartphone. Imagine that. The same thing you use to post a selfie on Instagram or call your Mum about tea can be used to win millions of pounds. As such, there is no shortage of love for this genre of slot game and there are so many titles to choose from if you are looking for a slot game with a progressive jackpot prize. They are not hard to find and most major online casino websites offer these games, such is their popularity, an online casino would be foolish not to offer such a service, even it does open up the chances of them having to pay out some massive money. It’s all part of the fun of the gambling industry, after all. Look out for games that simply sound like they give out a lot of money. Mega Moolah provides a well-known example of a jackpot slot, offering huge sums of money for those who get the timing right and the reels on their side. This game rose to worldwide fame when it broke a record for paying out the most money that IE slot game has ever paid out to one lucky winner, who cashed in excess of €13 million. Thirteen million quid. Not bad for a few touches of a smartphone screen or clicks of a mouse on a desktop.
Progressive jackpot slots can come in many shapes, sizes and themes, but tend to be quite simple in comparison to your modern, all-action 3D spectacle of a slot game. Rather than relying on a great narrative or engaging graphics, progressive slot games need simply the appeal of massive money to keep people entertained, so do not expect to have your mind blown by graphics, animation, narratives, themes or anything else other than that big fat jackpot, which will grow as you play. Look out for Jackpot Raiders, Joker Millions, Mega Fortune, The Ruby and many other great titles, though, that do combine great graphics and gameplay with a giant jackpot offering.