In this guide, you’ll discover everything you need to know about progressive jackpots — plus a little more! Find out how they work, how you can participate in the contest for the jackpot, where you can play the most popular progressive jackpot games, and finally, how you can use online bonuses to your advantage.
Let’s dive in!
Progressive Jackpots Explained
A progressive jackpot game can be slots, table games, video poker, and more — however, these differ from their traditional counterparts because they have incredibly large jackpots. In fact, whenever a player anywhere in the world makes a bet in a progressive jackpot game, a portion of the bet goes toward the jackpot, which makes it rise every single time.
The most popular type of progressive jackpot game is slots. For example, every time a player anywhere in the world plays Microgaming’s Mega Moolah, the game’s jackpot climbs higher. Once someone hits it, it resets to its base amount.
How Can I Compete?
Playing a progressive jackpot game is easy enough. However, don’t assume that just by playing, you can qualify to win. Most progressive jackpot games require a minimum wager in order to qualify to win the progressive jackpot. If you want a chance at the jackpot, make sure to find out what the minimum is so you can qualify. Once you bet the minimum, leave the rest to Lady Luck.
Top Progressive Jackpot Games
There are hundreds of progressive jackpot games, but Microgaming is arguably the King of this game category. Its Mega Moolah series and Major Millions are some of the most popular progressive jackpots in the world. NetEnt, of course, has some stunners of its own: Divine Fortune, Mercy of the Gods, and Arabian Nights are just a few of the provider’s progressive jackpot titles. There are plenty of other popular progressive jackpots from other providers too, like Playtech’s Beach Life, Everi’s Wild Wild 7s, and IGT’s Mega Jackpots Golden Goddess.
Play Progressive Jackpot Games at Top Online Casinos
Progressive jackpots are popular among players from all around the world, so it’s no surprise that most online casinos offer at least a generous sprinkling for players to choose from. However, before jumping into the gameplay, it’s important to make sure that the online casino you choose lives up to your standards in other areas. A licensed casino is a must, but after that, check out the casino’s offerings with regard to payment options, security, customer support, languages, and more. You want to make sure that you're getting an all-around good experience.
Use Bonuses to Boost Your Chances
In most online casino games, you need to rely heavily on luck. However, there are certain things you can do to improve that luck. Online casino bonuses are a great way to get more bang for your buck when playing progressive jackpots. Many casinos offer bonuses for specific progressive jackpots, or you can use bonus money to play these games. As always, make sure to read every offer’s terms and conditions to make sure you can use the bonus funds toward the progressive jackpot games you desire.
Bottom Line
Progressive jackpot games have jackpots that climb incredibly high, which is why they enjoy global popularity. You can find progressive jackpots at most online casinos, though we highly recommend casinos that feature Microgaming and NetEnt progressive jackpots (and others — the more the merrier!). To make sure you qualify to win the jackpot, remember to bet the minimum requirement. And as always, make sure to play at a licensed online casino. If you’re not sure where to start, you can check out the reviews by our experts.
Did you know that there are many different types of online jackpots? Here are the four most popular that you should be aware of before deciding which casino game to play.
Standalone Progressive Jackpot This type of progressive jackpot exists in one game and one game only, but it’s progressive because a percentage of every bet drives up the jackpot.
Local Progressive Jackpot These are progressive jackpots that are limited to games within one land-based or online casino. A portion of each player’s bets drive up the jackpots, but only within a specific locality.
Linked Progressive Jackpots These are the progressive jackpots that players are most familiar with — games that are linked across a wide network in which the jackpots climb higher every time players place a wager.
Fixed Jackpot Slots A fixed jackpot can exist in many different types of games. Its amount is pre-set and doesn’t change with the different bets of players.
Without a doubt, the most famous name in online jackpot slots is the Mega Moolah progressive. Not only has it paid out many jackpots worth multiple millions it is also the highest paying online slot ever to be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. We have dedicated this section of our progressive jackpot resource to listing and tracking the most prominent online casino progressive jackpot wins.
| Progressive Jackpot | Date | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Mega Moolah Absolootly Mad | 27.04.2021 | $23.6M |
 | Mega Moolah | 28.09.2018 | $23.5M |
 | Mega Fortune | 20.01.2013 | $21M |
| | Mega Moolah | 06.10.2015 | $17.2M |
| | Mega Moolah | 27.04.2021 | $16.9M |
| | Mega Moolah | 28.09.2018 | $16.8M |
| | Mega Moolah | 20.08.2020 | $16.7M |
| | Mega Fortune | 24.09.2011 | $13M |
| | Mega Moolah | 17.08.2020 | $12.9M |
 | Jackpot Giant | 20.10.2018 | $12.2M |
Most progressive jackpots have lower RTPs than traditional slots and other games since the prize pool is so high. At the same time, the games are governed by sophisticated algorithms that produce random (and thus fair) results. So while there’s not much players can do to influence the outcomes of their spins, there are other outlying factors that players can take into account to maximize their chances of winning.
Stay updated with the most popular progressive jackpot status. Use our free jackpot tickers tracker to learn about each jackpot's status and when it's best to play it.
| Status | Definition |
|---|---|
| The Jackpot amount is not available | N/A |
| The Jackpot amount is below average | Don't Play |
| The Jackpot amount is near average | Maybe Play |
| The Jackpot amount is above average | Play Now |
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Progressive jackpots are popular because their prize pools — aka the jackpots — can reach extremely high amounts. This is due to the way progressive jackpots are designed and operated.
Progressive jackpots are connected to each other via a network, so when a player in Nigeria places a bet on Mega Millions, the jackpot goes up for players around the world. A portion of each bet goes toward the progressive jackpot, and it means that it’s constantly climbing. When a player hits it eventually, it gets reset to its minimum.
Progressive jackpots can be connected to many types of games, though slots tend to be the most popular. Other progressive games include Caribbean Stud Poker, Let it Ride, roulette, blackjack, bingo, and lotteries.
Fixed jackpots are predetermined amounts that players can win when playing a certain game. The amount doesn’t increase based on the players betting. Progressive jackpots, on the other hand, are connected to players’ bets. They increase with every bet, so every win is a different amount. A fixed jackpot can’t get higher or lower, but a progressive jackpot often grows very high.
We get it — a game with a ridiculously high jackpot might sound too good to be true, but these games are real and produce real winners. However, since they are all based on luck, it’s impossible to predict how often a player will hit the jackpot or the frequency of winners. As long as you bet the minimum wager for jackpot eligibility, you have a chance at legitimately winning a huge jackpot.
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