Online Pokies NZ
Progressive jackpot slots are undoubtedly amongst the most popular pokies games at the online casinos that we recommend. While the gameplay on most progressive jackpot games is engaging, and the production standards high, there is no denying that the primary reason people play is the chance to win an enormous, potentially life-changing jackpot.
The jackpots on progressive pokies reach astronomical levels very quickly because a small percentage of every losing spin at every online casino globally goes into the central prize pool and is up for grabs as the jackpot prize. That’s why when you’re playing an online progressive jackpot slot, you can literally see the size of the payouts growing by the second — every spin on which a major prize isn’t won contributes to it growing bigger and bigger.
Top casinos for playing progressive slots
All of the New Zealand online casinos that we recommend have a good selection of progressive jackpot pokies produced by the major developers, meaning you can access these big-name games and get a crack at a huge jackpot yourself.
The biggest progressive jackpot pokies
All of the major online slots developers, and some of the newer ones as well, have their own jackpot networks, and so this means there is plenty of variety and a growing number of progressive slots to choose from. However, there are a number of enduringly popular and well-known progressive jackpot slots that you can play at our casinos.
Microgaming progressive jackpots
Mega Moolah, released by Microgaming in 2006, is the undoubted king of all progressive jackpot pokies. Having paid out more than $940 million since it first appeared, it also holds the record for an individual win, with a UK player winning $30.72 million playing on his mobile phone in 2015.
As well as Mega Moolah, Microgaming also has a number of other very well-known and popular progressive jackpot slots in its catalogue, including Major Millions, King Cashalot, Cash Splash and Tunzamunni.
Playtech progressive jackpots
Playtech has recently launched a new progressive jackpot network based on DC Comics superheroes, featuring characters such as Batman, Spiderman, Superman and Green Lantern. Playtech’s Age of God progressive network is also growing, with titles such as King of Olympus, Fate Sisters, Goddess of Wisdom and Prince of Olympus, while it also has some other very popular progressive jackpot slots such as Gladiator and Beach Life.
Biggest progressive pokie payouts
You can read our in-depth game reviews to learn more about the best progressive jackpot pokies, but in the meantime, to give you an idea of how valuable progressive jackpots can be, listed below are some facts on the payouts of the best-known games:
Mega Moolah (Microgaming)— Since its release in 2006, there have been 37 Mega Jackpot wins, with the major prize being hit roughly every 11 weeks and average payout of $7.09 million. The biggest win by a New Zealand player was in June 2016, when a player at Casinoland scooped $13.79 million, while the record payout stands at $30.72 million, won in 2015.
Gladiator (Playtech) — Released in 2009, Gladiator has to date paid out a jackpot win roughly every 13 weeks, with an average win of $1.88 million. The biggest single jackpot prize was $4.37 million, won in October 2013.
Mega Fortune Dreams (NetEnt) — Launched in June 2014, the jackpot in Mega Fortune Dreams has been won roughly every 9 weeks, with an average payout of $6.1 million. However, the biggest win to date on the game has been $8.83 million, won as recently as July 2017.
Tips for playing progressive jackpot slots
Progressive jackpots are won randomly and, like all prizes on online slots, there is nothing that players can do to predict or influence when and where a huge jackpot prize is going to be hit. However, it is important to remember that when you play a jackpot slot you can only hit a winning payline if you’re betting the maximum number of lines and coins, and this is also the case with games where the jackpot bonus feature is randomly triggered. However, there is always a very limited coin size on progressive jackpot slots, and the number of coins you can play is usually set quite low, so this makes the games very affordable for everyone.
Even if you’re playing a progressive jackpot pokie purely for the chance of a big win, there is still good quality gameplay action on offer, with ‘regular’ payouts, wins and free spins alongside the major jackpot prizes. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to play a progressive jackpot slot with a theme, special features and gameplay that you actually enjoy.
Mobile progressive slots
As HTML5 technology has improved and more casinos move to a multi-channel approach, this has also meant that the number of progressive jackpot pokies available in the best mobile casinos has increased considerably. As recently as a few years ago, many mobile casinos only offered players a very limited selection of mobile progressive jackpot games, but now many brands have as many jackpot pokies to choose from on mobile as at their desktop casino sites.
Check out the table below of the best mobile casino progressive jackpot pokies:
- Arabian Nights
- Gladiator
- Hall Of Gods
- King Cashalot
- Mega Fortune
- Mega Joker
- Age of Gods: Prince of Olympus
- Batman & Catwoman Cash
How to play progressive slots
Playing a progressive jackpot pokie is the same as playing any other online slot — you need to select the number of paylines you want to play on each spin, your coin size and the number of coins per line. However, it’s important to remember that on most progressive jackpot games, your chances of accessing the randomly triggered jackpot bonus feature is significantly enhanced if you’re betting the maximum number of paylines and coins on each spin.
All of the games in a producer’s progressive jackpot network are linked, which means that every person playing Mega Moolah, for instance, is playing for the same jackpot. This is also means, however, that a fraction of every single losing spin is contributing to the prize pool. This why the jackpots grow before your eyes and reach such epic proportions.
The way in which the progressive jackpot is activated will vary, depending on the game. For instance, in Mega Moolah, access to the bonus round is randomly triggered; you then get taken to a separate screen where you spin a wheel to see which of the four different levels of jackpot you’ve won.
In other games with multi-level jackpots, like Mega Fortune Dreams, the bonus round is activated when you hit 3x bonus symbols on reels 3, 4, & 5. You then go to a separate screen to spin a wheel and see which of the three possible jackpot prizes you’v won.
In Gladiator, hitting symbols is also the way to gain access to the bonus round. When you land 3x Gladiator mask wild symbols on reels 2, 3 and 4, you go to a separate screen where you’re confronted with nine helmets; as you select each helmet, it will turn either gold, silver or bronze, with the major jackpot being awarded if all nine are revealed to be gold.
Other types of progressive jackpot pokies don’t feature bonus rounds, but instead you win the jackpot with a payline win; for instance, this is how you win the prize on Microgaming’s King Cashalot and Major Millions, NetEnt’s Arabian Nights, and Beach Life by Playtech.
Conclusion
Progressive jackpot slots provide players with the opportunity to win an astronomical jackpot prize without the need to wager any more than you would on a conventional 5 reel video pokie. There is good variety in the games, and all the major producers have their own networks, so there is always plenty of choice in terms of themes and gameplay.
Check out list of recommended online casinos to play the best progressive jackpot pokies.