All About Progressive Jackpots

Learn every bit of progressive jackpots so you can play as much as you want at your favorite casino in SA. Read our detailed review for more information

Slot 

You may have seen a slot game with additional branding such as “Jackpot” “Jackpot King” “Mega Jackpot” “Grand Jackpot” and more. While on some other slots, the available win amount is displayed to players. These are progressive jackpots, games that South African online casinos offer on their platforms to slot players who are qualified. 

Progressive jackpot games have always been highly appealing to players who dream to hit it big on a slot machine, and with the availability of online gaming, it’s even much more accessible these days. Let’s walk you through progressive jackpots, how they work, their odds, winning patterns, and much more.     

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What is The Progressive Jackpot Slots 

Progressive jackpot slots are slot games with a prize connected to a particular casino, different casinos in the same holding, casinos in the same licensing network, or casinos in some partnership. Based on the pooled resources from players’ wagers on a game, progressive jackpot games usually offer above-average prizes to lucky winners. When each player makes a wager, this is added to the collective pot and for every wager that doesn’t result in a win, the jackpot prize increases. 

So, progressive jackpot slots are slot games with a prize pool that rises every time a winner does not emerge. The prize is clearly displayed on the casino offering the game so that it is known to all players wagering on the game at every point. It is the practice in most casinos to keep updating this pool. 

Progressive Jackpot Slots

How it Works 

Just like other slot games, the player has to make a wager on a progressive jackpot slot in the amount specified as minimum or maximum by the casino. Converse to the point above, the prize pool resets after every win of the jackpot by a player. 

Similarly, the reset amount is predetermined by a seed amount set by the casino. The contribution to the jackpot is made from a fraction of each player’s bet and the exact rate largely depends on the entity offering the jackpot. 

Some casinos take 5%, while others can take up to 10% of the bet. The remainder of each player’s bet (95% to 90%) is then added to the actual prize pot to be won by the lucky player. The following example will suffice to explain how progressive jackpot actually works. 

Let’s say that the minimum bet on a progressive jackpot slot is ₱5 and a player bets it. The casino’s reset amount is 5% of every bet. After a series of bets, the jackpot prize is won at ₱50,000 with a ₱5 bet. The casino will pay you out ₱475,000. This means that 95% will be paid out to the winner, while a total of 5% is used to reset the jackpot. This continues until the jackpot grows and is won again by another lucky player. It is pertinent to note that this remains an example and not necessarily how it works in casinos, though. 

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Win Mechanics of Progressive Jackpots

The progressive jackpot feature changes the way in which wins are made on a slot. In this part of the review, we will treat the various ways of landing a win on a progressive jackpot slot, as follows:

Time-bound Progressive Jackpots

With the release of some progressive jackpot slots comes a definitive time when the jackpot is expected to be hit. These jackpot slots usually have fair-sized prizes for players, with their traffic increasing toward the specific drop date. To avoid the late-hour rush, most casinos have adopted the practice of announcing the drop dates only at the release of the slot.

Random-win Progressive Jackpots 

This is the case when the jackpot prize can be awarded randomly during any spin – it could be a low wager or high wager, or even from a first-timer. In essence, players don’t have to play any extra game mode to qualify for the jackpot. Just deposit the qualifying amount of the jackpot and spin the reels. 

Bonus Wheel Jackpots 

This is one of the most popular jackpots in slot games. How this win mechanic works is that aside from the bonus game in the slot, a bonus wheel is also provided specifically creating a chance for players to win the jackpot prize. When a player qualifies for or buys the bonus wheel, they will spin to see what their luck fetches them. 

Symbol-combination Jackpots 

This jackpot has the typical slot game win mechanic. South African players have to land a specific symbol combination or pattern on the reel to win the jackpot. However, the number of symbol combinations could be higher than usual, with specific pay line(s) that the symbols must land on. However, there might be a higher requirement of symbols and pay lines to win the jackpot prize. 

Maximum-wager Jackpots

A good number of online casinos in South Africa offer this win mechanic on their progressive jackpot slots. To qualify for this jackpot, a South African player has to wager the maximum bet on the game. The more you play, the more tickets are awarded, from which an actual winner could possibly emerge. 

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Odds of Winning – House Edge, RTP

There are always intensified attempts from players to hit the jackpot and walk home the grand winner. But oftentimes, many players don’t even take the time to understand how it works apart from playing and winning. So, the heightened attempts actually decrease the odds of anyone winning. All progressive jackpot slots have a random number generator (RNG) that makes the odds of winning basically the same for all players. However, with regard to time-bound jackpots, some players decide to play these slots when they have an idea that the maturation date is close.  

Return to player percentage (RTP) also applies to progressive jackpot slots, but it operates in two ways; base RTP and theoretical RTP. Base RTP refers to the payout percentage a progressive slot is expected to award players at the very start of the jackpot before the jackpot starts increasing. Most progressive jackpot slots have a base RTP that falls between 85% and 92%. 

Theoretical RTP, on the other hand, is the payout rate that a game would award in the long run and is used to predict how much can be won over time. Players have mostly leaned towards theoretical RTP for long-term purposes. The theoretical RTP may be ascertained by checking the base RTP, jackpot level, and jackpot seed. 

Progressive Jackpots

Types of Progressive Jackpot Games

To almost all players, what matters is the jackpot prize, and the requirement is to qualify for them. But to us, a distinction between different progressive jackpots is important. 

Local or Casino-bound Jackpots

A local or casino-bound progressive jackpot is one in which the jackpot is available on just one slot game or multiple slots that are connected within the same online casino. This also represents different slots linked by a bank of games by the same developer. In other words, the jackpot is only applicable to selected slots supplied by a particular developer to a casino operator. So South African gamblers, can play the jackpot at that casino only. It could be available on casinos that offer slot games from the same developer, but such jackpots are usually stand-off and not pulled across the casinos.    

Network or Wide Area Jackpots  

This type of jackpot is shared and pooled by different online casinos within the same jackpot network. This is why a progressive jackpot can be offered on the same slot across different casinos that are sometimes in different countries. Thus, every player’s bet contributes to the overall jackpot pool, and the same jackpot level is displayed on all the casinos offering the same network jackpot. Wide area jackpot is more popular and attracts the attention and patronage of a larger number of slot players because it usually pays more.  

Tips for Playing Progressive Jackpots

You may avail yourself of the following tips to help you play progressive jackpot slots:

  • Always get information about the type of progressive jackpot you are playing.
  • Never get greedy while on the game by pursuing your losses. 
  • Build your bankroll with smaller wins: the big ones may be hard to come by, but you may structure your gameplay with the little prizes. 
  • Check out the casino before playing, some casinos may be notorious for delaying payouts. So, ascertain the casino’s overall reputation before playing jackpots there. 
  • Most online casinos often offer bonuses, always check if those bonuses can be used to play progressive jackpot games.
  • Play jackpot slots you ordinarily enjoy and wager what you can afford to lose. 

Conclusion 

Progressive jackpot slots offer a much higher payout potential than other slots online and offline. You may play on jackpots with different win mechanics, which you have to ascertain before wagering on the game. RTP and house edge are important information you should always try to understand before you hit the spin button. But before anything, you must also understand what type of progressive jackpot slots you would like to play. You may opt for a local or wide area jackpot, but also ensure you play with what you can afford to lose.

FAQ

Progressive jackpot slots mostly work with a random number generator (RNG) that makes for a high degree of randomness. Therefore, it’s hard to say how often a jackpot will hit. However, time-bound jackpots typically hit at the specified date

The biggest jackpots are network or wide area jackpots. This is because hundreds or thousands of players contribute to their prize pool, and with more traffic comes higher amounts that can be won. Oftentimes, the wide-area jackpot runs into millions of euros before they are hit

You can win a progressive jackpot slot by playing a bonus wheel jackpot, time-bound jackpot, high wager, or by landing similar symbol combinations on a specific reel or pay line. You can also win randomly when you get the required number of symbols on the reels

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