One of the most attractive offers for connoisseurs of online casino and slot machines are the progressive jackpots. These mega-jackpots sometimes contain gigantic winnings and the promise of living a completely different life.

Progressive jackpots are mostly found on slot machines, video poker slot machines, and many other games in online casinos. If you really want to play big and win big, you should always play on machines that are linked to a progressive jackpot.However, progressive jackpots can also be very confusing. Therefore, we want to explain what you need to know about progressive jackpots in online casinos.

What you should know about progressive jackpots:

Progressive jackpots are slot jackpots that take into account the deposits of all players in a slot network, until it is hit. Therefore, progressive jackpots can be very high.

However, it is very difficult to hit a progressive jackpot. That’s another reason why it usually gets so high.

Progressive jackpots are not only available for slot machines, but also for video poker and even classic table games like blackjack.

Progressive jackpot – what is it?

Many slots offer a progressive jackpot that gets bigger and bigger over time. This is because all participating slots are on a jackpot drip. Whenever a player puts in a coin, some of the money goes into the Progressive Jackpot. And as long as it is not won, it continues to grow.

The progressive jackpots can become so large because the networks sometimes extend not only to one casino, but to several. One example is the game Megabucks. It can be played in many different online casinos. Whenever the jackpot is not hit, it continues to grow. Every player on every participating Megabucks slot contributes to this. If you count all Megabucks slots, you get a considerable number of slot machines. This explains why the jackpot becomes so huge.

Anyone who plays the lottery often or at least keeps an eye on the jackpots knows that it is similar in the state lottery. Here the jackpot grows and grows until someone cracks it! Because everyone has to pay a progressive jackpot “fee”, everyone benefits in the end.

In the past, the progressive jackpot mostly benefited via an analogue network, such as all the stationary slot machines in a casino. Nowadays, many slot machines are networked with each other via the internet – even those that are physically located in the casino can be connected to a global network from Macau to Las Vegas, for example. So different providers can also offer different, great jackpots that make every game a fire of thrills.

What to look out for in the Progressive Jackpot?

However, in order to hit the Progressive Jackpot – which is very difficult, as you can surely imagine – you have to keep a few things in mind. For example, you always have to play the maximum bet to participate in the jackpot. The maximum stake is not recommended for all slots. But with progressive jackpots, it is an obligatory part of the game in order to really get everything out of the machine!

It would be a real shame to get the hit combination only to find out that you didn’t hit the big jackpot – because you didn’t play the maximum bet! Progressive jackpots offer an incredibly attractive chance of winning. In no other game can you win so much money so quickly – except perhaps the lottery. In both cases the chance of winning is very small, and yet in both cases there are always examples of people who have “made it”. With a single win, you can provide for your whole life. That is definitely a good motivation to play!

We have talked so far about networking and about the features of a Progressive Jackpot, but actually the most important feature of the Progressive Jackpot is the fact that there is no jackpot limit upwards. This means, very succinctly, that the jackpot can grow to infinity. It simply fills up until the players finally hit the winning combination.

The casino does not need to set a limit, because the progressive jackpot works like a magnet for customers. The higher it grows, the more attractive it becomes for new customers and players. A good average for a progressive jackpot is around 500,000 and 10 million (!) dollars. Of course, this also depends on the popularity of the Progressive Jackpot among players: the more people play, the faster it fills up. The largest online jackpot reached the fantastic and absurd sum of 17.8 million $ on the online slot Mega Fortune.

In-Game Jackpots vs Progressive Jackpots

There are a few reasons to play a Progressive Jackpot. One, of course, is the fun of the game: because it’s so rare to win a Progressive Jackpot, many players find it a great challenge. The other, much more convincing reason is obvious: the winnings are so high that you can live on them for the rest of your life. But it also depends a bit on the type of player. Many players would rather make small winnings frequently than a big one once. For them, the in-game jackpot is much better suited, because it may be more modest, but it is hit more often.

This is because the progressive jackpot has a higher house edge. That also makes sense: otherwise it couldn’t grow like that. And vice versa, it makes sense that the in-game jackpot is smaller, because it is hit more often. In addition, the progressive jackpots always cost a bit more because you have to play the maximum stake and the maximum paylines. So you should think about whether you want to do that. How high the jackpots can get depends on the casino software – most providers use the jackpots of their software providers, which work across providers and allow seven- to eight-figure jackpots. The highest slots payouts are with Microgaming games, but Playtech casinos or Netbet casinos also pay out high jackpots.

Progressive Jackpots: Video Poker, Blackjack, Poker

For many players it is also worth mentioning: Progressive jackpots do not only exist in slot machines. Video poker is another game with a progressive jackpot. And many of the classic card games like Blackjack also offer side bets in the online casino that are linked to a Progressive Jackpot. You can even find progressive variants in poker.

Nowadays, progressive jackpots are very easy to find because online networks and virtual gambling automatically link the games. Of course, you have to keep in mind that the progressive games are more and more difficult to win because they have a higher house edge. But the winnings are always worth it. This is what makes the Progressive Jackpot so appealing to many players: they play with thrill and risk with the hope of winning the biggest prize there is.

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