A Guide to Casino and Progressive Jackpots

Before the advent of the internet, most of us could only dream of getting to a real casino and playing the exciting and often mysterious casino games within their hallowed walls. We dreamt of travelling to these far off casino destinations and striking it rich on one of those larger than life, flashy casino jackpot games. We saved and planned in the hopes of having enough for all the things needed to make it happen, air fares, accommodation and of course, money for those mysterious casino games.

Of all the casino games that one could find in a casino lobby, among the roulette and blackjack tables, the most enticing were the dazzling jackpot games. These game promised millions in prizes as well as all sorts of non-cash prizes like exotic holidays, fancy sports cars and much more. Fast forward a decade or so and we have this incredible invention called the internet and, not too long after that, the world’s first online casinos. Suddenly we no longer needed to dream about getting to a real casino or saving up for an entire lifetime to do so. We could simply log on to one via the internet. The best part about this is that the online casinos also had those mysterious and exciting casino jackpot games to play, even better, they had far more than any land-based casino could ever hold!

While the online casino phenomenon has been with us for well over a decade already, the allure of casino jackpot games is as strong as ever. In fact, it may be even more so since more online software brands have started producing exciting and highly lucrative casino jackpot games. This naturally leads to the question for all newbies, what are casino jackpot games and what are progressive jackpot games all about? Luckily at OnlineCasino.co.za, we have put together this easy to follow and very interesting guide to understanding what casino jackpot games are, how progressive jackpot games work and where you can find tons of these fantastic online casino games.

What are Casino Jackpots?

While some online casino games like roulette and blackjack offer payouts (winnings) based on odds betting, such as a 3:1 payout for blackjack for example, other online casino games offer big cash prizes called jackpots. These jackpots are usually found in non-table casino games such as slots, bingo, scratch cards and some video poker machines as well.

In most cases, casino jackpots can be won at any time during a game. Casino table games such as poker or blackjack, usually require certain hand combinations to win. The same can be said for video poker unless the video poker game has a separate random jackpot attached to it. However, with most casino jackpots, all you have to do is spin the reels on a slot machine, clear a bingo card or buy a scratch card that can uncover a hidden jackpot.

This is one of the reasons why casino jackpots remains so consistently popular. They offer just about any player the chance to walk away with thousands or even millions in cash, without the need to have special skills or in-depth knowledge of winning card hands and strategies, anyone can win a casino jackpot!

How do Progressive Jackpots Work?

You may have seen a few online casino games advertising huge progressive jackpots and wondered what on earth a progressive jackpot was! Don’t feel bad, we’ve all been there. The name ‘progressive jackpots’ sounds quite strange, maybe even a little bit intimidating. It sounds as though you would need special skills to be able to pull off a progressive jackpot, or even worse, never actually get there at all.

However, the fact of the matter is that progressive jackpots are quite the opposite. They are by far the most popular of all casino jackpot types and, if you are looking for serious cash jackpots, then progressive jackpot games are where you need to be.

Progressive jackpot games are a lot of fun and are as far from intimidating as you can get. Unlike roulette, poker and blackjack, you do not need to have any special skills in order to win a progressive jackpot game. All that you need to do is find a good progressive jackpot title, of which there are hundreds to choose from these days, and play on max bet.

Progressive jackpots work by taking a small percentage of each players bet and adding it to a total prize pool or jackpot. As more players take a chance on the game and throw their coins into the machines (virtually speaking of course), the jackpot grows and grows. This is why it is called a progressive jackpot, because the total progresses and gets bigger and bigger. Eventually one lucky spin unlocks the progressive jackpot and there are plenty of stories on the net of overnight instant millionaires.

Where to Find Progressive Jackpots?

Fortunately, progressive jackpot games can be found at virtually every online casino on the web and we offer a great list of pre-selected online casinos for South African players. You don’t have to plan a trip to Sun City to play progressive jackpot games anymore. All that you need to do is pick one of our recommended online casinos for South African players, sign up and make a deposit in ZAR to unlock an exclusive bonus package, and find top line progressive jackpot games to try your luck on.

The great thing about online casinos is that, since all the games are virtual, there are hundreds of top progressive jackpot games to choose from. While some may have already given up their jackpots, others are on the verge of doing so and, who knows, your coin might be the one to unlock that massive jackpot. Almost all the online casino software providers, including Microgaming, IGT, Playtech, NetEnt, Betsoft and others design and produce fantastic jackpot and progressive jackpot casino games so you will never ever run out of jackpot casino games to play.

Keep an Eye Out

While it is obviously a very good thing to be spoilt for choice when it comes to great jackpot and progressive jackpot games, it can also be quite a challenge to filter the good from the bad. Not every jackpot or progressive jackpot game that you come across will be an ideal option, there are certain features and points that you need to be on the lookout for.

When it comes to progressive jackpot games, it is important to understand that there is no one size fits all approach to the design of progressive jackpot games. There are different types of progressive jackpot machines and picking one over another could have a significant impact on how much your ultimate jackpot win could be. Progressive jackpot machines come in a standalone variety, a local network and wide area network.

Standalone progressive jackpot machines usually offer smaller jackpot sizes as the machine is only a single unit found in that particular online casino. this means that the progressive jackpot that it hold can only grow as long as players are playing that particular machine, which could be quite slow or quite small in total.

On the other hand, local network progressive jackpots tie a number of machines together within a particular online casinos. What this means is that, any players on any of the machines that are connected in this network are contributing to the total progressive jackpot. The jackpot can therefore be won on any of these machines and at any time. The size of the progressive jackpot is also much larger than it is on a standalone game and also grows much faster.

However, the ultimate progressive jackpot game is the wide area network game. These are tied together not only within a single online casino, but across a number of different online casinos, all at the same time. Most wide area network progressive machines are linked through the software provider that released the game. For example, the biggest progressive jackpot game in the world is Mega Moolah which is a Microgaming jackpot game. This means that anyone playing Mega Moolah at any online casino carrying the game can win the total progressive jackpot. The record on this particular game stands at over $20 million, which was one a few years ago on just one spin. To top it all, the player won it playing the mobile version!

Other than knowing what sort of progressive jackpot game to look for in terms of network, it is also important to understand that virtually every progressive machine works in the same way. This means that you will need to bet max on every spin in order to qualify for the progressive jackpot. Betting max means engaging every payline and betting the biggest coin size the game has, on ever spin. It is vital that you are aware of your bankroll at all times as it is quite easy to get carried away on progressive jackpot machines and run out of money very quickly. That being said, have a go at one of the top progressive jackpot games at our recommended online casinos for South African players, you never know, you could hit the big jackpot on your first spin!