Brief Guide to Casino Jackpots

You've probably seen the headlines: "Player A wins a progressive jackpot worth $15 million playing Big Pokie." But how do these jackpots keep climbing, and how can you hit them?

Most gambling software developers have pokies that carry eye-watering progressive jackpots. The jackpots can carry across dozens of online casinos so that the jackpots keep rising. In some cases, a range of pokies will be "linked" with the same progressive to give you an even bigger chance of winning.

Progressive jackpots will be "seeded", i.e. they always get reset to a minimum jackpot. Then, portions of every bet made on that game contributes towards the jackpot.

To trigger the jackpot you'll normally have to trigger a special bonus feature, like a Wheel of Fortune, or hit five special symbols on a specific payline. On top of that, you'll usually have to bet the maximum coins in order to qualify for the biggest prizes.

It's not just pokies that see life-changing prizes awarded. Internet Keno and bingo rooms run progressives made up of portions of ticket purchases. Although generally much smaller than pokies progressives, bingo jackpots get paid out more regularly.

To win a bingo jackpot, typically you'll need to hit a full house within a certain time limit, hit bingo in a record time, or cover your card with a certain pattern.

Jackpots aren't restricted to pokies and bingo, however. Most good casinos will offer some linked prizes on table games too.

Whether you are playing roulette, blackjack or Caribbean Stud, every good casino will offer some kind of jackpot or another. Always check the games lobby first (you can usually filter your lobby out to display just jackpot games) and find out what the current jackpot prizes are running at. All casinos will run progressive tickers underneath the games in the lobby.

Play at the Maximum Stake

On most online progressive pokies, you'll have to play the maximum coin bets to be able to trigger the biggest prizes. If you don't, and you hit the big feature, you'll simply take the maximum possible win in cash related to your stake.

Before you play, therefore, work out what the maximum stake is. You might find it's not too big for your wallet. The best progressive pokies are ones that give you more bang for your buck, giving even casual players a chance to hit some life-changing prizes.

Find the Right Games

Some progressive pokie games operate on their own, linked across multiple online casinos. While they're fine, the biggest jackpots won't get TOO big. Instead, consider a linked group of games (e.g Microgaming's Mega Moolah, Mega Moolah Isis and The Dark Knight) which gives you a choice of games to play. Not only do you get more choice, the jackpots become much bigger.

Know What To Do

It's vital you brush up on what you have to do in order to hit the big one. There's no point wasting a bunch of bucks on a game, only to discover you're not betting the right amount in order to hit the big prizes.

Game: Mega Fortune
Amount Won: $17,861,813
Hit: January 2013

Net Entertainment are known for some innovative online pokies, particularly their top branded games like Aliens and the new Guns 'N Roses. However, it's simple games like Mega Fortune that keeps pulling in the players. Mega Fortune is themed around the millionaire's life and is packed with images of Rolls Royces, champagne and private jets. And in 2013, an anonymous Finnish player was dreaming of his own private jet when they took down a staggering 17-million-Euro prize (AUD20 million).

Game: Mega Fortune
Amount Won: $11,736,375
Hit: 2011

Mega Fortune isn't a one-hit wonder. In 2011, 11 million Euros (AUD15 million) was won by a lucky Norwegian gambler on Net Entertainment's leading progressive game. The winner was a fisherman who'd obviously spent a little too much time on his laptop when he should have been out fishing.

Game: Mega Moolah
Amount Won: C$7.5 million
Hit: April 2024

Everyone was wondering when Microgaming's linked jackpot would fall in early 2024. Both Mega Moolah and The Dark Knight had seen their linked progressives soar over the $ million mark, but in the end it was a Canadian gambler who took down the big prize by hitting Mega Moolah's 'Major' jackpot. The jackpot was immediately reset, but with pokies players sensing another big prize within days the jackpot had reached $4 million again.