Slots are the most popular casino games today at non GamStop casinos. There are several elements that contribute to their popularity, such as the attractive physical design, shortness, privacy, variety of prizes and relatively high payout percentages for the top prizes. Slots have maintained their popularity despite a feature that – at least for the experts who study them – makes slots the “black sheep” of casino games, namely the lack of information about their configuration, which is usually kept secret by slot producers.
Slots were constantly evolving with the advent of technology and a new feature added in the 1980s was instrumental in cementing their lead at the pinnacle of casino games – the progressive jackpot. This feature, added to the basic prize scheme of the games, made the progressive jackpot slots highly sought after by gamblers, as the size of the new prizes offered is not matched in other casino games (but only in the lottery).
Slots are also recognized by problem gambling experts as the most addictive casino games at non GamStop casinos. Chasing winnings on slots and in particular progressive jackpots can be a risk factor for developing problematic gambling behaviour if you do not adhere to responsible gambling standards and this includes being informed about how slots work and the math facts of slot machines.
In this article, we will see in detail what progressive jackpot slots are, how they work, what the basic math is behind them and what we need to know about the chances of winning progressive jackpots on slots, to play informed and safe.
Fixes & Progressive Jackpot Games
A progressive jackpot on a particular game of chance is a type of prize that accumulates over time as people participate or play in that game. The progressive jackpot accumulates and increases with each new game and is released as a single prize to the winner, according to the rules applicable to that game and casino. The progressive jackpot is awarded by random selection to one player according to the casino’s rules. In most progressive systems, there are requirements that a player must meet to qualify for the progressive jackpot – usually the player must win the game’s top prize (also called a fixed or regular jackpot) or in some cases a random winning outcome; most systems require players to place bets of a certain size to qualify.
A progressive jackpot is a type of extra bet offered to the game’s eligible players, on top of that game’s base prize schedule. Nowadays we have progressive jackpots in almost all non GamStop casino games, including blackjack, baccarat, roulette, video poker, keno and of course slots.
Before the progressive prizes were introduced in casinos, we were used to seeing some kind of progressive jackpot in lotteries (if a drawing has no winner for the main prize, the prize money allocated to that prize category is added to the main prize of the next drawing, and so on, until a player wins the jackpot; also the increasing pot of each hand played in poker is a type of progressive jackpot.
Since the term ‘ jackpot ‘ in gambling jargon is used for both the top prize of a game and for progressive jackpots, we must distinguish between the two concepts: The top prize in a slot is the prize with the highest payout, with a fixed payout percentage ( for example 1,000 to 1) which only applies to the winner’s stake. It is usually defined as associated with a combination of the same symbol with a high payout on all reels of the machine (on a payline). The progressive jackpot is not fixed and is collected continuously until it is released, from the bets of all players on that machine or from all machines in the network.
Categories of Progressive Slots
There are three major categories of progressive slots, depending on the number of slots participating in the jackpot and their spatial displacement.
- Standalone progressives. These are individual slots that only collect money from their bets for the progressive jackpot. The current progressive jackpot amount is displayed on the machine by a jackpot meter (or thicker). These were the first casino progressive slots in slot history, but they still have a successful presence today, producing jackpots of over $10,000.
- Local progressives. In these slots, the progressive jackpot fund is collected from various slots in a casino. They are connected to a local network of 10 to 100 machines. Every player on a machine in the network participates in the jackpot fund and anyone eligible can win it, regardless of which machine they play on. The jackpot meter is displayed on the machines and elsewhere in the casino. It is not uncommon for local progressives to release jackpots of over a million dollars.
- Progressive broadband networks. These are progressive jackpots that are connected in a network of different casinos, online or physical, operating in different places, possibly around the world. Internet technology has made this network possible, with the progressive jackpot fueled by bets from a huge number of machines and reaching millions. The jackpot is released to a single winner, who can be located in any region of the world.
Features of the Progressive Jackpot System in Slots
Each progressive jackpot system has its features and rules. A feature common to all systems is a starting value: the jackpot starts accumulating on the first bet placed on a machine (individual or in a network) after the previous jackpot has been released (i.e. the amount is reset to zero), but the jackpot is not available for a new release until the jackpot amount reaches a certain threshold, called the seed.
The continuous contribution to the jackpot fund can be through stakes or winnings. The first ensures that the meter increases with each new spin, while the first goes to the jackpot fund as a percentage of these amounts with each new win.
There are two types of systems regarding jackpot release: must-hit-by and unlimited.
The must-hit-by jackpot (also called mystery jackpot) has a maximum value and can be released at any time between the seed and that maximum value. The release point is determined randomly after each meter reset and the winner is the player whose contribution to the jackpot fund ensures that the release value is met or exceeded.
Although the release point is based on random generation, the basis of the selection is usually not uniformly distributed over the metered interval – some systems determine the jackpot to fall over the second half of the interval, others over a narrower interval, close to the maximum value. For example, AGS must-hit-by jackpots are programmed to fall near the maximum value point. A statistical analysis of a version of River Dragons, where the progressive jackpot starts at $4,000 and must hit $5,000, found the average point that does hit at $4,945.
The unlimited progressive systems have no upper limit on the jackpot and it can be won at any time after the seed has passed if the conditions are met. Therefore, the meter of such systems can reach amounts in the order of millions and tens of millions, for the wide-area network progressives.
Unlike the must-hit-by system, the random selection of when the jackpot falls can be based on several variables. For example, the system can be programmed to release the jackpot at a certain time of day, which is chosen at random. The first player to win a regular jackpot or other required prize in that time frame will win the progressive jackpot. Another option is to randomly choose a slot machine in a certain time frame and wait for a player to hit the jackpot on that machine. Others may relate to the value or properties of the meter amount in relation to the time frame, and so on. If the conditions are ultimately not met, the system will restart the random selection for a future jackpot as the meter rises. The algorithm behind the process of winning the jackpot is of course specific to each system and is not available information. It’s secret, just like the parametric configuration of any slot machine.
The random selection of the conditions that release the jackpot and determine the winner, for each type of progressive jackpot system, is done by means of a random number generator (RNG) in the system’s software.
In addition to the seed and the maximum value (for the must-hit-by progressives), and the parameters of the random generation algorithm, there is another parameter associated with the system, namely the rate of increase of the meter. This is a certain percentage of the bets or winnings that go towards the jackpot to accumulate as shown by the meter. The rate of increase of the meter is specific to each system and a common value is 2% or approximately, but there are also systems with a rate of 1% or less.
