Today, there are thousands of online slot machines from over 100 market-leading online casino software providers and game development studios, so deciding which slots to play can often be a daunting challenge, especially for players new to online casinos.
This page contains ten useful tips for comparing online slot machines and deciding which games to play.
Top 10 tips for choosing which online slots to play
There are many different factors to consider before deciding which online slots to play, so here are ten useful tips to get you started. They include the following:
- Try to find online slots with a high RTP % (Return to Player percentage) payout rate
- Look for online slot machines from industry-award-winning game providers
- If you want an online slot with a life-changing jackpot, look for the progressive jackpot slots
- Consider what type of slot theme would appeal most to you and then search for those slots (e.g., Wild West, Ancient Egypt, Leprechaun, etc.)
- Decide whether you want a low volatility slot or a highly volatile slot (explained further down)
- Do you want to play 5 or 6-reel slots with multiple paylines/win ways/megaways, or classic 3-reel slots with 1-5 paylines?
- If you like slots from a certain provider, be on the lookout for games from that company
- Check out the reviews for certain slots and read player feedback to see what others think of them
- If you want action, look for feature-rich slots that are packed with immersive bonus features
- Look for industry-award-winning online slot machines
Remembering some of these important tips when you’re next looking for suitable online slots to play can help you track down the best slots to suit your style of play and preferences in as little time as possible.
What other things can I do to find the best slots?
You can do many other things to locate the best slots in no time. For example, when you log in to certain online casinos, they have a hot and cold slots section. The hot slots are the ones that are currently paying out, and the cold slots are the ones that aren’t paying out so well.
However, just because you choose a ‘hot’ slot doesn’t guarantee that you are going to win. It’s the same with online slots that have a higher-than-average RTP% payout rate. Just because the payout rate is slightly higher than other slots doesn’t mean that you are guaranteed to win more.
Where can I learn more about the different types of online casino slot machines?
Over at the official JohnSlots, popular slots comparison site, you can find more information about online slot machines. They have plenty of useful information for the following categories:
Online slots
- Volatility SlotsReal Money Slots
- Online Slots: User Reviews
- RTP slots
- Real Money Slots
- Free Slots
You can also find information about Mobile Slots, Multi-Line Slots, Popular Slots, New Slots, and Megaways Slots, as well as Slot Features (Bonus Rounds, Slot Reels), Slot Themes, Slot Developers, and Jackpot Slots.
A closer look at what some of the top ten tips mean
The RTP% payout rate is how much an online slot machine pays back in winnings over a certain period. This information is generally calculated and monitored regularly by reputable third-party online casino testing agencies.
Let’s just say that players have spent $/€/£500,000 or equivalent currency value on the Diamond Mine Megaways Jackpot King online slot from Blueprint Gaming over four weeks, and it was calculated that players received $/€/£493,600 in winnings during that time.
In short, it means the RTP % payout rate for this game over this particular period was 98.72%, which is relatively high. It’s great news for players who are looking for high RTP slots. Don’t forget that you are NOT guaranteed to win more just because it has a higher-than-average RTP % payout rate.
However, players are statistically more likely to win in a 98.72% payout slot than, for example, an online slot with an average monthly 92.46% RTP payout rate.
How do you know which online slot machine game developers have made the best online slots?
A handful of leading online casino software providers/game development studios have developed the world’s best online slot machines.
Always try to find online slots that have been developed by one or more of the following providers: NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Games Global (this company acquired Microgaming in 2022), Playtech, Playson, Play’n GO, Red Tiger Gaming, Blueprint Gaming, and ELK Studios.
Other companies that have also developed some of the most popular online slots out there today are IGT, Thunderkick, Relax Gaming, Yggdrasil Gaming, Skywind Group, Scientific Games, Lightning Box Games, Hacksaw Gaming, Novomatic, and 1X2 Gaming, to name a few.
There are some major software providers, such as Playtech and Games Global, that also supply games to online casinos from various other independent studios. For example, Playtech also brings you online slots from Eyecon, Quickspin, Rarestone Gaming, Ash Gaming, Vikings, and Origins.
Games Global is partnered with even more independent studios, some of which include Alchemy Gaming, Spin Play Games, Fortune Factory Studios, All41 Studios, Gameburger Studios, Triple Edge Studios, and Stormcraft Studios.
They also have slots from Aurum Signature Studios, Crazy Tooth Studio, Foxium, Gold Coin Studios, Gong Gaming Technologies, Golden Rock Studios, Just for the Win Studios, Neon Valley Studios, PearFiction Studios, Snowborn Games, and Slingshot Studios, to name a few.
Progressive jackpot slots
If you’re looking for online slots that can turn lucky players into multi-millionaires on any lucky winning spin, then you want to keep an eye out for the progressive jackpot slots.
In these games, the jackpots can climb to no fixed value before being won, and many prize pools often climb well over $/€/£1,000,000.00.
Some of the most famous progressive jackpot slots to keep an eye out for today are theMicrogaming/Games Global’s WowPot Jackpot slots.
The largest of four jackpots in the WowPot Jackpot slots is currently worth more than £29,002,104.80 – the biggest an online jackpot has even reached in this history of online slot machines (and it’s climbing by the second)!
The WowPot Jackpot slot series consists of nine individual titles – Cash ‘N Riches WowPot Megaways, Ancient Fortunes Poseidon – WowPot Megaways, Sherlock & Moriarty WowPot, and 9 Blazing Diamonds WowPot.
The other games in this series include Wolf Blaze WowPot Megaways, Queen of Alexandria WowPot, Book of Atem WowPot, The Finer Reels of Life WowPot, and Sisters of Oz WowPot.
Other famous jackpot slots to keep an eye out for are Mega Fortune by NetEnt, the MegaJackpots slots from IGT, the Age of the Gods slots by Playtech, the Daily Jackpots slots by Red Tiger Gaming, the Mega Moolah slots by Games Global, and the Jackpot King slots by Blueprint Gaming.
Slot Themes
One good way to choose an online slot is by the type of game theme it has. For example, you might prefer playing sports-themed online slots, whereas your friend might prefer playing horror-themed online slots. The most popular online slot machine themes out there today are the following:
- Ancient Civilisation (e.g., Ancient Egypt, Rome, Inca, Aztec, Greece)
- Norse Mythology
- Leprechaun/Luck of the Irish
- Horror/Zombie/Vampire/Werewolf/Ghosts
- American West/Wild West/Cowboy/Gunslinger
- Gold Mining/Diamond Mining
- Science Fiction/Alien Invasion/Space & Stars/Galaxies
- Holidays/Christmas
- Branded (e.g., famous television shows & movies)
- Animals/Cats & Dogs
- Love & Romance/Valentine’s Day
More things you can do to help you choose the right online slots to play?
Always check that the slots you want to play are accessible from your preferred device. For example, you don’t want to sign up to an online casino from your smartphone to play the WowPot Jackpot slots from Games Global only to find out the casino hasn’t been optimised for mobile phones.
Don’t forget that some slots are highly volatile, others have low volatility, and the rest are in between. An online slot that’s highly volatile basically means that it doesn’t pay out very often (compared to a slot with low volatility), but when it does pay, the wins are often much bigger than the wins in a low-volatility slot, where the wins are more frequent.
If you want online slots with plenty of in-play features and immersive second-screen bonus rounds, you want to play the 5 and 6-reel video slots. These games tend to come with Wild Symbol features, Free Spins Bonus Rounds, and Picking Bonuses that can randomly trigger on any lucky spin.
Final note
When you find an online slot to play, one of the most important things you can do as soon as the game launches is to adjust your stake to a value that corresponds with your budget.
Some online slot machines are available in the free-play demo mode, so before you launch the game and waste your money on a slot you may not even like, perhaps try it out for a few minutes in this risk-free mode.
If you enjoy playing that particular slot in the free-play mode, you can then easily switch to playing in the real-money mode. Never chase your losses when playing online slots for real money, and remember to have fun and stay within your budget.