Insightful Casino Guides

Brick-and-mortar casinos just wouldn't be the same without the electric buzzing and beeping of slot machines. Winners jump for joy as their winning coins rattle against the payout tin and the whole thing has a certain old-school charm about it.

These days it is more about online slots and playing on the device of your choice. The principles remain the same and winning is just as fun, you simply don’t need to travel anywhere. Online and mobile casinos have captured the public’s imagination and they will just continue to grow in popularity.

Online slots can be played anytime and anywhere. You just need an online casino account and your favourite games are ready and waiting for you 24/7 no matter where you are in the world. Simple, convenient, mobile-friendly and high volume- online slot games deliver what gamblers want.

Most Common Types of Online Slots

Slot games, in general, have come a long way from the early days' fruit machines, and the move from real-life slots to online slots continues that growth. Now players can enjoy many different online casino slot options: video slots, 3D slots, progressive slots, 243-payline slots, slots designed to mirror popular video games, and even virtual reality slots.

Online video slots allow for a diverse range of gameplay, from games that imitate classic slots, to more hi-tech video slots. Players can also enjoy titles using 3D graphics as well as progressive slots, where a rising jackpot is tied to all those playing the same game. Whereas classic slots often feature recognisable symbols from fruit machines, video slots often create their own symbols and icons based on a specific theme.

Most online slot games follow the popular 25-playline structure with some variations. But thanks to digital slot games, players can also enjoy up to 243 ways to win, this can only happen with online slot games.

A number of video slot developers licence characters from existing films, TV shows, and comic books. Following Marvel's purchase by Disney, Playtech turned to DC Comics to team up on a line of slot titles from their epic collection of characters as well. NetEnt is a major slots games provider and they have helped to create some of the most popular slot titles in the industry.

How Slots Work Online

Understanding slot machines helps players better prepare for success when spinning those digital reels. Read on to better understand how online slots work, or check out our free slots reviews to try them out.

Understanding Slot Reels

The virtual "reels" of online slot games are generated by the software program that randomly delivers the symbols with each spin. The symbols of online slots can appear in any random order.

What are Paylines?

"Paylines" are the different ways an online slot player can win on a spin. UK online slot games feature up to 243 ways to win depending on the number of reels and title you're playing. Players can choose how many lines they wish to play and in which combinations they want, as well as deciding how much money to place on each line. E.g. if a slot offers 25 paylines, you can choose to bet on 10 and select any combination you want like 1-5 and 14-19.

How Many Reels and Paylines Do Online Slots Have?

The standard classic slot machines had 3 reels, with one payline across the centre. Online video slots offered game designers the chance to expand on both of these. 5-reel games have become the standard for many online casinos, while a game can offer anywhere between one to 243 paylines, going forwards or backwards, as well as creating various diagonal shapes. Some slots even offer more than 243 paylines but these are pretty rare.

How Much Can You Bet On an Online Slot Game?

This can depend on a few factors like min/max bet limits and the game rules. You must bet at least the minimum and remember that all wins read from left to right. You could bet £1 on 25 paylines so this costs £25. Payouts can range from 10x to 2000x. The ‘x’ figure is the number of times your single line bet will be multiplied. Match three, four or five symbols and you’re a winner.

Slot Game Bonus Features

In addition to wins using only standard symbols, online slots feature a wide array of bonus icons and rounds, which improve a player’s chance of success, while also adding some variety to gameplay. The most commonly used slot game bonus features include Scatters, Wilds and Multiplier bonuses.

• Wild Symbols - Wild symbols can be substituted for other icons, which can help turn a losing line into a winning one. Wild symbols are not usually able to replace a scatter symbol.
• Scatter Symbols - Scatter symbols are icons that do not necessarily have to appear on the payline in order to be activated. In most online slots, the appearance of three, four or five scatter symbols spread out across the reels will generate a bonus payment, or even launch a bonus round or free spins round.
• Mutlipliers - Multiplier bonuses rounds can take various forms, but ultimately lead to a player trying to progress through several rounds in order to increase their score. This is often then multiplied by the initial bet to reward a much higher cash prize.

Advantages to Online Slots

• More Ways to Win - Most land-based casino slot machines only feature three pay reels with one central payline across the middle. Online slots offer many more chances to win.
• More Ways to Play - The extended reel options are combined with the full-screen display, so that rather than one strip to win on, players have the possibility to win over multiple paylines, normally in the region of 20 or 30. With the addition of bonus rounds, scatter symbols and wild card icons, some of the more modern online video slots offer players as many as 243 ways to win from one single spin of the reel.
• Greater Chance to Win - Due to the greater number of ways to win, players are naturally likely to win more frequently than in the real-life casinos. According to a survey of the loosest 5 cent slot machines in Las Vegas, the highest-scoring slot paid an average return of 93.42%.
• Better Payout Percentages - The worst online payout percentages are about as high as the best land-based casino slots, whereas the best games can return a payout percentage of 97-99% over the long term.

Common Misconceptions About Online Slots

There are many myths and rumours that surround the online slot machine. Are they programmed to pay out at specific times? Do they pay out less after a player wins the jackpot? Let’s have a look at the misconceptions that characterise most people’s views of online slots.

• Slots are easy to win - Not true. You have more chances to win but that does not mean you will. Every spin is entirely random, and while the game is easy to play, that does not make winning more likely.
• The more you play, the better the chance you have to win - Sadly, the length of your session won’t affect your chances of landing big wins. You always have to bear in mind the randomness of each spin- it’s likely you’ll be losing more, the longer you play.
• You can't win large sums from slots - If this was true, then no-one would play online slots – you can win significant amounts and of course, progressive jackpots can pay out huge figures.

Progressive slots are popular as they usually offer the biggest payout possible, sometimes millions. These slots take a small amount out of each player’s stake and put it towards an accumulating jackpot, which keeps growing until someone wins it. It can be won by any player once the amount reaches a certain figure. With thousands of players contributing, the prize pot can become huge. One random player will win the whole amount and the prize pot will start building up again.