The Best Types of Slot Machines to Play Online
For much of the last century, slot machines were straightforward devices. These classic games featured a metal casing with spinning mechanical reels displaying symbols. Players won jackpots when the symbols aligned on the reels in a matching combination.
In the past three decades, advancements in computer and video game technology have revolutionized slot machine gameplay. While the familiar spinning reels remain visible to players, modern machines now rely on microcomputers and random number generators (RNGs) to determine outcomes. This shift has enhanced gameplay precision and added new layers of excitement.
Today, a wide variety of slot machine types are available in casinos worldwide, featuring diverse themes, bonus features, and unique gameplay styles. This page explores and categorizes the most popular types of slot machines and their features, helping players understand the options available.
Bonus Slots
One of the most popular types of slot games today is bonus slots, which trigger bonus rounds when specific symbols or combinations appear on the payline. A well-known example is the Wheel of Fortune slot machine, featuring a replica of the iconic game show’s wheel above the machine. When you hit certain symbols, you get to spin the wheel for a bonus payout.
Banking Games
A banking game is a game in which coins are accumulated until they’re won. Piggy Bankin’ is one of the most popular examples of this kind of game, which has been around for a long time. Banking games should not be confused with progressive slots, which are covered later on this page.
Multiple Reels and Paylines
Early slot machines were simple, featuring just three reels and a single payline. Modern slot machines, however, offer far more possibilities. What enabled this evolution? Computers.
Today, even classic three-reel slot machines can feature multiple paylines, while five-reel machines offer an even greater number of paylines and combinations. These advancements have dramatically increased the potential jackpot sizes. The math is straightforward: with three reels and ten symbols on each, the hardest combination has a 1 in 1,000 chance of hitting. Any jackpot exceeding 1,000 to 1 odds would be unsustainable for a casino.
Modern five-reel slot machines use virtual reels powered by random number generators (RNGs). With 256 symbols per reel, the combinations grow exponentially, allowing for massive jackpots while keeping games profitable. Furthermore, the number of paylines has soared. While early machines had only one payline, today’s slots commonly feature dozens or even hundreds of paylines, delivering more ways to win.
- 2
- 3
- 5
- 9
- 20
- 25
A new type of Australian slot machine game does away with paylines altogether, and these games offer 243 different ways to win. Basically, any combination of winning symbols from left to right results in payouts. These games are hugely popular, and even though the concept sounds a little confusing, it actually become intuitive very quickly during gameplay. In fact, 243 ways slots are wicked addictive fun.
Types of Progressive Slots – Standalone, Local, and Wide Area
Progressive slot machines offer jackpots that grow continuously with each wager. These jackpots start with a seed amount provided by the casino or network, and a small percentage of every player’s bet contributes to the progressive prize.
These jackpots can reach astronomical amounts, but the odds of hitting such a jackpot are equally astronomical, making these games comparable to lotteries. There are multiple types of progressive slots, each offering unique gameplay dynamics. Standalone progressive slots are tied to a single machine, with jackpots typically reaching thousands of dollars. Only bets on that specific game contribute to its jackpot, making it similar to banking slot machines.
Local progressive jackpots link machines within a single casino, allowing the jackpot to grow faster as every bet across the network contributes. These jackpots often climb into the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. The largest prizes come from wide-area progressive slot machines, which connect machines across multiple casinos. These jackpots are life-changing, frequently reaching into the millions. The most well-known wide-area progressive network is Megabucks, launched in 1986 by IGT, the leading slot machine manufacturer worldwide.
Types of Online Slots
All of the above types of slot machines are available in online versions as well as traditional brick and mortar casinos. In fact, in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal but regulated, you can find exact duplicates of the games available at Vegas casinos.
Most of these games are made available via Wagerworks, which was purchased by IGT in 2005 for $90 million. Examples of these branded and popular slots games now available online include:
- American Idol
- Dolly Parton
- Elvis
- Family Guy
- Jeopardy
- Judge Judy
- Lobstermania
- Star Trek
- Wheel of Fortune
Other online slot games are exclusively available online. Examples of these include games from Realtime Gaming and Microgaming, the latter of which offers some of the largest progressive jackpots on the Internet.