Every casino game has odds more favorable to the house than the player. This is true for both online and brick-and-mortar casinos. So this guide isn’t about how much you will win, this is about how much you can win.
And you can win a lot of money at online casinos.
However, you usually have more win potential at land-based casinos. The in-person slots on the Vegas Strip offer the world’s biggest jackpots, and it’s unlikely that US online casinos will ever live up to the Vegas Strip action.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t become a millionaire by playing online casino games.
Nothing Tops In-Person Vegas Slots
The world record biggest slot machine win is $39,713,982.25, won by a 25-year-old software engineer who was visiting the Las Vegas Strip from Los Angeles in March 2003. The lucky guy was playing the Megabucks slot, which is exclusively available in-person at brick-and-mortar casinos.
In fact, the Megabucks slot is responsible for most of the biggest slot wins of all time. Over $39 million is the record, but this slot can always hit well over a million dollars for a lucky player.
No online slots come close to that. While you can find some fixed jackpots at $1 million, that seems to be the maximum. No progressive jackpots at legal, real-money online casinos are over a million, at least not to our knowledge.
Players Can Win Big With Progressive Jackpots, But…
Many online slots players are used to the in-person slot machines, which means most think the progressive jackpots offer the biggest win potential. While online slots offer progressives in the five-figure range, the progressive slots usually have bigger fixed jackpot payouts.
For example, here’s how the progressive jackpots at a few of the most popular slots at Golden Nugget Online Casino stacked up against their fixed jackpots:
- Divine Fortune: ~$70,000 progressive, $350,000 fixed jackpot
- Imperial Riches: ~$40,000 progressive, $150,000 fixed jackpot
- Mercy of the Gods: ~$30,000 progressive, $350,000 fixed jackpot
Mercy of the Gods offers the starkest comparison, where players can win 10x the progressive jackpot by triggering the max payout.
Non-Progressive Slots Give Even More
Online Slots With $1 Million Jackpots
The following slots are available at Golden Nugget Online Casino New Jersey and elsewhere, and all offer a million-dollar max payout:
- Divine Fortune Megaways Slot
- Cash Wizard Slot
- Vikings Slot
- Pillars of Asgard Slot
Megaways Usually Hit Huge
Online slots with the “Megaways” label usually have prizes of at least a quarter million. The following Megaways slots have prizes of up to $800,000:
- Big Bucks Bandits Megaways
- Bonanza Megaways
- Extra Chilli Megaways
- Holy Diver Megaways
- Medusa Megaways
- White Rabbit Megaways
Consider Progressive Slots At Social Casinos
Pulsz Casino is a promotional sweepstakes site that accepts players from all US states except for Washington state and Idaho. That means you have access to Pulsz even if you don’t live in one of the few states with legal real-money online casinos.
Online casino players can exchange Pulsz Sweepstakes Coins for cash prizes. You can redeem cash prizes anytime after you reach the minimum required.
Win Potential Can Depend On Your State
Real-money online casinos are limited to the following states:
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
- Michigan
- West Virginia
- Delaware
New Jersey and Pennsylvania Win Potential
New Jersey and Pennsylvania’s online casinos have been around for a few years, which means state regulators have had ample time to approve games. That’s why some of the top sites boast over 500 different slots. And the more slots to choose from, the higher the likelihood of finding one with massive win potential.
Michigan Win Potential
In Michigan, you have a comparable number of online casino platforms to choose from. However, online casino gaming launched in January 2021, so the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB) hasn’t had enough time to approve hundreds of slots.
This is best illustrated by the Golden Nugget Online Casino, which is available in Michigan and New Jersey. In the New Jersey version, you can find Divine Fortune Megaways, which offers the $1,000,000 max payout, as well as the Divine Fortune progressive. But Golden Nugget Michigan only has the Divine Fortune progressive.
West Virginia and Delaware Win Potential
With West Virginia and Delaware, the online casino market is significantly smaller than in the other three states. This means the win potential is inherently smaller, particularly in the progressive jackpot department. But you can still find slots with six-figure fixed jackpots at some of the online casino options.
Don’t Be Fooled By Illegal Online Casino Progressives
In other places in the world, such as the UK and Canada, legal online casinos offer progressive slots that can offer wins in the millions. For example, the Mega Moolah slot paid out the world record biggest online slot win of £13.2 million to a UK player in 2015.
But Mega Moolah is not legal in the US, and the winnings will almost certainly be revoked if a US player won the jackpot.
Mega Fortune is another online slot with huge progressive jackpots. And that too is illegal in the US.
Illegal online casinos are notorious for withholding rightfully earned winnings. Million-dollar jackpots are particularly susceptible to this predatory behavior. A $70,000 jackpot win at a legal online casino is better than getting $0 of a multi-million-dollar jackpot won at an illegal site.
Best case scenario, they let you withdraw the winnings in small increments for as long as the illegal site exists. Worst case scenario, they sell your personal financial information, offer you only rigged games, and then disappear without notice. That happens every day.
Online Poker Tournaments Have Massive Win Potential
Before you head off to the slots, what about online poker tournaments? In states with legal online poker, you can win hundreds of thousands at multi-table tournaments every week.
Online poker takes skill, luck, practice, and expertise. But the outcome of a slot machine is based purely on luck, so you have more control over your divine fortune playing poker than you do spinning Divine Fortune.
It’s easier and more accessible to play the slots. In the long run, though, online poker may be worth considering. Who knows, you could be the next World Series of Poker Champion that qualified from playing online a la Chris Moneymaker.
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