Discover the best online slots for real money. Our casino experts have tested hundreds of slot games and ranked the top ones for UK players.
Online slots games are the modern version of slot machines you've seen in brick-and-mortar casinos. They range from classic fruit machines to the latest video slots and jackpot games. The problem is that there are just so many slots in the world right now.
Where To Play the Best Online Slots UK
The amount of online slots offered by UK-licensed casinos has climbed steadily, but there are still huge differences in the size of game selection. The best slot sites constantly add studios and games to their roster. We have compiled a list of casinos with the biggest and best selection of online slots in the UK, plus a top list of the best slots to play online. Go nuts!
New Customers only, +18.
Min deposit: £10.
Enter CASINO bonus code upon deposit (no Skrill/Neteller).
Bonus wagering: 50x (B).
Wagering time: 30 days.
A bet on a single game round cannot exceed 50% of the matched bonus.
Stake contributions apply.
Full T&C's apply.
Full terms and Bonus terms apply. GambleAware.org.
New players only, 18+.
Deposit and wager at least £20 to get daily spins.
All spins must be collected within 5 days from first deposit.
Spins have no wagering requirements.
Maximum withdrawalable winnings are capped at £250.
Please gamble responsibly. Full terms and Bonus terms apply. GambleAware.org.
Read More About Online Casino Slots
On this page, we introduce you to the best online slots; which ones are the best, what actually makes them the best, how the slots work, and where you can play them.
Naturally, it's always up to everyone's preferences on which slots are the best. On one day, you might want to play the best jackpot slot, and on another, it's the best penny slot you're looking for. Whereas person A likes the slots with as many paylines as possible, person B might prefer online video slots with more bonus features.
To help you out, we've gathered top slots UK here - the first 10 are categorised, and the rest are what we think all slot lovers should at least try in free-play mode. Check out the best online slots UK casinos have to offer:
Online slots come in all shapes and sizes. Here, you can check out some popular online slots and see what they look like in action.
What Makes the Slot "Best"?
Even if everyone has their own standards and definitions for the best slots, there are some features that seasoned slot players can all agree to have the biggest impacts:
The RTP: How much the slot theoretically pays back to the player from the bets as wins
Volatility/variance: Volatility level tells the statistical difference of outcomes, higher volatility means smaller odds of winning but larger potential wins
Maximum win: The maximum sum you can win from the game, usually told as "x times your bet"
However, these rarely do well on their own - the best slots games out there have at least two of these features.
EXAMPLE 1: Play'n GO's Book of Dead has an RTP of 96.21% which is pretty average, but it's very volatile, and the maximum win is pretty nice 5,000x your bet.
EXAMPLE 2: NetEnt's Mega Joker has an RTP of 99%, and it's a high-volatile slot, but the maximum win is lower with 2,000x (unless the game is the progressive jackpot version).
Let's compare these two examples with three other popular slots:
🎰 Slot game
❓ RTP
🔥 Volatility
💰 Max win
96.21%
High
5,000x
99.00%
High
2,000x
99.07%
Low
1,000x
96.82%
High
12,000x
96.26%
Extreme
200,000x
As you can see, Book of Dead and Dead or Alive provide you with pretty stable packages with a good (but not best) RTP, high volatility, and good levels of maximum wins.
Despite their exceptionally high RTPs, Mega Joker and Ugga Bugga both have low maximum wins, but unlike Mega Joker, Ugga Bugga's volatility is low. This means that Mega Joker's wins are scattered in a larger area and hitting big wins is more unlikely than when playing Ugga Bugga.
Starburst XXXtreme's high maximum win can be easily explained by the game's volatility level, which is through the roof. This means the odds of hitting big wins (or wins in general) in this game are from rare to extremely rare.
Best UK-Themed Online Slots
There is a vast sea of themes when it comes down to slots. The ever-popular themes are Egyptian and Asian on top of the regular fruit machines online, but there are themes out there that are a bit closer to home! Here are the best slots drawing their inspiration from the UK and literature like King Arthur's stories and the Sherwood Forest.
Try these British slots at casinos today!
🟠 Battle Royal, by Play'n GO
In Battle Royal, the theme is Henry VIII and his six wives - if that sounds a bit ominous, just wait until you see the bonus features on this one!
The slot itself is pretty basic with 5 reels, 3 rows, and 20 paylines from left to right. Henry himself acts as a Wild or Joker, substituting all other symbols, and the wives are the high-paying symbols. Note that the wives' symbols are twice as tall as single, low-paying symbols. Land a shield scatter on the first and last reels, and you get to pick one of them to reveal your reward, which is either Free Spins or Long Live the King.
Before the Free Spins start, you choose a wife you think will outlast the rest. Then, after each spin, a guillotine blade drops on a random reel. If there is a wife with her head visible, she gets beheaded and turns into a Wild. You have a chance to advance to the Long Live the King feature, if you chose the surviving wife correctly and if she survives the final round.
In Long Live the King feature, Henry VIII will open chests as you select them and reveal either a cash prize or a prize and a key which lets you escape the dungeon - should you wish to do so. There are also the ghosts of the wives roaming around, and if a ghost happens to pass by the same chest Henry has just opened, he's a goner! Escaping successfully through the dungeon door awards you a mystery multiplier.
The woods of Sherwood Forest are pretty safe unless you happen to be a rich person carrying a big pile of coins.
Robin Hood: Shifting Riches is a fun-filled slot game with 5 reels and 3 rows, and 20 paylines going from left to right. Each consecutive win shifts the reels to the right, adding a new reel on the left. On top of this, the second win gets a 2x multiplier, the third win 3x, and all the wins following that get 5x.
A bag of coins gets snatched by Robin Hood himself and replaced with a Wild. Each reel has an open chest below it, and once one chest has four bags inside, it triggers the Free Spins feature. The value of the spins during the feature is based on the average value of the regular spins, so you're free to bet less or more without losing the collected bags. The collected bags also get saved for one year after the last game round.
During the Free Spins, one of the high-paying symbols is chosen as the Extra Wild. Two or more Free Spins symbols (only appearing on Free Spins) award extra free spins.
Punk Toilet is the perfect slot for those who are not easily offended! Set in a pub toilet full of graffiti, stickers and 'out of order' signs, there's also a range of familiar faces, like Churchill and Einstein (who all have had a punk makeover), visiting the urinals.
There's a whole array of special features in this weird but fun slot. Starting with the setup, instead of your basic 5 reels and 3 rows, here your paylines start from 81 and can go up to over 120,000 ways to win. With paylines like these, it's no wonder the max win from this slot is 33,333x your bet.
The game also features Scatter symbols, Glory Door that reveals additional symbol spots, xWays increasing the paylines, and two kinds of free games called P!$$ Spins and $H!T Spins. This slot is one of those you have to try for yourself.
Holmes and the Stolen Stones is a progressive jackpot game by Yggdrasil featuring one of the most famous fictional detectives in the world. This time, Sherlock Holmes is looking into a case of precious jewels. The stones were stolen from a room with two locked doors, and nobody was seen going in or out. Adding to the mystery, both of the doors were still locked after the crime was noticed.
The game consists of five reels, three rows, and 20 paylines from left to right. Landing three or more Bonus symbols triggers the Bonus game, where you may open crates and find either cash prizes or missing shards of diamonds. A smoke bomb ends the bonus game.
The Free Spin feature is triggered by landing three or more Free Spin symbols, but you can also get awarded Free Spins by collecting five shards of the same colour. If it's the latter, you have the possibility to win the jackpot assigned to that particular shard colour. In addition, all Free Spin wins are multiplied by 3.
With some casino slots, UK flavour isn't that hard to detect. Like with this slot; the Union Jack, double-decker buses, tavern signs and Big Ben itself on the reels give it away pretty quickly. Big Ben the slot game from Aristocrat features all the iconic stuff from the streets of London City, and it even holds a nice maximum win of 60,000 your bet.
There are five reels, three rows, and 25 paylines from left to right. The Guard is Wild, and it doubles any prize if it substitutes a symbol on a winning line, except Scatter (which is Big Ben). Landing at least three Big Bens awards you Free Spins, where all wins are doubled and where you can trigger more free spins by landing three or more Scatters.
Landing Big Ben on reels 1 and 5 triggers the Big Ben bonus feature, where the number of chimes determines the cash prize. One chime means 2x your bet, and two chimes 4x. If you happen to hear all twelve chimes, your prize is a whopping 400x.
There are plenty of new slot games coming out every week. New trends and world events also guide the production of slot games. Big blockbusters in the field of movies or console games usually also get their own slot game sooner or later. Slot providers are constantly looking for new ideas for games that would engage the audience again and in a better way.
New slot games might have new mechanics, features or bonus games built in. Newer games usually have ever-better graphics and sounds too which can make the experience.
The newest slot games in 2024 are:
Rise of Olympus - Play'n Go
2 Wild 2 Die - Hacksaw Gaming
The Big Dawgs - Pragmatic Play
Sticky Bandits Unchained - Quickspin
Cygnus 4 (Elk Studios)
For a further and more comprehensive listing, we recommend reading our new slots games article where we have listed a bunch of slots from 2024 and 2023 in addition to the newest slot sites.
Different Types of Online Slot Machines
Real-money slot machines are the favourite game category for most casino players. There are many different types of online slot machines available at UK casinos.
Below, we'll cover the main aspects of these games. Discover your favourites and play slots online.
Modern Video Slots
Modern video slots constitute the bulk of the online casino slot games in the UK market.
Bursting with cool themes, features and graphics, these games can be very elaborate. They often feature storytelling, engaging animations and prolonged features to keep players on the edge of their seats.
There are many options to choose from, and it's not always easy to find the perfect game by trial and error.
Fruit Machines
Fruit machines are some of the simplest slots available. Modelled on the physical, coin-operated pub slots of times gone by, the online versions give the fruit machine a modern spin. These are generally based on American machines and not the fruit machines you would find in your local pub. Those games are also available but are rarer.
Online fruit machines can be divided into two categories:
Classic slots closely replicate the old pub slot machines
Fruit-themed slots use the familiar fruit symbols but include some modern features too
Progressive Jackpot Slots
Progressive jackpot slots feature a jackpot that grows until someone wins it. Whenever you make a bet on a progressive jackpot slot game, a portion of the money goes to the slot machine jackpot. The pot grows continually until some lucky player hits the winning combination.
Progressive slots offer the most lucrative potential out of all casino games out there. You can play them at most UK-licensed online casinos.
Penny slot machines are a budget-friendly solution for many slot fans. With a minimum bet of only 1p per payline, you can spin for hours without making a big dent in your bankroll.
Most slots now have fixed paylines. Before you venture out to play penny slots online, you need to make sure to pick a slot that allows you to select the number of active paylines.
Mobile slots are mobile-friendly versions of desktop slot games. Usually, the game is 100% the same, whether you play it on your computer, smartphone or tablet.
Sometimes, the controls may be optimised for a tiny screen, making it easier to use with just one hand. Some slots are also optimised for both screen orientations (landscape and portrait mode).
In 2023, all new releases are published on mobile. The support for Flash - a technology which used to dominate the desktop slots - was ended in December 2020. That's why practically every game studio has switched to mobile-friendly HTML5 technology.
Some of the old, obscure games are going to disappear from the game libraries for good. However, many studios are re-launching their older classics in a mobile-friendly format.
Best Payout Slots
High RTP (Return to player) slots have the smallest house edge of all online slot games. The RTP percentage tells you the share of your bets you can expect to win back.
These are averages calculated over thousands of spins. The results within a single gaming session may vary significantly.
When it comes to basic mechanisms, most online slots resemble physical slot machines. As a legacy of the old "one-armed bandits", there are many familiar elements:
The main game area consists of vertical reels stacked together. The most prevalent layout is 5 reels with 3 symbols showing on each.
However, there are both bigger and smaller layouts. The traditional 3-by-3 reel setup is still popular in classic slots. The biggest go up to 6-by-12 or 9-by-9.
A 3x3 slot
This is how a 3x3 slot with three reels and three rows usually looks like. A 3x3 slot can have up to 27 paylines. A good example of a 3x3 slot is Play'n GO's Fire Joker, which has three reels, three rows and five paylines.
A 5x3 Slot
A 5x3 slot has five reels and three rows. There can be up to 243 paylines on a slot like this. This is probably nowadays the most common slot setup and a good example of this would be Play'n GO's slot Book of Dead with 20 paylines, or NetEnt's slot Twin Spin with 243 paylines.
A Slot With X Number of Reels and Rows
Some modern-day slots can have as many reels and rows as you could imagine. There really are no rules on this. A good example of this kind of slot would be Red Tiger's Mystic Staxx with 8 reels, 6 rows, and 40 paylines.
A Megaways Slot
A basic Megaways slot usually has six reels, of which each reel can contain up to 7 symbols. Every time you spin the reels, the number of symbols gets randomised. A good example of this kind of slot would be Big Time Gaming's slot Bonanza Megaways. Just note, that many Megaways slots might have additional horizontal reels, making it possible to have even more winning combinations.
The winnings are based on getting symbols on the reels in pre-specified combinations. The highest-paying symbols are usually chosen to match the theme of the game. The low-paying symbols are usually:
Card deck suits: ♣️ ♦️ ♥️ ♠️
The top value cards of the deck: A, K, Q, J and 10. Sometimes also 9 is included
Paylines
Most games feature specific paylines on which you need to get rows of symbols. In most games, the paylines only go from left to right, meaning your winning combination needs to start from the leftmost reel. The longer the row of symbols you get, the bigger your win.
The number of paylines varies. Few games may even have only one paylines; most feature about 20, and some boast hundreds or even thousands of paylines.
When the number of lines exceeds the 100-mark, you can usually stop looking at the actual paylines. Instead, game suppliers speak of e.g. "243 ways to win". As long as there are the same symbols on the consecutive reels starting from the left, you're in for some winnings.
In the early days of online gambling, some slots had the option to choose the number of active paylines. However, it's quite rare now.
The info pane button is usually located in the corner of the game screen and marked with one of the following symbols: i, ? or 🏆.
From the info pane, you can view the:
Payouts for different symbols
Number of symbols needed for different wins
Descriptions of the special features
Payline layout
Rules of the game
Check out the info pane and you'll better understand what's happening in the game.
Apart from certain jackpot slots, you can select how much you want to bet per spin. The total bet size is affected by:
Number of paylines (sometimes shown as "bet")
Number of coins per payline (level)
Coin value
EXAMPLE: There are 9 active paylines with 1 coin per payline and 10p coin value. Your total bet per spin is 9 x 1 x 10p = 90p.
This may sound complicated, and some game suppliers have made choosing the bet size unnecessarily confusing.
Many game providers like to goof around with coin wins. Having a thousand coins clattering to the virtual money tray may sound appealing. However, with coin size at 1p, your joy may be short-lived.
Some suppliers have taken a different approach. Instead of tweaking the coin amounts and sizes, you can just pick the total bet from a list.
After choosing your bet and starting the game, there aren't really any decisions you can make, par from certain bonus features. If you want a little more player involvement, crash gambling is the next step up.
When you start a round, the reels begin to spin. You want to line up similar symbols to consecutive reels, starting from the left. If you get enough of the same symbol on a payline, you win. How much? That you can find on the paytable, accessed via the info pane.
Before each round, you can adjust the size of your bet.
Slot Special Features
Videoslots are the most popular game type of online casinos. In addition to unique themes and dazzling graphics, they come loaded with special features. These include different versions of:
Wild symbols
Scatter symbols
Free spins
Bonus games
Re-spins
Expanding reels
Big symbols
Win both ways
Below, you'll find detailed descriptions of all special features.
The wild symbol helps you create more winning combinations. It works in a similar way as the joker in poker. Whereas the joker replaces the missing card in your hand, the wild symbol fills in for the missing symbol on the payline.
The wild symbol replaces any base symbol of the game. If the same wild is on multiple paylines, it can simultaneously stand-in for several winning symbols.
However, the wild symbol doesn't replace special symbols, e.g. scatters.
In addition to standard wilds, some games feature more specialised wilds:
Sticky wilds stay on the reels for another round
Walking wilds travel on the reels between rounds
Stacked wilds appear on the reels as tall columns of wilds
Random wilds are sprinkled on the reels after the spin
Multiplier wilds multiply the winnings from the participating combinations
Scatter symbols are the special symbols that unlock free spins, bonus games or coin wins.
Unlike ordinary symbols, scatter symbols don't need to land on a specific payline. You only need to get a certain number of them on the reels. In many games, you need 3 scatters to launch the free spins or the bonus round.
A free spin is a confusing term. It can refer to free game rounds that casinos use to attract new players. On our free spins page, we tell you how to get no-deposit free spins. This is one of the most common forms of a deal welcome offer casino sites have.
In-game free spins are a completely different cup of tea. You don't get them as a bonus from the casino; you win them by playing the game. You usually need to land 3 scatter or free spins symbols on the reels to start this feature.
You always get a certain amount of free spins. In some games, the exact number of scatters landed may affect the spin amount. In others, you can win more spins during the feature itself.
The spins are given in the same bet size you used on the round where you unlocked the spins.
EXAMPLE: You play with a £1 bet and win 20 spins. Every one of these spins is worth £1, landing you a total of £20 worth of spins. While you're playing the free spins, they don't use up your real money balance.
When the free spins start, the appearance of the game often changes to make them distinct from the main game. The free rounds may also have some extra perks compared to the base game. Here are a few examples:
There may be a multiplier for all free spin winnings
Some low-paying symbols may be removed from the game during the free spins
You may get additional wilds
There are also free spin games, where you can decide the exact nature of the feature. For example, you may choose between a larger number of spins with fewer extra perks and a smaller number of spins with more winning potential.
You may need to hit the feature several times to unlock all the options.
Bonus games are special features which often offer much bigger wins than the base game. You usually need to land a certain number of scatters on the reels to start the bonus game. In some slots, you can launch the bonus feature by paying a lump sum. This is known as the Buy bonus.
Bonus games differ a lot from each other. Some may require decision-making or quick reactions. The simplest and most common version is the pick-n-click type of game. You reveal coin wins, free spins and other rewards by clicking treasure chests.
Re-spins let you spin some or all the reels again without placing an additional bet.
Just like there are many kinds of wilds, there are also various types of re-spins:
Walking re-spins make the reels spins again and again until the special symbol exits the reels
Cascading reels explode all the symbols of the winning combination to make way for new wins
Sticky re-spin re-rolls all the spaces that aren't part of a winning combination. This continues until there are no new wins
Sticky Wins
The sticky win isn't exactly a re-spin, but it resembles this feature class a lot. When you win, the winning combinations stay on the reels for an additional round. You need to place a standard bet, though.
Expanding Reels
Expanding reels copy themselves on one or more neighbouring reels or add completely new places for symbols. This helps create longer, more valuable winning combinations.
Colossal Symbols
Colossal symbols are bigger than the standard 1-by-1 symbols. They help create big clusters of the same symbol.
NetEnt's Spinata Grande is one of the most popular slots with colossal symbols.
Win Both Ways
In most slots, the paylines only go from left to right. You'll only get wins, if:
You have the same symbol
On the same payline
On the consecutive reels (no gaps)
Starting from the left-most reel
When you have a slot with wins both ways, the paylines can go from right to left and left to right. This practically doubles the number of wins.
Playing slots in their demo mode is a great way to try them out without risking your money - especially when they're newly published. When looking at the pros and cons of playing free slots over real money slots, there are other benefits, too.
With free game slots, you can:
Try out the game without using real money
Learn how the game works and what triggers the bonus features
See if the slot is worth playing with real cash
Play the slot without registering to a casino and not give any details
Of course, you will miss out on certain things if you play free slots. For example, you can't win any real money from them, and certain jackpot elements in the slots may be missing or make the game unavailable in demo mode. Playing slots for real money is the only way to have a chance to win cash prizes and wager any bonus funds.
Online Slots vs Physical Slot Machines
You might be asking which is better: playing the physical fruit machines, or playing slots online at a casino site? Playing online slots actually has a bunch of advantages when compared to actually visiting a casino (or a pub) to play slots.
If you don't want to play fruit machines online with real money you can play their demos for free. This is something you can't really do with physical slots! With real fruit machines, there's no way for you to test them out without inserting some cash.
It's also not a secret that slots online generally have a better RTP (Return to Player) than physical machines. Whereas the RTP of physical slots is usually around 85-92%, the RTP of online slots goes up to 95-98%, the average being approximately 96%. This means that "offline slots" generally have a bigger house edge than online versions. The best slots machines to play online can even have an RTP of 99%!
You're spoilt for choice with online slots! Even if a land-based casino tells you they have thousands of cash slots, there's actually less than that in the means of variety. The casinos can't offer just one of each slot title because that means the players would have to queue for the slots they'd like to play, so there are usually several game machines of the same title. This problem doesn't exist in online casinos - you can open any slot of your choice and play it instantly, and there could still be thousands of people playing that same slot at the same time.
Online slots are more hygienic. When playing gambling slots at your local pub (or even at a casino) there are bound to be other people there - going to the loo, maybe not washing their hands, picking their noses and all kinds of gross. You can easily avoid all that by playing slots on your phone!
How To Find Slot Casinos
To find slot casinos, all you need to do is know where to start your search. As you're already reading this on Bojoko, you've taken the first step. Now, see what to do next:
1. Find a slot casino from our list
On Bojoko, you'll find a massive list of slot casinos. You can use ready-made filters to help you find the casino with best online slot games.
2. Read the reviews from our experts and other users
After you have chosen a slot casino, you can read what our experts and other users have written about it. Their first-hand accounts will give you a clear idea of what it's like to play there.
3. Go to the casino
Every review page has a big green ‘PLAY HERE' button that will take you to the casino. That button will also activate any special bonus offers we might have for that particular slot casino.
4. Register and play
When you get to the casino, you need to register an account. Just fill out the required information and verify your email if needed. Then you can just deposit and play the top slot games.
Finding the best slot casino for you comes with plenty of goodies on the side. By reading the reviews on Bojoko, you may get some valuable inside information about the slot sites.
Claim Slot Offers
You can find a slots bonus available for new players when you're searching slot casinos. These offers allow you to play slots more and longer, and claiming the offers can even give you the possibility to try out completely new slots.
How to get slot offers:
Find a slot casino
Register a new player account
Make a deposit and opt-in for a slot offer or bonus
Enjoy your bonus
Bojoko Helps You Find the Best Slot Games
On Bojoko, you can learn all there is about modern online slots - how they work, what kind of features they have, and how to choose the best ones to play. On this page alone, you can see just how many different types of slots there are at online casinos. We help you to understand the differences between the games and their features so that you can easily spot the slots worth your time.
You can rely on our expertise. Our team has played on all the best online slots UK sites and spent countless hours spinning the reels, so we know what we write about.
How Are Slots Licensed in the UK?
Getting a slot from the developer's desk to the player's hands isn't as easy as you might think. There are a lot of regulatory bodies that need to make sure that every single part of the game is fair and square. This is no place for cheaters.
In the case of Great Britain, the regulator who watches over everyone is UKGC, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission. They make sure that every cog in the machine is doing what it should and that the player is getting fair treatment.
A licence is always for the protection of the players.
The whole process takes many steps. Every single link in the chain needs to be checked and made sure that they work by the book. Simply put, to get a game to a player, the following needs to happen:
The developer needs a remote licence
The slot needs third-party testing and a licence
The casino needs an operating licence
When all these are done, then you as a player can go and play the game knowing that everything is trustworthy. The game will not try to cheat you, the randomness is actually random and the casino doesn't manipulate any results.
On Bojoko, you'll only find online casinos licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. For example, you can find here the list of top 50 UK online casinos, all heavily licensed and regulated for your safety.
Can a Slot Licence Expire?
Some licences are valid until they get manually revoked. For example, a developer's remote licence can be taken away if UKGC gets complaints and looks into it.
A slot's licence on the other hand is not indefinite. They are good for a year or two, depending on the details. After that, the developer needs to reapply for the licence. This is usually a walk in the park, as the game might have not been changed since the first licence application. If the game has been updated in any way, then it needs to be looked over again by a third-party tester.
When a game goes to third-party testing, every single bit of it is looked at. At the time of this article, UKGC uses iTech Labs to test the slots. They go over everything, and I do mean everything. The slot needs to pass rigorous testing and even the source code of the game is analysed.
EXAMPLE: Twin Spin Megaways needed to comply with 28 different requirements to meet the licensing standards, including things like rules and artwork, RTP, functionality, result determination, transaction displays etc.
Some other games might even need a couple more, depending on the features and what kind of a game it is.
All of this is done for you. If UKGC wouldn't keep a watchful eye over the developers and the casinos, they could offer any kind of games they wanted. No one would ever know if they were fair and that the player even has a chance to win anything.
Compete in Slot Tournaments Online
A slot tournament is a form of casino competition that is available in some UK casinos. There are different types of slot tournaments online. In some categories, you have to hit the biggest coin win in one or over several spins; in others, you need to wager the most in a certain slot.
You can find all the casino competitions and slot tournaments on each casino's own casino review page.
Slots and Responsible Gaming
Gambling is always a risky activity and slots in particular are a risky game category. Understanding the games and the mathematics that goes into them will help you become a more responsible player.
Internet slots are a great product for casinos, as they are fast games with a decent casino edge. This means that the player will likely play a large number of rounds and thus end up losing. The longer you play, the likelier it is that you lose.
Slots, casino spin games, and bet slots often have mechanics that will push you to play more. Maybe a bonus game that gets better every time you activate it or a symbol you need to keep collecting. These little hooks are there to make sure you don't stop. They are there to plant the idea in your head that maybe the next spin will win big. By identifying these mechanics, it is easier to stay in control.
It is also easy to lose track of your spending when you are playing slots. A single spin is just a few seconds and with turbo mode, you can spin twice every second. It is easy to see why a game like that would become a problem. Every spin has a negative statistical outcome, which means that it is in the casino's interest to make sure you spin more.
On our Responsible gaming page, you can read more about how to gamble responsibly, how to recognise a possible gambling problem, and where to seek help.
FAQ
Online slots are the modern version of the physical slot machines you've seen in brick-and-mortar casinos. They are the most popular gambling games online and all UK-licensed internet casinos have them.
Online or internet slots have many advantages over brick-and-mortar casino slot machines. These include:
Bigger game selection
Higher RTP = smaller house edge
More betting options
Bigger jackpots
More features
Check out our selection tool to find casinos with the largest selection of versatile online slots.
Online slots are very simple to play:
Log in to an online casino
Pick a game
Pick the bet size
Click the spin button
The reels start to spin together and stop one by one. Whether you win or lose depends on the symbols you land on the reels and the active paylines of the game.
You can see the paytable and rules for each slot by clicking the information button once you've opened the game.
No, online slots are not a scam. However, online slots have a built-in house edge. In the long run, you're likely to lose more than you win while playing them. That's why every player takes a conscious risk playing them. Just like any other form of gambling, you shouldn't play with money you're not prepared to lose.
Slots are built to be as unpredictable and random as possible. Every spin is a random event, completely independent of the results of the previous rounds.
This unpredictability is powered by a random number generator (RNG). Every RNG in use on licensed markets such as the UK is tested and authorised by independent testing agencies to guarantee fair play.
Some game providers have also been in the business for decades, which is hard if you scam your players. For example, there are still new Microgaming casinos popping up, and Microgaming has been around since 1994.
To put it bluntly, there's no way to beat a slot machine. You can win, but it's all random, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Some players believe they can determine when a slot is going to pay out. Others use different betting strategies to maximise their chances of winning. This is nonsense.
Slot machines have no memory, and the odds stay the same from one spin to the next, even after a jackpot is won.
Instead, you can enjoy slots for a longer time without losing too much. Manage your expectations and your spending well in an online casino:
Play for the right reasons. Gambling is a form of entertainment, not a way to make money
Set aside a gaming budget you can comfortably lose - and stick to it!
Keep your individual bets small relative to your overall gaming budget
Don't chase your losses or raise the stakes after a bad run
RTP or Return to Player is the payout percentage of the slot. Slots available in UK-licensed online casinos usually have an RTP of around 96%.
EXAMPLE: In a slot with an RTP of 96%, on average, you win back £96 for every £100 wagered.
The RTP is an average that realises over the course of thousands of spins, meaning you probably won't win exactly £96 within a single game session.
RTP can also be used to calculate the house edge, i.e. what are the odds in the casino's favour? 100% - RTP% = house edge. In the example above, the house edge is 4%.
We explain RTP and the house edge in more detail on our Casino games page.
The abbreviation stands for Random Number Generator. To put it simply, the RNG ensures each outcome of a slot is randomised and not, in any way, connected to the outcomes that came before or that will come after.
Each casino site that is licenced by the UK Gambling Commission uses an RNG, which is why it's recommended to check the licences of the online casino before playing there.
Volatility (a.k.a. variance) describes how much the game results vary between rounds.
Low volatility slots churn out small wins at a steady pace. High volatility slots give bigger individual wins, but you may have to wait for a long time between hits.
Volatility is the opposite of hit frequency: high volatility slots have a low hit frequency and vice versa.
When you play slots for real money, choosing the game is always a matter of personal taste. You may already have some solid favourites, but trying something new makes a world of difference.
These are the main factors to take into account when picking the best slots to play:
RTP
Volatility
Minimum & maximum bet
Special features
Mobile usability
Theme
Jackpots
Best penny slot: Book of Dead, by Play'n GO
Best classic slot: Mega Joker, by NetEnt
Best Megaways slot: Bonanza Megaways, by Big Time Gaming
Best progressive jackpot slot: Mega Moolah, by Microgaming
Best high payout slot: Dead or Alive, by NetEnt
Best high RTP slot: Ugga Bugga, by Playtech
Best high volatile slot: Starburst XXXtreme, by NetEnt
Best low volatile slot: Starburst, by NetEnt
Best high-roller slot: The Doghouse, by Pragmatic Play
There are a lot of beliefs going around about the best time to play slots online. Some prefer the early morning hours, some hold off their playing until the end of the month, and so on for various reasons - mostly based on gut feelings and myths.
One thing is somewhat true, however; the more there are players online and spinning the reels, there theoretically are better odds for higher payouts. The fact still remains that even if you play only at peak hours there is no guarantee of winning.
Online slots are available 24/7, 365 days a year. So, our advice is to play whenever it's most convenient for you. Just remember to gamble responsibly.
Kati Saari has worked in the gambling industry since 2014. She has tested hundreds of casinos and written thousands of articles while evolving into an iron-clad expert in her field. Having a true passion for her work she’s adamant about not rushing into anything without thorough research.
Article by:
Ville Saari
Ville is an industry veteran, who has written thousands of gambling-related reviews and articles since 2009. He is an IT engineer with a passion for game and strategy optimisation, and to teach the world to play better.
