- If you’re new to the slot scene you’ll want to play the best slots first - here they are.
- Some games that were big deals when the industry began are no longer relevant today.
- Bonanza Billions, Mega Moolah, Book of Ra Deluxe, and more made the cut for best online slots.
There are so many different online slots out there it can feel a bit overwhelming at times. As an experienced player you might not find it too difficult to navigate through all the games, but what about newbies? How are they supposed to know which of the thousands of slots available are worth playing and which aren’t?
Truth be told, there aren’t any bad games per se; someone, somewhere would still play them. However, there are definitely some titles players should prioritize over others.
Today we’re ranking the top slots every single gambler should try before they kick the bucket. But since we can’t exactly make such a definitive statement without explaining our choices, we’ve also included ten games that really aren’t worth your time or money.
Ready to get started? So are we!
Best Slot Machines You Need to Play Once in Your Life
It doesn’t matter if you are a fan of modern or classic slots – there are tons of great options out there.
In fact, finding the best casino slots can sometimes be a bit overwhelming simply because there are thousands upon thousands to choose from.
If you are looking for the hottest slots right now, we’ve got you covered. But what about slots that have been around for decades?
Are there any good old games that still hold up against newer releases? There are, believe it or not.
The thing with casino slots is that their quality isn’t wholly determined by visuals and audio. It’s true that nice animations and catchy sounds can make the gaming experience much more enjoyable, but other factors weigh just as heavily.
Even the best-looking slots can have terrible RTPs while some older games with simple graphics can still be hugely popular for a reason.
So, how do you determine which slots are worthy of being called classics? The answer is simple – – these games have managed to stand the test of time.
All of the following picks are either original games that paved the way for future releases, or modern slots that have taken the gambling world by storm and show no signs of losing popularity anytime soon.
Bonanza Billions
- Provider: Playtech
- Year of Launch: 2006
- RTP: 96%
You might not have heard of this one even though it deserves to be counted among the best real money slots.
Why? Well, for starters, it has a high RTP and its jackpot is truly life changing. On top of all that, it looks pretty good for a game that’s almost two decades old.
This 3D slot features five reels and twenty paylines, and is set in a lush jungle full of precious gems and other expensive trinkets.
The bonus round is where all the magic happens – collect enough Scattered Tiger’s Eye to reach the top of the Bonanza Billion buffalo stacked wilds and win the jackpot.
Tips For Playing Slots Online for Real Money - How To Play Online SlotsIf you don’t feel like waiting that long, there’s a high chance you’ll land a big win somewhere along the way – the game has a 96% RTP after all.
Bonanza Billion is one of those slots that attracts players regardless of age, gender, or location.
Mega Moolah
- Provider: Microgaming
- Year of Launch: 2006
- RTP: 88.12%
Moving on with our list of the best online casino slots, we have another legendary progressive jackpot slot – none other than Microgaming’s iconic Mega Moolah.
What makes this African savannah-themed game so special? Is it the cool animation when you hit the jackpot? Is it the zebra, giraffe, elephant, buffalo, and lion symbols? Or maybe it’s the fact you can win crazy amounts of cash?
Well, it’s kind of all of the above.
Yes, the animations are neat, yes, the theme is fun, and yes, you could literally become a millionaire overnight (or in reality, over the course of a few minutes). What’s not to love?
Although Mega Moolah may not look like much compared to modern slots, it’s proven it still has what it takes to compete with newcomers. That is why you can , meant precisely for this game.
Book of Ra Deluxe
- Provider: Novomatic/Greentube
- Year of Launch: 2005
- RTP: 95.11%
Novomatic’s Book of Ra was huge when it first came out and plenty of have tried cashing in on its success. In fact, I’d be surprised if you haven’t come across a dozen different versions of this ancient Egypt-themed game.
However, most players seem to agree that the original is still the best.
Book of Ra Deluxe may look primitive compared to some of the newest slots, but its expansion symbol feature remains as exciting as ever. Just like in the case of Mega Moolah, simplicity seems to be the secret to this game’s enduring success.
Honorable mention: Book of Dead.
Good Girl Bad Girl
- Provider: Betsoft
- Year of Launch: 2008
- RTP: 97.8%
Betsoft’s Good Girl Bad Girl is still one of the most innovative slots we’ve ever seen. Featuring two independent jackpot networks and the option to play on one, two, or all three enabled paylines, it allows you to customize your experience according to your own risk tolerance.
Besides offering an unparalleled level of flexibility, this game is simply fun to play. The storyline is well thought out, the animations are amazing for a game released in ’08, and the winnings are decent provided you bet big.
Best Video Poker Games to Play Online for Real MoneyUnfortunately, Betsoft no longer offers their games to players in the US, but perhaps that will change sometime in the future. We can dream, can’t we?
Ugga Bugga
- Provider: NetEnt
- Year of Launch: 2005
- RTP: 99.32%
Ugga Bugga is a classic fruit machine from NetEnt that has stood the test of time mostly thanks to its insane RTP.
With a theoretical return to player of 99.32%, this quirky game gives you close to a 99-cent expected value (-0.32 cents) on each dollar wagered. Sure, the max bet is only $5, but who cares when you can sit there and press the button for hours on end?
Note that this number represents the theoretical RTP and does not reflect your actual chances of winning or losing. Whether you win or lose will depend on which of the ten playfields you choose to bet on and, of course, Lady Luck’s mood.
What’s really interesting about Ugga Bugga is that each of the playlines works independently, meaning that you could actually end up winning money even if whatever is happening on your screen looks like complete chaos.
If you’re feeling bored and want to waste some money that you don’t care about, Ugga Bugga might be the perfect game for you. Just don’t expect to hit that elusive 99.32% RTP.
Fun fact: an Italian man once bet €500,000 on Ugga Bugga and won €470,000. That’s almost a million American dollars, folks!
Guns N’ Roses
- Provider: NetEnt
- Year of Launch: 2016
- RTP: 96.98%
Even though it’s not as popular as it used to be, NetEnt’s Guns N’ Roses is still considered one of the best branded slots currently available.
Not only does this game offer fantastic gameplay, cool graphics, and an awesome soundtrack, it also gives players a chance to win up to 250 times their stake. Talk about bang for buck!
What sets this rockin’ slot machine apart from the competition is the Crowd-Podium feature, which can turn any regular symbol into an expanding wild.
Encore! Encore!
Street Fighter II
- Provider: NetEnt
- Year of Launch: 2017
- RTP: 96.7%
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Edition is based on the immensely popular video game of the same name. Developed by Capcom in 1992, the source material helped take arcade games to the next level, laying the foundations for many of the fighting games we enjoy today.
NetEnt’s slot adaptation boasts vibrant graphics, fun characters, cool sound effects, and all the features you’d expect from a top game including cheat buttons (from the original game), wild symbols, scatter symbols, lucrative bonus rounds, and free spins.
Whether you’re familiar with the video slot or not, you’ll surely appreciate what the Fighting Foss Game Machine has to offer.
Immortal Romance
- Provider: Microgaming
- Year of Launch: 2011
- RTP: 96.86%
Vampire-themed movies date back to the early days of cinema, but it wasn’t until Stephenie Meyer published Twilight in 2005 that bloodsuckers became trendy again.
Ways Casinos Are Using Facial Recognition TechnologyAlthough the saga wrapped up over a decade ago, vampires are still having a moment in pop culture, proving that what’s ours always belongs to us.
One game that perfectly captures the moodiness of the genre is Immortal Romance, an into the supernatural world.
Thanks to its complex and intertwined storyline, memorable characters, Chamber of Spins bonus feature, and five wild reels, this slot is still as popular today as it was a decade ago.
Mega Fortune
- Provider: NetEnt
- Year of Launch: 2009
- RTP: 96.60%
Mega Fortune might not look like much, but this retro slot is hiding a massive prize inside a wheel of fortune bonus game.
Set against a luxurious yacht background and filled with pricey symbols such as champagne, diamonds, and smoking cigars in platinum ashtrays, this game promises to deliver the high life – at least for a little while.
Although you can win some decent coinages during regular, non-bonus plays, the real money is in the bonus round. To score the mega jackpot, however, you’ll need more than just luck on your side.
Has this game made people instant millionaires? Yes. Has it also turned otherwise sensible adults into sad, depressed souls after failing to make them rich? Also yes.
Just remember: although Mega Fortune is undoubtedly one of the best online casino slots, it’s not a cash cow.
Goodfellas Casino Slot
- Provider: Probability Jones
- Year of Launch: 2014
- RTP: 95.46%
Fans of organized crime will be glad to learn that Mega Fortune is not the only slot machine inspired by the shady underworld that warrants a spot on our best online slots list.
Goodfellas, based on the famous 1990 movie, invites players to immerse themselves in the gangster lifestyle without putting their liberty or lives at risk.
Featuring clips and dialogues from the iconic film directed by Martin Scorsese, this 25-line slot packs quite a punch.
Honorable mention: The Sopranos.
Clear as Mud – How to Read a Slot’s Payout Table
Picking the right slot machines comes down to understanding how to read a payout table. And unless you’re a seasoned player, deciphering this information can be pretty confusing. Allow us to explain.
When you search for the “best online slot machines” Google usually shows you a series of numbers followed by “%.” These are the games’ theoretical payouts, or Return to Player (RTP) percentages.
Providers typically audit their games to ensure their RNGs work as intended. However, it’s important to note that the audit trail starts afresh every month, meaning any big wins or jackpots hit between audits will not be paid out. This is why winning the jackpot might prove harder than it should in practice.
Sometimes you’ll see several RTPs listed for a single game. This indicates that there are multiple versions of the slot machine with different jackpots – for example, a local one and a wide area network one.
Progressive slots are a prime example of this. Their RTPs will generally start at a certain percentage but then the moment one of the jackpots is hit, the game resets to that initial value. Got it? Great!
Some providers skip the RTP business altogether and instead publish the slots’ average theoretical return. Known as the Average Theoretical Hold Percentage (ATHP), this metric tells you how much each player tends to lose on average.
The higher the ATHP is, the worse the game.
Now that we’ve gone over RTPs let’s move on to hit rates. Hit rate refers to the percentage of times a game pays out. Unlike RTP, hit rate does not indicate the amount won; it only tells you whether or not a particular slot is stingy.
Some sites will also provide info on statistic and standard deviation. Put simply, standard deviation measures how spread out a slot’s results are from the mean (statistical) while volatility indicates the size and frequency of winners.
Volatility and standard deviation are related but not the same. Standard deviation is a mathematical concept while volatility is the result of applying said concept to gambling.
Don’t worry if that went straight over your head; the short version is that both metrics attempt to quantify how often a slot pays and whether the prizes are small, medium, or large.
Finally, you may also encounter the term Plain Percentage Win (PPW). Providing insight into the slot’s average winnings as a percentage of the sum bet, PPW is calculated by dividing the average win by the average bet.
For instance, a slot with a PPW of 95 would on average pay 95c for every $1 wagered.
Got all that? Of course you did. Now go forth and pick the very best slot machines!
Mind the Gap – Real Money Casino Slots Versus Free Slot Games
Playing free slot games is a great way to kill some time or pass judgment. Plus, it can help you figure out which slots are worth betting your hard-earned money on.
That being said, it’s important to understand that the free and real money versions of a game are rarely identical twins. Even the best online slots can change quite a bit once a bunch of zeros are added to some of the winning combinations.
Best Casino Games List (Plus 5 to Avoid) - Indivisible GamingDoes this mean you should stay away from real money slots? Absolutely not, but it does mean you should treat them with the respect they deserve.
Playing for Free vs Playing for Real Money
Free casino slots give new players the opportunity to test drive a game and see if they enjoy it before splashing any cash. They allow users to study the ins and outs of a particular slot, memorizing where each symbol appears and figuring out when certain bonuses are triggered.
However, making the leap from the free demo to the real money version can be quite the shock.
- Variance can be much higher: Variance refers to the difference between a slot’s theoretical RTP and its average theoretical return in a given period. In other words, it’s a measure of how volatile the payments are. Although high variance slots can be extremely generous, long sessions with nothing to show for it are not unusual
- Wagers can be significantly higher: Most free slots come with a fixed number of coins per line. For instance, you might be able to play with one coin, two coins, or three coins but the value of each coin cannot be adjusted. However, when you switch to the real money version, you may find that each wager consists of several coins whose value cannot be changed
- Winnings are not real: See above
- Emotional attachment is often higher: When you play slots for free, you might get lucky and walk away with what seems like a huge win. However, when you transition to real money games, that same win might look tiny in comparison – and stinge neither time nor effort.
- Winnings are real: Wait, didn’t we say that this was a drawback of real money slots? We did, but the truth is balanced payments and negative payments are necessary evils if you want a shot at that big prize.
Avoid These Games Like the Plague
We’ve shown you the best online slots, but what about the worst ones? You know, the games that promise big wins yet seemingly exist solely to drain your bankroll as fast as humanly possible. Wouldn’t it be useful to have a list of slots to avoid?
Guess what: we made one.
Worst Online Slot – Cat in the Hat
- Provider: Microgaming
- Year of Launch: 2010
- RTP: 96.04%
Based on the 1956 children’s book of the same name by Theodor Seuss Geisel – aka Dr. Seuss – this 5-reel, 30-payline slot machine promises a lot of fun.
And it delivers, too – at least if we disregard the abysmal RTP.
Cat in the Hat is the embodiment of microwinning, a slow and painful process through which you spend a ton of money without ever hitting the jackpot. The fact that the bonus games are triggered randomly only adds insult to injury.
Dr. Seuss must be rolling in his grave.
Worst Online Slot Runner Up – Escape from New York
- Provider: Microgaming
- Year of Launch: Unknown
- RTP: 92.33%
Based on John Carpenter’s 1981 action/sci-fi movie of the same name, Escape from New York feels more like a cash grab than a bona fide slot machine.
Maybe it’s the low RTP (one of the lowest we’ve ever seen, by the way), or perhaps it’s the fact that Snake doesn’t even make an appearance. Whatever it is, we cannot in good faith recommend this game.
Triple 7s
- Provider: Microgaming
- Year of Launch: 2006
- RTP: 93.87%
Triple 7s is another one of those games that seems to delight some players and infuriate others. Those in the latter camp argue that the game’s ultra-high volatility coupled with its low RTP make it practically unbeatable.
We’re inclined to agree, especially considering that Microgaming’s take on one of the most popular dice symbols in history offers no free spins, pick bonuses, or multipliers. Not even a background music track!
Dark Knight
- Provider: Microgaming
- Year of Launch: 2012
- RTP: 95.96%
Hold on a second, didn’t we include another Christian Bale batman slot in the best casino slots section? Yep, we did – and this is not it.
Whereas TC’s little brother boasts a decent RTP, Dark Knight can barely break even due to its sky-high volatility. According to a study conducted by High Hawk, players need approximately $173,000 in funds to have a reasonable chance of hitting the game’s million-coin jackpot.
Lowbrow Gaming – Crazy Chameleons
- Provider: Microgaming
- Year of Launch: 2014
- RTP: 95.40%
Low variance does not necessarily equal a good game. Case in point: Crazy Chameleons, a 5-reel, 45-payline slot that has earned a less-than-stellar reputation amongst players.
Perhaps it’s the lackluster symbols – a group of animal impersonators done up in carnival gear plus cards from a standard deck – or the fact that hitting anything is a rarity. Who knows? Maybe someone loved and green chameleons enough to commission this game.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Adventures Along the Sea
- Provider: NextGen
- Year of Launch: 2014
- RTP: 95.63%
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire – Adventures Along the Sea ranks among the worst online slots for numerous reasons, with its atrocious sound effects being one of the more tolerable complaints.
Did somebody say complaints? Because players have argued that the game’s creatives took inspiration from the TV show’s name alone without licensing the intellectual property. Others have pointed out that the maximum bonus multiplier is much lower than the ones offered on the trivia show.
No wonder this game ended up in the trash can.
Playing Real Money Casino Slots – Frequently Asked Questions
What Are the Best Online Slots?
From Starburst to Cleopatra, there is no shortage of great slots out there. Still, not everyone likes shiny things, which is why we’ve also featured some older games in our top slots list.
Can You Play the Best Online Slot Games for Free?
Yes, many online casinos feature free casino slots that work and look just like their real money counterparts. However, keep in mind that occasional boosters like free spins and multipliers will be off the table.
Where Can I Play Real Money Casino Slots?
You can play the best real money slots online at any of the . Our team of experts has thoroughly vetted dozens of operators to bring you only the very best.
How Do You Pick the Right Slot Games?
Reading a slot’s paytable is the best way to determine whether or not you’ll enjoy playing it. Pay attention to the symbols, bonus rounds, potential wins, and volatility.
What Is the Most Popular Online Slots Game?
Many of the remain some of the most played games in the digital realm. Titles such as Mega Moolah, Major Millions, and King Cashalot continue to draw crowds with their massive jackpots.
Which Online Slot Machines Does Joe Pulizzi Play?
According to an article he wrote for Content Marketing Institute, Joe Pulizzi – the father of the modern content marketing movement – enjoys spinning the reels of Hall of Gods, a 5-reel, 20-line video slot. The game’s Norse mythology symbols and bonus features are inspired by the ancient Nordic pantheon.
More Awesome Slots Guides
Here are some of our most popular slots guides. Check them out if you’re hungry for more awesome content.
Footnotes:
- Details about Michael Jackson’s Thriller were taken from .
- Article about the world record Thriller flashmob is courtesy of .
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