There are tens of thousands of online slots and some of them are more popular than others. For every big-name slot that lots of Canadians enjoy playing, there are loads of others that don’t get played as often. But what is it about certain slot games that make them stand out and attract more players than others? Let’s dive in and find out.
Progressive Jackpot Slots
Most people who play online slots do so because they want to win money. The online slots with the biggest payouts are progressive jackpot slots. In these games, the jackpot, i.e. the top cash prize, isn’t fixed. Instead, it grows whenever someone places a bet on the slot and keeps on growing until it’s won.
A progressive jackpot usually starts at a seed value, e.g. $100 and starts growing from there. Once it’s won, it resets to the seed value. The most popular progressive jackpot slot in Canada is without a doubt Mega Moolah. Developed by Games Global, it has not one, but four progressive jackpots, each one with a different seed value. The Mega Jackpot has the highest value, resetting at a cool $1 million. In other words, if you win this top prize, you’ll be guaranteed to win at least a million dollars.
With their very high payouts, it’s no surprise that progressive jackpots are very appealing to players. While a few very lucky people have earned significant payouts from these games, it’s worth remembering that the chances of winning big are very small indeed. Generally speaking, the bigger the progressive jackpot is, the lower your chances of winning it are.
Branded Slots
What’s great about online slots is that they come in an endless range of themes. Many Canadian casino sites have branded slots that are themed to popular IPs such as movies, TV shows, or even celebrities. Some developers of slot games choose to design them with a particular IP in mind to make them more appealing to players. To do this, they form licensing agreements with whoever owns the rights to the IP. Examples of popular branded slots include:
- Rick and Morty Strike Back from Blueprint Gaming
- Motley Crue from Play’n GO
- Narcos Mexico from Red Tiger Gaming
- Jurassic World Raptor Riches from Fortune Factory Studios
- The Invisible Man from NetEnt
- Peaky Blinders from Pragmatic Play
Branded slots aren’t much different from regular online slot games. The one factor that sets them apart is the fact that they’re themed to a popular commercial property; non-branded slots, on the other hand, have their themes created from scratch and don’t need licensing deals.
The idea behind branded slots is that they stand out more than non-branded ones. If someone visits an online casino and sees a slot themed to a TV show they’ve recently enjoyed, they’ll be likely to play that slot instead of others that don’t catch their eye.
New Features
Another way popular slots appeal to players is by offering gameplay features not found in other games. Slots are known for being quick and easy to play, with rules that aren’t complicated at all. When playing one, you typically just spin the reels and if enough matching symbols land on a payline, you win. Special features such as respins, free spins and pick-me games, are designed to make the gameplay more compelling and give people a reason to keep playing.
Those who regularly play online slots will be familiar with the common features. When there’s a slot that introduces something new, this has a great chance of attracting attention and getting a large number of people to play it. A case in point is Bonanza from Big Time Gaming. Released in 2017, this mining-themed slot introduced a feature that would become extremely popular in online gambling: Megaways.
With Megaways, a slot’s gameplay is extremely unpredictable, which makes slots all the more enjoyable and engaging. The way it works is simple: each reel can have 2-7 symbols on it, with the number of symbols changing from one spin to the next. The all-ways-win system is in place, so all possible paylines across the grid are active. When playing a Megaways slot, there’s no telling how many ways to win there will be on the next spin. In standard Megaways games, the number of paylines can be as high as 117,649.
The Megaways feature was a big hit with players, so Big Time Gaming created other slots with this feature. Not only that, the developer also licensed it so that other creators of slots could incorporate it into their games. As of 2024, there are several hundred Megaways slots, many of which you can play at online casinos in Canada.
Don’t Just Play the Popular Slots
Big payouts, well-known themes, and new features are three aspects of slots that can make them popular with players. If you’re going to play some of these games, by all means, try your luck at the casino’s most popular slot titles. But, don’t overlook slots that aren’t as well known as they can be just as much fun.
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