Progressive Jackpot Meaning

• What Does Progressive Jackpot Mean
• Progressive Jackpot Meaning 2020
• What Is A Progressive Jackpot
• What Is A Jackpot
• Progressive Jackpot Meaning List

Progressive jackpots are also wired into slot machine games operated by online and offline casinos. These games may be single-player progressive jackpots — meaning that the jackpots are only accumulated from a single machine — or they may be multi-player jackpots, where more-than-one machine contributes to the progressively increasing jackpot. You might even see the total slowly ticking up penny by penny. This is what’s known as a progressive jackpot, which is a type of jackpot (a big win) which increases over time as more money is put into the game. They are common on many video slot games and table games such as Blackjack and Roulette. So basically, a progressive jackpot accumulates small amounts from each bet and being fitted with an RNG no one can predict when the jackpot will pay out. Other Microgaming progressive jackpot options: King Cashalot – a “pick until you collect” bonus game where players opt to discard current winnings for a bigger jackpot; Poker Ride – a straight flush claims 10% of the jackpot prize pool; Triple 7’s Progressive Blackjack – allows for a range of betting denominations; Major Millions – the slot game that starts out with a minimum £.

If you have ever seen an advertisement for a casino that had huge amounts (often in the millions) offered as top payouts you have probably seen games with a progressive jackpot. Keep reading to learn what a progressive jackpot is, how they work, different types of progressives, and where you can find them.

What Are Progressive Jackpots?

Progressive jackpots are amounts offered as the top payouts for particular casino games that continue climbing until a player wins. They are available on a wide range of games, but the most common ones are tied to slot machines.

They tend to run from thousands of dollars all the way up to millions of dollars. Progressive jackpot games are available at online casinos as well as in land-based casinos.

Most progressive jackpot games require maximum wagers to be eligible for the jackpot amount. So if you hit whatever the required combination or hand is to win the progressive but haven’t wagered the correct amount you won’t win the progressive.

This would have to be one of the absolute worst feelings in the world so make sure you both understand the minimum wagering requirements to be eligible for the progressive and are always betting at that level or higher when you play on a progressive game.

The most common example of this is a video poker game with a progressive jackpot. On most machines, you have to wager five coins to unlock the top payouts. So if you are playing a quarter video poker machine the total bet at five coins would be $1.25 per hand.

If you bet less than this and hit the top paying hand you will only win the amount listed for your number of coins, not the progressive jackpot. If you aren’t comfortable betting as much, you should play for a lower amount per coin.

You may be able to play the same video poker game in a nickel machine, making your bet .25 for a five-coin wager. Many slot machines have the same ability to play for a lower amount per line.

How Progressive Jackpots Work

Progressive jackpots build over time until a player wins them, then they reset to a predetermined level and start building again. The way they build is by taking a percentage of every bet made on the game the progressive jackpot is associated with and adding it to the jackpot amount.

Here’s a fictitious example so you can see exactly how a progressive jackpot works. The example uses numbers that are easy to compute for the purpose of this page. These numbers are not necessarily representative of a real-life progressive game but are an accurate representation of the mechanics.

We’ll use a slot machine with an attached progressive jackpot as an example. The slot machine takes 10% of every wager and places it in the progressive jackpot amount. After the jackpot is won the amount is reset to $100,000. The reset amount is generally accumulated from the contributions to the overall progressive jackpot.

In this example, 1% is used to fund the next reset amount and 9% goes straight to the progressive amount until $100,000 is accumulated in the reset account. Once the $100,000 is accumulated the entire 10% is used for the climbing jackpot. Another way this can be handled is the casino or software provider, whoever is running the progressive, fronts the $100,000 and the 10% goes toward that until it is taken care of.

Then the progressive will continue growing. There are a few other ways the reset amount can be handled, but the important thing to know is the seed amount is taken from the wagers on the game just like the progressive amount.

Continuing with our example, you are playing for a total cost per spin of $2.50. In this case .25 of each spin is contributed to the progressive jackpot amount and $2.25 is handled just like it is on a non-progressive machine. The other pay outs and the profit from the machine are taken from this second amount.

A common misunderstanding is the belief that the casinos are taking a huge cut of the progressive jackpots. The casinos tend to make more money on large progressive jackpot machines, but not because they are getting a cut of the jackpot. Generally, they pay out 100% of the jackpot between the jackpot amount and the reset amount.

The reason they can make more profit on the largest progressive jackpot games is because of the extra players who are trying to hit the big win. The media coverage picks up when jackpots get high and it increases the number of players. The additional profit comes from the second amount ($2.25) in our example.

For example, if the machine in our example is set to pay out 90% over time, the casino will make 22.5 (twenty two and a half) cents per bet. So here is the complete breakdown of a $2.50 wager on the slot machine in question.

What are the Differences Between a Local and Wide Area Progressive Jackpot

From a player’s perspective, there really isn’t a big difference between a local progressive jackpot and a wide area progressive jackpot. A wide area progressive jackpot is also sometimes called a linked jackpot and some progressives are called a bank. The wide area jackpot tends to build faster because there are more players, but the mechanics of how the jackpots build are the same.

A wide area progressive jackpot is one shared across games, usually slot machines, across a range of properties. For example, you might find the same progressive slot machine games in numerous land-based casinos or in online casinos running the same software platform. If they are part of a wide area progressive they each feed into the same jackpot and payout from the same jackpot pool.

When there are hundreds or even thousands of players playing the same machines at the same time the progressive amount is bound to go up faster than local progressives.

A local progressive jackpot is one that is usually tied to a single game. An example that many players have seen of a local progressive is a progressive game of Caribbean Stud poker. The progressive is usually only tied to the individual game or group of the particular games at the particular casino.

In other words, if the casino has three tables offering Caribbean Stud, all three will more than likely share the same progressive, but no games outside of them will contribute. Note that the three games do not have to share the same jackpot. They can have three separate progressive jackpots.

You will also run into a bank of slot machines in land-based casinos that share a progressive jackpot. These machines don’t share a jackpot with any slots not included in the bank of machines.

If you are wondering where the line is drawn between local and wide area progressive games, in my mind if the game is linked to games offered at other casinos, either land-based or online, it is a wide area. If it is tied to a single game or a group of games in the same casino it is a local progressive.

Of course, it does go back to the first part of this section in the fact it doesn’t really matter for players. All that matters is how big the jackpot is and what you have to do to qualify for it.

What Types of Games Can Have Progressive Jackpots?

The most common types of games that have progressive jackpots are slot machines. While the slots that are most likely to have progressives are the newer video slots with multiple pay lines, often with bonus rounds and other features, progressives can be found on all types of machines.

I’ve seen progressives on just about any type of slot machines that you can think of, including three reel machines. I have also seen progressive jackpots tied to video poker machines and table games.

Though it really goes beyond the scope of this page, when you consider playing a video poker game with a progressive jackpot compare the paytable of the progressive machine and a non-progressive one. The progressive video poker game is almost always a worse paytable than the non-progressive one.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play the progressive machine, because sometimes the progressive amount will get high enough that it is actually a profitable game to play.

An actual example of this that I have seen many times is Jacks or Better. The best Jacks or Better machines are called 9 / 6 machines, offering 9 coin payouts for a full house and 6 coin payouts for a flush. The progressive jacks or better games tend to only pay 8 coins for a full house and 5 coins for a flush.

Common table games with progressive jackpots include Caribbean Stud Poker, roulette and Let it Ride. Theoretically, just about any table game can be tied to a progressive jackpot. Most of the ones that have progressives have them tied to a side bet.

A common example is a $1 side bet. It’s up to each player whether he or she places the progressive jackpot side bet. I have even seen more than one table game tied to the same progressive jackpot.

For example, a casino could have their Caribbean Stud and Let it Ride progressives together. This can create higher jackpots faster as more people are contributing to the jackpots.

Are There Progressive Jackpots Online and Off?

You’ll find great progressive jackpot games both online and at land-based casinos. Anything the casinos can do to get more people to play they will usually do and huge progressive jackpots help get players in the door or in the virtual door.

So as long as progressive jackpots continue helping the casino make money you will continue to find them at all different kinds of casinos.

Popular Progressive Jackpot Games

Here is a table with some of the most popular progressive jackpot games both online and off. The amounts continue to climb and reset, so the popularity of these games goes up and down with the amount of the top payouts.

These are just a few of the hundreds of possible progressive jackpots so if you don’t see any you like, just take a quick look around at your favorite casino. You are sure to find plenty of other options.

Should I Play Progressive Jackpot Games?

This is a question that only you can answer. There are progressive jackpots that are life changing amounts, but the odds of ever winning one are so high that millions of players will never hit one in their life. But many players view all of their gambling as entertainment expense and don’t really count on winning anything in the long run.

If you have the money to play with and can view your gambling as an entertainment expense, then, by all means, try to hit a big progressive jackpot. As a side note, there is nothing wrong with either gambling as an entertainment expense or gambling while trying to find an advantage against the casino. I am not judging either way, just covering as much of the subject as I can.

Many casual casino players will play a few casino games instead of going out to eat or taking in a movie. If you were going to spend a couple hundred on a night out, why not use it instead to take your chances at your favorite slot machine or table game? Even if you play the games with the highest house edge you will occasionally leave a winner.

You can also find progressive jackpots that get so high that they can be played with a statistical edge over the casinos in the long run. I mentioned this when discussing video poker above and it is an in-depth topic that can’t be covered in full here, but it is possible and when you find these situations on a game you enjoy you should take advantage of them and play.

As much as we all love the social aspect of playing bingo, there’s no doubting the fact that it’s really exciting to actually win from time to time.

As an overall a game of chance, the prize really is anyone’s for the taking, so that nice juicy jackpot really could be yours at any point.

Whether you’re playing in a live bingo hall, or on your favourite online bingo site, the jackpots can vary depending upon lots of different factors.

Prizes can range from anything under the £10 mark, right up to the stratospheric heights of well over a million pounds on some games. The highest online jackpot win recorded to date was won on the Butlers Bingo website in 2012, where the lucky winner-John Orchard scooped up a whopping £5.9 million in prize funds.

What Does Progressive Jackpot Mean

When playing bingo online or in a bingo hall, there are also various different types of bingo jackpot up for grabs too. You may have signed up to a bingo site and seen phrases such as ‘the progressive jackpot’ or ‘the community jackpot’ etc and wondered what the difference was between them all?

Below we’ve created an article to break down all the different types of jackpots that you may come across when playing, particularly online, so you’ll have a bit more knowledge when trying your luck out on your next game.

The ‘Fixed’ Bingo Jackpot

The fixed jackpot is basically a standard prize pot. It’s one of the most common types of jackpot used throughout the gaming industry across the world, and in all honesty, it really is what it says on the tin.

It’s a fixed amount of money which you will be playing towards winning during each game. In nearly all cases you will know what the exact figure is even before you sign up, and that will always be the prize fund regardless of the following factors:

• The amount of players in each game.
• Ticket prices.
• The time and place at which the game takes place.

Fixed Jackpot Example

The picture here shows an example of what you could expect when playing on a game with a fixed jackpot. This image shows the following:

• Tickets cost £0.10.
• Game starts in 1:08 minutes.
• There are 18 players already signed up to play this game.
• £50 is the minimum prize you could win.
• £500 is the highest amount you could win.

These funds won’t change if more players sign up for the game, and you will know that you are playing for a maximum of £500 before buying your tickets.

Fixed Jackpot Benefits

1. Clear – Unfortunately there will be no hidden bonuses or extra money added at all throughout the game, however the prize fund will never decrease in value either so you will always be playing for the amount stated at the start of the game.
2. Popular – You will come across this type of jackpot quite a lot with bingo in general.
3. Simple – It’s a really easy way to know exactly what you’re spending your money on when making a deposit. Whether you’re playing for £10 for a line or £10,000 for a full house, you’ll know the exact amount before you play which keeps things nice and simple.

Conclusion

All in all, playing a game with a fixed jackpot is super simple.

The only thing to remember when playing on this type of jackpot however, is that you will unfortunately have to share the prize pot if there’s more than one winner I’m afraid. This is the case with most bingo games out there of course, but it’s the only factor that should ever affect your prize amount with a fixed jackpot.

The ‘Progressive’ Bingo Jackpot

You may be familiar with the above term if you have played slots, lottery and other forms of gaming as well as bingo over the years.

These jackpots are found quite readily across a lot of online gaming sites these days, and they can really add to the sheer thrill of a game as the prize funds can reach big heights.

The reason that they are called ‘progressive’ jackpots, is because the payout gradually builds in size over time as more tickets are purchased until someone wins. Each time someone buys a ticket, a percentage of the cost is then added to the already growing pot.

When a progressive jackpot is eventually won, the prize fund is then reset to a predetermined value and the build starts all over again. The following factors are likely to affect this type of prize pot:

• Amount of players.
• Ticket prices.
• Length of time in which it takes to win.
• If the jackpot has very recently been claimed, the funds will have reset themselves to a much lower value.

Bingo or slots?

Both.

These type of jackpots are more likely to be found on the slots titles featured on online bingo sites as opposed to actual bingo games themselves, mainly because this is more of a rollover type prize.

There is a slight bend to the rule however sometimes with bingo, because some sites run games where you can win a progressive jackpot if a game is won under a certain amount of calls or claimed on a specific number etc.

In this case, the prize fund then decreases throughout the game by 10%, 20% and so on until someone eventually claims. More and more sites are offering these types of games now, so they’re worth looking out for to potentially bag some pretty massive prize pots…

Progressive Jackpot Example – SLOTS

The picture shows an example of two progressive casino slots titles. Slots like this and other similar ones can be found across hundreds of online bingo sites all throughout the world.

The image shows the following:

• The title of the game.
• The amount that the progressive jackpot is worth at that particular point in time.

The amount will keep rising constantly on very popular titles as they are shared across various sites and networks throughout the globe, and even the smaller titles will still rise every time someone plays and the jackpot is yet to be claimed.

Progressive Jackpot Example – BINGO

As mentioned earlier, there are quite a few online bingo sites offering progressive jackpot bingo games nowadays if you look around. Generally the jackpot will either have to be called in a certain amount of numbers or on a particular number etc, and it may also then decrease in size as the game goes on until someone eventually claims.

The example below gives you a basic insight into how much you could win on these type of games.

90 Ball Bingo Game -> Progressive Jackpot Prize of £250,786

This is a really basic outline of course, and lots of sites will offer different variations of this. However it gives you a bit of an idea as to how the jackpot may decrease in size throughout the game. Any funds then remaining usually roll over to the next game, and the prize will be lower or higher, dependent upon the outcome of the previous game.

Progressive Jackpot Benefits

1. Bigger Prizes -The obvious benefit to a progressive jackpot is the fact that they are usually pretty hefty prize pots.
2. Fresh – Progressive jackpots are constantly changing, so it keeps the game really fresh and exciting.
3. Popular – The more people that play, the higher the jackpot. The higher the jackpot, the more people are likely to play. This does however mean that there are then more people in with a chance of a win, so bear that in mind when playing on a progressive.

Progressive Jackpot Meaning 2020

Conclusion

The main thing to remember with a progressive jackpot, is that the prize fund will continue to grow until someone claims a win. Each time someone buys a ticket, a percentage is then added to the prize pot making it even bigger, and the more players there are, the higher the jackpot.

It’s really exciting to play on a progressive jackpot as the prizes can honestly be stratospheric, plus the payouts are constantly changing so each game is entirely different.

The ‘Escalator’ Bingo Jackpot

Now, the escalator jackpot is found across quite a few online bingo sites these days.

It’s a much newer way to win than the more standard fixed and progressive type jackpot games, and it adds something a little different to what would usually be just a regular game of bingo.

The main feature of an escalator jackpot is basically that the amount of numbers you have to claim on, will rise over a set period of time. It’s quite similar to a progressive slot in that way, but here the funds won’t decrease as the number of balls rise.

Escalator Jackpot Example

An escalator jackpot will usually be spread across a particular game or room over a certain period of time. Below are some examples of games that might exist, to give you an idea of how these jackpot style games might work:

FRIDAY ESCALATOR JACKPOT ->£5000

• Games run on Friday evenings between 6pm-11pm.
• Balls will rise by 2 on the hour every hour or until a win is claimed.
• 40 calls or less until 7pm, 42 calls until 8pm, 44 calls until 9pm and so on.
• If for some instance a win is not claimed, the prize fund will rollover to the following Friday’s pot.

JUNE ESCALATOR JACKPOT -> £20,000

• 1 game runs every Saturday throughout the month of June at 8pm.
• Balls will rise by 3 every week or until the full house is called.
• 40 calls or less in week 1, 43 calls or less week 2 and so on.
• If for some instance the jackpot is not won throughout the month of June, the game will rollover into the next month or until claimed.

Share The Wealth

Another thing to point out with this style of jackpot, is that some sites offer the prize as a community jackpot too.

There is more detail on community jackpots at the bottom of this article, but the basics of it are that everyone who purchases a ticket will win a share of the prize.

Some sites offer escalator prize funds as a 50/50 split as follows:

• 50% – Winner
• 50% – Every other participant

This will mean that the overall winner takes home 50% of the prize funds, then the remaining 50% will be shared across everyone who purchased a ticket. This isn’t always the case with every escalator jackpot out there, but it’s worth mentioning as it is quite common.

Escalator Jackpot Benefits

1. Big Prizes – Escalator jackpots generally always contain pretty big prize funds.
2. Excitement – A slow rising number count makes the build up of a game that bit more exciting.
3. Sharing – As mentioned before, some sites offer a split of the prize funds to all players. This will mean that you could win no matter what.

Conclusion

The overall thing to remember about escalator jackpots in bingo, is that the amount of numbers you have to call in will rise over a set period of time. This time could be spread over a few hours or a few weeks even, but generally the main rule is always the same.

It’s a really fun and exciting way to play bingo especially online, and it offers something a little different to the more standard type games. These jackpots are generally always fairly hefty too, and if a community jackpot is add into the mix, then you’ll bag a prize whether you win or not.

The ‘Community’ Bingo Jackpot

So, the community jackpots in bingo are a really popular way to win amongst bingo fans. They can be found on games in live bingo halls as well as online, however they are more widely available across most bingo sites these days.

What Is A Progressive Jackpot

The basic principle of a community jackpot, is that the overall prize funds will be shared amongst all players.

This could mean the following:

• 50/50 – This would mean a standard 50/50 split of all of the prize funds. The overall winner takes home 50% of the winnings, and the other 50% would then be shared amongst all other players.
• There are also cases where the prize could be calculated to a different ratio too, such as an 80/20, 60/40 split and so on.

You will always know what type of split it is before you make a wager, and you will also be given any additional information such as the amount of calls it needs to be claimed in etc.

Community Jackpot Example

One of the main things to remember when it comes to community jackpots, is that this type of jackpot can be played standalone, or in addition to another type of jackpot.

This basically means that you could just be playing towards a community jackpot in general, or the community aspect could also be added to say a progressive jackpot.

Here are some examples to give you an idea:

MONDAY NIGHT COMMUNITY JACKPOT -> £10,000

• Prize funds will be split 50/50.
• 50% to the winner.
• 50% shared amongst all other players.

TUESDAY MORNING PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY JACKPOT -> £53,564

• Claim must be made in 39 numbers or less.
• If no claim is made, funds will rollover to the following Tuesday.
• Prize funds will be split 50/50, 50% to the winner, 50% to all other participants.

WEDNESDAY ESCALATOR JACKPOT -> £5,000

• Number count will rise by 2 every hour between 6pm-10pm.
• If no claim is made, funds will rollover to the following Wednesday.
• Prize funds will be split 50/50.

What Is A Jackpot

Community Jackpot Benefits

Progressive Jackpot Meaning List

1. Win – With community bingo you are guaranteed a win of some kind even if you don’t claim the full house personally.
2. Surprise – There is always going to be an element of surprise with community jackpots as until you know how many players there are, you won’t know how much your split will be. It could be a lot higher than you would have thought.
3. Big Prizes – If the community jackpot is linked to a progressive jackpot game, the prize pot could end up being pretty tasty.

Conclusion

The overall feature of a community jackpot, is that it gives everyone a chance to win a slice of the prize. Whether you bag the full house yourself, or just win a small split of the pot, you’re guaranteed to come away with something at the end of the game.

Obviously you may only end up with a very small cut depending on how many players there are involved, but it’s still something that you wouldn’t get on a regular jackpot which all adds to the fun.

Community jackpots are also quite readily available these days across most online bingo sites too, so there are plenty of opportunities out there to win yourself a little piece of the pot.