Online Slots: Best Bonus Features

Slots are, without a doubt, a casino’s best friend. While each round of blackjack is the same, a slot can be as varied as it needs to be! Depending on the math model used, payment frequency, win sizes and even RTP can change wildly from one slot to the next. But there’s one part of slots that every gambler looks forward to. Their bonus features!

These special features often times drastically alter the core gameplay loop of a slot. When they’re active, they can increase the frequency of wins. Some bonuses are so strong that games come with an in-built purchase feature button! We’ll go through some of our personal favourites which are guaranteed to fill your pockets with rupees!

Progressive Jackpots

Let’s be honest, this one was going to be a given no matter what. Progressive jackpots have always enticed players. So much so that we’re seeing the concept spread into other games! The concept became particularly popular after Microgaming’s Mega Moolah game. It effectively built the basic rules which most slots now use.

Progressive jackpots usually come in four sizes: mini, minor, major and grand. Names and numbers can change depending on the game and software provider, of course. The way you win this special feature can also vary. Sometimes, all four progressive jackpots are won from a single bonus. Other times, the grand jackpot will require additional requirements, like a maximum wager.

Currently, Playtech is easily the king of progressive jackpots with their Age of the Gods series. There’s a large number of slots released as part of the series, and they all share the same progressive jackpot pool. Definitely a must-play for anyone dreaming of scoring millions in a single spin!

Free Spins

The basic idea behind free spins is super simple to understand. Meet the right conditions, and you get to play a few rounds without having to pay for it. For the longest time, that was all that free spins offered. But as competition in the online space got heated, software providers started to add to this bonus.

First, they opted to just slap on a multiplier to boost wins when the bonus was triggered. But soon, they had to add more. Slots proceeded to add completely new mechanics which are only in play when free spins are active. And as time went on, the simplest slot bonus turned into an occasionally complex one!

The Invisible Man free spins

Highly entertaining free spins round in NetEnt’s The Invisible Man slot game.

Nowhere is this more evident than with NetEnt’s games. A large number of their releases use this bonus feature, including The Invisible Man. Here, free spins can fill meters, which can awards further free spins and additional bonuses. It perfectly demonstrates the evolution of this basic special feature.

Jackpot Multipliers

Here’s another bonus that slot fans love to see. Like free spins, the core concept is simple. If the multiplier is part of your winning combination, it increases your win by that amount. Find a 10x multiplier, and your ₹1000 prize becomes a ₹10,000 score!

But while free spins expanded over the years, jackpot multipliers have mostly remained the same. The only difference is the way they’re applied. Some slots have opted to attach multipliers to other special symbols like Wilds. Other games choose to apply a jackpot multiplier when another bonus activates, like with free spins.

While no one developer has a monopoly on free spins, Microgaming has a few choice picks we really like. Wicked Tales: Dark Red and Cash of Kingdoms are two examples that immediately pop up. Play’n Go’s Rise of Olympus is also an excellent pick, allowing gamblers to increase their wins by 20x!

Picking the Right One

Odds are, you actually won’t have to. Nowadays, the world of Online Casino, Online Gambling & Variations is much bigger than it ever was. Competition between developers means that often times, you’ll have multiple special features in a single game.

The previously mentioned Mega Moolah is a great example of this. It offers progressive jackpots, free spins and jackpot multipliers, all packed in one slot! If you’re looking to experience all three at once, then it’s the perfect slot to try out.

And while you shouldn’t choose your slots based on bonus features alone, they should definitely play a factor in your decision making. After all, what good is a slot if it’s not full of fun special features?