Best Online Slots 2024

A great place to start when searching for the best online slots is those games that are being played consistently by lots of players. Here are the top 10 slots currently being played the most:

Best Online Slots	Provider	RTP	Volatility
Starburst	NetEnt	96.09%	Low
Book of Dead	Play'n GO	94.25%	High
Gonzo's Quest	NetEnt	95.97%	Medium-High
Mega Moolah	Games Global	88.12%	Medium
Dead or Alive 2	NetEnt	96.82%	High
Big Bass Bonanza	Reel Kingdom	95.67%	Medium-High
Wolf Gold	Pragmatic Play	96.01%	Medium
Sweet Bonanza	Pragmatic Play	96.51%	Medium-High
Gates of Olympus	Pragmatic Play	95.51%	High
The Dog House	Pragmatic Play	95.51%	High

Starburst (NetEnt)

Released by NetEnt in 2012, Starburst is ranked as one of the most successful online casino slots of all time thanks to its colourful cosmic design, simple gameplay, and engaging mechanics. One of my favourite aspects of this slot is the pays both-ways design, which means matching symbols pay from both left to right and right to left. Add in the multi-coloured wild symbol that expands to reel height and triggers a respin and you can see why this one is still a big hit with players.

Reels: 5

Paylines: 10

Bet Range: €0.01 - €100

RTP: 96.09%

Volatility: Low

Book of Dead (Play'n GO)

Play'n GO is one of my favourite slots providers, not least for their series of 'Book of' slots, of which Book of Dead is perhaps their most popular. Released in 2016, Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead (to give it its full name) features a rugged adventurer exploring the mysteries of ancient Egypt. The highlight of this slot is the free spins feature, in which a specially selected symbol results in full reel height expansions for more winning power!

Reels: 5

Paylines: 10

Bet Range: €0.01 - €100

RTP: 94.25%

Volatility: High

Gonzo's Quest (NetEnt)

Another smash hit for NetEnt, Gonzo's Quest came out shortly after Starburst and features the affectionately named Spanish explorer Gonzo as he searches for hidden treasures in the New World. This hit slot was one of the first to introduce avalanches, where winning symbols disappear and are replaced by more from above. This results in a chain reaction of additional wins, with multipliers increasing each time. Those multipliers get even bigger in the Free Falls feature: up to 15x!

Reels: 5

Paylines: 20

Bet Range: €0.20 - €50

RTP: 95.97%

Volatility: Medium-High

Mega Moolah (Games Global)

The very first of the huge and ever-expanding Mega Moolah slots, the original Mega Moolah was launched by Microgaming (now Games Global) way back in 2006. Jackpot slots don't get much more famous than this one. It features various animals in their savannah home, including the regal but somewhat comically designed lion. I love playing this slot for its simple gameplay, but also for a shot at those four juicy progressive jackpots, one of which starts at and regularly exceeds €1 million.

Reels: 5

Paylines: 25

Bet Range: €0.25 - €6.25

RTP: 88.12%

Volatility: Medium

Dead or Alive 2 (NetEnt)

Knocking another one out of the park, NetEnt made a lot of players very happy when they released their long-awaited sequel slot Dead or Alive 2 in 2019. If you like the wild west style, I strongly suggest you give this slot a go as it's filled with engaging elements like 5 different wilds represented by various outlaws such as Billy the Kid and Jesse James. Even better, you get to choose from 3 different free spins features, each with its own perk; increasing multipliers, doubled wins, and sticky wilds.

Reels: 5

Paylines: 9

Bet Range: €0.09 - €18

RTP: 96.82%

Volatility: High

Big Bass Bonanza (Reel Kingdom)

If there's one slot series that defines the 2020s, it has to be Reel Kingdom's Big Bass slots, and it all started in 2020 with Big Bass Bonanza. Rumoured to have been inspired by Reel Time Gaming slots such as Fishin' Frenzy and Big Bass Bonanza which takes the fishing theme to another level. Bringing submerged reel set and fisherman wild symbols that collect multiplier fish symbols whenever they both appear. I found the free spins feature to be even better for reeling in big rewards thanks to the increasing wild multipliers.

Reels: 5

Paylines: 10

Bet Range: €0.10 - €2 50

RTP: 95.67%

Volatility: Medium-High

Wolf Gold (Pragmatic Play)

The beautifully designed Wolf Gold was launched in 2017 by Pragmatic Play and has a native American nature theme, so look out for American eagles, bison, mountain lions and wild horses, in addition to the game's signature animal. This slot includes a free spins feature with reels 2, 3, and 4 merged to create one giant reel. However, my favourite aspect of Wolf Gold is the three jackpots that can be triggered in the moon-themed money respin feature.

Reels: 5

Paylines: 25

Bet Range: €0.25 - €125

RTP: 96.01%

Volatility: Medium

Sweet Bonanza (Pragmatic Play)

Sweet Bonanza is a great example of how unique online slots can be. Released by Pragmatic Play in 2019, Sweet Bonanza is one of my all-time favourites for several reasons. It has a really fun, upbeat soundtrack that just makes you feel uplifted, perfect for a bit of stress relief after a hard day. The slot also moves away from set paylines, instead offering a 'pays anywhere' setup, where 8 or more matching symbols anywhere on the reels trigger a win. Add in tumbles (like avalanches) and free spins with up to 100x multipliers and you've got one sweet slot.

Reels: 6

Paylines: Pays Anywhere

Bet Range: €0.20 - €100

RTP: 96.51%

Volatility: Medium-High

Gates of Olympus (Pragmatic Play)

Pragmatic Play launched several slots with the same 'pays anywhere' mechanics as Sweet Bonanza, with one such release being the epic Greek gods-themed slot Gates of Olympus in 2021. Sweets have been swapped for gems and heavenly artefacts, with 8 or more of them triggering a win. Tumbles are present here too, but this time, they come with multiplier symbols of up to 500x. These multipliers really start to pay off in the free spins feature as they just continue to climb!

Reels: 6

Paylines: Pays Anywhere

Bet Range: €0.20 - €100

RTP: 95.51%

Volatility: High

The Dog House (Pragmatic Play)

With its pampered pooch theme, Pragmatic Play casinos were treated to its 2019 release of The Dog House. Aimed at dog lovers everywhere and it has become a firm favourite as a result. Wilds in this slot carry 2x or 3x multipliers, which can be added together if more than one appears on a winning line. The free spins feature is where the magic happens, though, with a random number of free spins awarded to start with, followed by sticky wilds with random multipliers.

Reels: 5

Paylines: 20

Bet Range: €0.20 - €100

RTP: 95.51%

Volatility: High

How I Select the Top Real Money Online Slots

I take a structured approach to my analysis of online slots, assessing each along multiple criteria including RTP, volatility, game design, playability, licensing, reliability, and availability. If you're looking for the best slots to play online for real money, these are the criteria to consider for the optimal gameplay experience.

RTP stands for Return to Player, which basically means the theoretical percentage of all played funds that is paid out to players over time (NOT in a single session!). The higher the RTP, the better.

The volatility of a slot refers to the variability of a slot's payouts between little and often and larger and less frequent. High volatility slots payouts vary way more than those of lower volatility slots.

In terms of game design and playability, I like to see ingenuity in-game mechanics, like cluster pays, sticky wilds, tumbles, and increasing multipliers. I also consider the complexity of these different design elements to ensure they remain player-friendly.

While online slots sites themselves should obviously be properly licensed for the best possible experience, the best real slots online providers themselves must be held to high standards, so I check their B2B licence status too.

The reliability and availability of slots are important criteria. I want to see an online slot performing well across all devices, and at a wide range of sites too. This offers the greatest choice when it comes to deciding where to play.

Discover Different Types of Online Slots

Online slots can be grouped into different categories according to how they look, play, and pay. If you like old-fashioned style slots with minimal paylines and fruity symbols, for example, look for classic slots. Alternatively, if you like slots bursting with features and tons of paylines, check out video slots. And if you want a shot at winning big money, it's the jackpot and progressive jackpot slots you'll want to look for.

Here are a few different types of slot categories to consider:

Classic Slots

These slots generally feature 3 reels and fruit symbols, just like the original slot machines. NetEnt's Mega Joker even features a cool slot machine style design. Classic slots are ideal for a bit of nostalgic gameplay.

Video Slots

Anything that includes at least 5 reels and a bonus feature on a different screen or reel set is considered a video slot. This is probably the biggest and most popular category, accounting for around 85% of today's slots. Big Bass Bonanza, Book of Dead, and Starburst are all major video slots.

Jackpot Slots

These are the big money slots, where you get the chance to play for life-changing sums of cash. Jackpot slots can be fixed, like in Stars Bonanza, or progressive, like in Wolf Gold and Mega Moolah. Some slots even have more than one jackpot to play for!

Themed Slots

I love the sheer assortment of slot themes to choose from, including ancient Egypt, Greek mythology, fruits, Irish luck, candy, animals, Eastern treasures, vampires, gems, jungles, fishing… the list just goes on and on! Online casinos will also provide seasonal slots, allowing players to be immersed in the festive period. For example, Thanksgiving slots are popular during this time of year.

Reels and Paylines

Sometimes I like to search for slots by the number of reels and paylines they contain. I particularly like slots whose reels expand during the feature, and Megaways slots, whose paylines have been swapped for variable 'ways to win'. 

Return to Player (RTP)

The Return to Player (RTP) of slots is also a great way to categorise and sort through them and this option is available at the best online casinos. The higher the RTP, the more cash is paid out to players. This means the more likely you are to win some of it! Anywhere around 96% or more is great.

Unlock Exciting Features in Online Slots

Slots are exciting mainly because of their features, which include sticky wilds, win multipliers, instant prizes, free spins, respins, prize wheels, expanding symbols, avalanches, and many others. If you like your wins to be enhanced in some way, look for wild effects like stickiness, multipliers, and respins. Free spins are always a big player favourite, which is why they appear in about 61% of all online slots. My personal favourite feature is avalanches or tumbles for their potential to trigger a chain reaction of wins from a single spin!

Popular Slot Features

Having analysed hundreds of online slots during my career, these are the most popular features you're likely to come across:

• Free spins: Everyone loves these! Landing 3 or more scatter symbols usually unlocks a set number of free spins, often with additional features like sticky wilds, as in Dead or Alive 2.

• Prize wheels: Some slots let you spin a prize wheel to win multipliers, free spins, or even jackpots.

• Avalanches/tumbles: Different providers have their own names for this effect, which sees winning symbols disappear to be replaced by more from above. This can lead to chain reactions of wins from a single spin, as in slots like Gonzo's Quest and Sweet Bonanza.

• Sticky wilds: These are wild symbols that stay in place on the reels through subsequent spins, often reserved for free spins features as in Dead or Alive 2 and The Dog House.

• Expanding symbols: These symbols take on special properties, especially during free spins features, expanding to fill the entire height of the reel, as in Book of Dead and Starburst.

• Multipliers: Another of my favourite slot features, this one multiplies your win amount when it appears. Good examples of multiplier use can be found in Gonzo's Quest (during avalanches and free falls) and Gates of Olympus (during tumbles and free spins).

What Are the Top-Rated Slot Games for Mobile Devices?

My top picks for mobile-friendly slots include Sweet Bonanza, Mega Moolah, Moon Princess, Gonzo's Quest, and Extra Chilli Megaways. If you like the idea of playing slots while you're out and about, these ones perform particularly well across all the devices I tested. These tests included iOS, Android, and Windows operating systems.

Here are a few other top-rated mobile slots I recommend:

• Big Bass Bonanza

• Finn and the Swirly Spin

• Book of Dead

• Starburst

• Jack and the Beanstalk

I especially like playing these slots on my phone because they are HTML5-based, which means they load and run fast. This is true whether you're playing via an app or website. I love that I can just rotate my device and the game instantly adjusts to display optimally for the new orientation. Graphics and buttons are large enough to see and interact with, and gameplay is beautifully smooth.

Not all slots offer this same quality experience on mobile devices, so choose your games carefully. Your best bet is to opt for one of our top mobile casinos.

Understanding RTP and Slot Mechanics

Choosing the best slots involves considering more than just its theme; I judge the best slots based on a combination of factors including RTP, volatility, trusted RNGs, and overall mechanics.

RTP, short for Return to Player, is a great measure of the payout of online slots. It's defined as the percentage of played funds that is expected to be paid out to players in the long run, ie. over millions of spins. A good benchmark for slots RTP is 96%, which is the industry average. Anything above that is regarded as generous.

Volatility is the measure of how variable a slot's payouts are, between small, frequent payouts and larger, less frequent ones. If you like slots that pay on a relatively stable basis, look for those labelled as being low volatility slots. However, if you like playing for the chance to win the rarer larger amounts, high volatility slots are for you. Volatility really comes down to personal preference, so it's an important factor to consider, which is why I include it in my assessments.

RNGs, or Random Number Generators, are really the driving force behind slots and how they pay out. They are basically algorithms that determine how the reels will land and what symbols will be shown. Rather than being set in any particular way the opposite is true. They are designed to ensure complete randomness to give every player an equal opportunity at winning. RNGs are generally tested for fairness by third parties and I like to check the associated certificates of each one to make sure it is authentic and valid.

RTP, volatility, and RNG validity are all crucial elements in my assessment process of online slots. In my analysis of more than 100 slots, I've only classed a slot as one of the best if it has a high RTP, a trusted RNG, and offers an attractive volatility rating for the type of slot it is. This is in combination with other factors such as playability, mechanics, and theme, for example.

Which Are the Best Payout Online Slots?

The best payout online slots are defined as those with the highest RTP and include Moody Fruits, Stone Hominid, Maya King, and Ugga Bugga. If you want to be able to sort slots by their RTP, look for an online slots site that offers this filtering option as not all of them do.

Here are the top 10 slots by payout percentage (RTP):

Top Payout Slots	Provider	Return to Player (RTP)	Volatility
Moody Fruits	Relax Gaming	99.91%	Medium
Stone Hominid	Dragoon Soft	99.54%	-
Maya King	Dragoon Soft	99.54%	-
Ugga Bugga	Playtech	99.07%	Low
Fairy Dust Xtreme!	Spinmatic	99.04%	Low-Medium
Book of 99	Relax Gaming	99%	High
Mega Joker	NetEnt	99%	High
Cosmic Quest: Mystery Planets	Rival Gaming	98.95%	-
King of Luck	Edict	98.91%	Medium
Jackpot 6000	NetEnt	98.9%	High

Tips on How to Play Real Money Slots

You can get the most out of playing real money slots if you follow my tips such as setting yourself a budget, trying demo mode first, claiming bonuses carefully, reading the slot rules, and playing responsibly. If you've never played slots before, I strongly suggest starting in demo mode, so you can explore everything the slot has to offer without risking any of your own money.

Follow these tips for the best possible slots experience:

• Start in demo mode: Most online slot sites let you play their games for free for as long as you like, so take advantage. This is a great opportunity to familiarise yourself with how slots work without risking any of your own money. Look for the free demo version, Try for Free or a similarly named button to access demo mode.

• Learn the rules: Even in demo mode, it's worth taking a minute or two to check the slot's rules page and paytable. Slots vary in terms of their reels, symbols, bonus feature triggers, and pays. You can access all this information via the ‘information’ or menu button from within the game.

• Set and stick to a budget: When you're ready to play slots online for real money, I strongly suggest you set yourself a budget and stick to it. Playing slots is a very immersive experience; I've found myself absent-mindedly pumping more and more money into a slot numerous times. Set yourself a limit and stop when you reach it.

• Use bonuses wisely: Bonuses are great for getting a bit more money to play slots with, but they come with wagering requirements. If you are going to claim a slots bonus, check the terms first and make sure you know what you have to do to withdraw any winnings.

• Play responsibly: It's crucial to keep your feet on the ground when playing online slots. Use responsible gambling tools such as session reminders, deposit, bet, and loss limits, and timeouts to ensure you don't lose track of your time and money. Should you feel frustrated, angry, or desperate at any point, stop playing immediately and reconsider your position. Playing slots should only ever be fun.

I've compiled these tips after 20+ years of reviewing and ranking online slots. Take advantage of my expertise in order to maintain a safe and enjoyable slots gaming experience.

References

• Math with the best slot machines (Forbes)

• The first slot machine ever (ThoughtCo)