Real money online slots are legal and available in six U.S. states.

US online casinos with slots offer many of the same games players can find at their local casinos, plus hundreds of additional variations and even more denominations.

More importantly, the online slots real money casinos offer tend to pay out much better than their brick & mortar counterparts, which only enhances their attractiveness.

In this comprehensive guide, BettingUSA offers an honest and detailed analysis of the top online casinos for slots players, a look at the best online slots for real money, and an explanation of how to maximize slots bonuses.

Best Online Slots Sites

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Which States Are Online Slots Legal In?

The following states offer legal online slots games.

• New Jersey Online Sots
• Pennsylvania Online Slots
• Michigan Online Slots
• West Virginia Online Slots
• Connecticut Online Slots
• Delaware Online Slots
• Rhode Island Online Slots

Delaware and New Jersey online casinos broke the ice in 2013, launching with a meager selection of a few dozen slots. In the ensuing years, online casino slot libraries swelled considerably.

Now, it’s not uncommon for legal U.S. gambling sites to feature upwards of 1,000 slot titles, provided by dozens of top manufacturers.

Today, New Jersey has the most developed legal online casino market, highlighted by many competing gambling sites and the widest variety of real-money slots.

Pennsylvania and Michigan tie for second place, with competitive online gambling markets and no shortage of slots games.

West Virginia, Connecticut, and Delaware have less competition and fewer online casinos, but players still have 100+ slots to choose from at legal online casinos in each state.

Legal Online Slots in Other States

BettingUSA strongly recommends players in all other states to stay far away from unlicensed online casinos.

Unlicensed gambling sites are based offshore, not subject to consumer protection regulations, and operate contrary to US law. Players have no recourse if something happens to their money or if they have a dispute with an offshore online casino.

A better option for players in states without legal online gambling are sweepstakes casinos.

Online sweepstakes sites like WOW Vegas and Pulsz Casino offer a remarkably similar experience, complete with cash prizes and casino-style games, but with a couple of extra steps to comply with US sweepstakes laws.

• WOW Vegas Casino: 350+ casino-style games
• Pulsz Casino: 500+ casino-style games

Both offer online slots for money prizes in most states:

Best Real Money Online Slot Casinos

Online slots are the bread and butter of the iGaming industry. It follows that every single legal U.S. online casino offers more slots than any other game type.

However, there is a chasm between the best online slot casinos and the rest of the pack.

The best online casinos for slots players share a few characteristics:

• Casino bonuses aimed at slots players
• Extensive menu of real-money slots from reputable software developers
• Recurring promotions for existing customers
• Rewarding loyalty programs
• Exclusive games and large progressive jackpots

Here is BettingUSA’s assessment of the best casinos to play slots online for real money.

BetMGM Casino Slots

Number of slots: 600+ (NJ), 400+ (MI), 250+ (PA), 160+ (WV)
Exclusive titles: Yes

BetMGM Casino has become a haven for online slot players. The BetMGM Casino app is home to over 600 slots in New Jersey and offers more slots than just about any other provider in MI and WV.

Providers run the gamut from WMS to NetEnt, Ainsworth, Top Spin, and many more. BetMGM Online Casino also supports a variety of popular Megaways games like 88 Fortunes Megaways, Extra Chili Megaways, and Bonanza Megaways.

When it comes to progressive and jackpot slots, BetMGM Casino’s selection is second to none. Not only does it offer third-party progressive slots, but it boasts an array of exclusive jackpot games.

Many of BetMGM Casino’s progressive slots share jackpots, which helps to grow the grand prizes surprisingly quickly.

For instance, BetMGM’s Mega series consists of 10 linked slots, with a top prize often exceeding $2 million. BetMGM slots players will also find a variety of smaller linked progressives, like the Mega Jackpot and Cash Flash series.

In New Jersey, BetMGM Casino goes a step further. Lion’s Share adds “Must Hit” progressives to some of BetMGM Casino’s most popular games. Prizes range from $500 – $10,000.

BetMGM Casino supports one of the more appealing new player bonuses, consisting of a no-deposit slots bonus plus a first deposit welcome bonus, with minimal wagering requirements.

On top of this, BetMGM Casino has deep ties to MGM’s retail rewards program, MGM Rewards. Players earn BetMGM Rewards Points and Tier Credits for every wager they place on BetMGM Casino slots.

Tier Credits move players up through MGM Rewards’ VIP status levels, while BetMGM Rewards Points are exchangeable for online slots bonuses and MGM Rewards Points (redeemable at MGM retail properties worldwide).

See also: Borgata Casino, BetMGM’s sister site with a similar selection of games and rewards. Borgata Casino slots are available in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Use Borgata Casino bonus code BUSABONUS to claim a large welcome bonus.

BetRivers Casino Slots

• Number of slots: 1000+ (NJ), 300 (PA), 400 (MI), 150+ (WV), 100+ (DE)
• Exclusive titles: Yes

BetRivers Casino offers online casino slots to players in Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

BetRivers NJ is the oldest Rush Street online casino and now supports more than 1,000 slots, beating even Golden Nugget to that milestone.

A respectable 300 to 400 online slots are available in Pennsylvania and Michigan from notable brands like SG Digital, IGT, Konami, Everi, and NetEnt. BetRivers WV only supports about 150 online slots, but that’s on the high side for the West Virginia market.

BetRivers Casino supports iRush Rewards, a multi-faceted tiered loyalty program that rewards players for their play.

Customers also earn points, which can be exchanged in the loyalty store for bonuses, wheel spins, and instant win cards. Sweepstakes drawings, double points happy hours, and creative leaderboard promos round out the rewards structure.

The desktop platform and mobile apps have a modern, social feel to them, and finding games is made easy by advanced filters. However, these extra bells and whistles sometimes come at the expense of lag.

BetRivers Casino offers new players a small but user-friendly welcome bonus with minimal wagering requirements.

FanDuel Casino Slots

Number of slots: 370 (NJ), less in other markets
Exclusive titles: No

There’s nothing particularly exciting about FanDuel Casino, but it lands a spot by virtue of its stellar welcome bonus and being one of the only apps available in all five major online casino markets.

The desktop platform features up to 370 slots depending on the market, which is respectable.

Unfortunately, the FanDuel Casino mobile app falls decidedly short, only supporting a few dozen slot titles. On the plus side, the app features a solid design, is integrated with the site’s mobile sportsbook, and users will rarely experience lag or crashes.

FanDuel offers loyalty rewards to its New Jersey customers. Slot players earn 5 Tier Points per $1 wagered. Tier Points determine a player’s loyalty status, and can also be redeemed for cash. As a player’s tier increases, the redemption rate improves, from 0.1% to as high as 0.5% cashback.

In addition, FanDuel Casino supports one of the best new player bonuses, featuring a 1x rollover requirement.

Note: Stardust Casino, which is available in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, is a skin of FanDuel Casino. Both sites share a common platform, wallet, and welcome bonus. It is a rebranded version of the old Betfair Casino site.

DraftKings Casino Slots

• Number of slots: 600+ (NJ), 300+ (PA, MI)
• Exclusive titles: Yes

DraftKings Casino offers slot players as close to a complete package as they’ll find anywhere.

The DraftKings Casino slots library is massive, clocking in at over 600 games in New Jersey and over 300 in Pennsylvania and Michigan. More than half of these titles are also available on DraftKings mobile app.

DraftKings slots are also available in West Virginia and Connecticut.

Major providers such as NetEnt, IGT, Everi, BTG, and Slingo are all well-represented.

DraftKings even offers its own exclusive unique spin on online slot gaming, called DraftKings Rocket.

Rocket is the ultimate game of chicken, where players wager on how long a rocket will remain in flight. The longer it flies, the higher the multiplier and the bigger the payout.

Players can back out any time and claim a payout based on the current multiplier. However, if the rocket explodes before they snag a prize, their initial wager is lost.

DraftKings Casino excels when it comes to player promotions. Slot players are treated to a variety of bonus offers, including lossback offers, random jackpots, and leaderboard promos that award five- and six-figure prizes to DK’s most loyal patrons.

Players are also generously rewarded through DraftKings’ VIP Program, Dynasty Rewards.

The DraftKings Casino loyalty program rewards players who climb the ranks with tier achievement bonuses, site credit, tier-specific promotions, access to exclusive live events, and more. Customers may exchange their loyalty points (Crowns) for DK Dollars, game-specific credits, or merchandise.

The only real drawbacks to playing on DraftKings Casino are that the desktop software is somewhat glitchy, the game filtering system is poor, and the bonus wagering requirements are merely average on the larger bonus.

Beyond that, it does just about everything right. In summary, DraftKings is the best online casino to play slots for real money.

Golden Nugget Casino Slots

Number of slots: ~1000 (NJ), 350+ (MI), 60+ (WV)
Exclusive titles: Yes

Golden Nugget Casino overcame long odds to become New Jersey’s #1 online casino by revenue. It accomplished this through a shrewd marketing campaign and boasting the industry’s largest online slots library.

It has to yet to deviate from the formula and was one of the first legal US online casinos to surpass 1,000 slots (now at 1,300 and counting). Shockingly, nearly all of Golden Nugget’s online slots have been ported to its iOS and Android mobile apps.

Golden Nugget Casino is also competitive in Michigan and Pennsylvania, where it has a growing library of 350+ legal slot machines online. Unfortunately, the Golden Casino West Virginia slots lobby consists of just over 60 legal slot games.

Six- and seven-figure promotions are commonplace at Golden Nugget, with its signature 10 Million Dollar Golden Race and monthly leaderboards the highlights of its robust promotional schedule.

Golden Nugget also offers value through its Dynasty Rewards program, which it shares with DraftKings. As Golden Nugget customers play slots online, they earn Crowns to exchange for site credit and Tier Credits to advance in VIP levels for increasingly valuable benefits.

Golden Nugget doesn’t offer many exclusive titles or progressive slots, but it does support a fair share of alternative slots, like steppers and scratch-offs. It also provides a better game filter than most, although the app’s Live Feed often obstructs the screen on mobile.

Real Money Slots Apps USA

Initially, legal online casino sites were slow to develop mobile ports of their desktop applications. Now, it’s standard practice for all sites to support complementary mobile apps for iOS and Android powered devices.

There are two ways to download online slots apps:

1. Download from a mobile browser: Players can follow any of the links on this page from their mobile device to start the registration process. During signup, they’ll be prompted to download the mobile app for their device.
2. Download direct: Players can go to either the Google Play Store or App Store, search for a mobile casino, and download it directly.

In 2019, online casinos operators were dealt a blow when Apple announced that it was only allowing native iOS apps in the App Store. Prior to the announcement, many gambling apps were repurposed HTLM 5 products.

Online slot suppliers scrambled to update their games for compatibility, but the process would ultimately take months. Today, all iOS online casino apps are native.

In March 2021, the gaming industry received good news when Google announced that the Play Store would allow gambling apps. Prior to the change, the only option was to directly download the Android .apk file from each casino’s website.

There are a couple of notable differences between mobile slot apps and their desktop counterparts.

• The user interface is condensed: Menus may be hidden behind small icons, and the number of game filters may be reduced. Players may have to do a lot more scrolling to find a game they like.
• The control scheme is configured for mobile: When playing slots, players will often be required to position their mobile app in either landscape or portrait mode. Additionally, some game controls may be hidden or altered to accommodate the reduced screen real estate.
• There’s fewer slots: Not all online slot titles are ported to mobile. Some online casinos, like Golden Nugget Casino, have taken great pains to ensure that nearly all of their desktop games are available on their slots apps. Others may only feature 10-20% of their desktop slot libraries on mobile devices. There’s no hard and fast rule, but generally speaking, the longer an online casino has been around, the greater the odds that more of its slots are mobile-ready.

Beyond that, there aren’t many differences between playing on mobile vs. desktop. Player balances always carry over between the two, and it’s a safe bet that the interface and software will function fairly similarly.

One point worth noting is that there may be a slight delay between when an online casino goes live on desktop and when it launches on the mobile app. This is usually due to technical and compliance issues.

What Are The Best Online Slots Games?

All online slots games have a negative expected value, meaning the house always wins over the long run. With that in mind, there’s an argument to be made that the best online slots real money casinos offer are simply those that provide the highest entertainment value.

However, there are other variables to consider, some of which will have a substantial impact on a player’s likelihood to have a winning (and fun) session:

• Return-to-player: An online slot’s return-to-player or RTP is the percentage payback players can expect from a machine. For instance, a machine with a 96% RTP will return 96 cents for every dollar wagered over the long-run.
• Volatility: This is a measure of how payouts are distributed. A low volatility machine pays out frequently, but the wins are small. High volatility machines pay out very infrequently, but the scores can be massive. All real-money online slots are at least somewhat volatile, at least compared to traditional table games like online blackjack.
• Features: Slot machines have evolved significantly from the days when players pulled a lever and hoped to match three cherries. Today’s online slots feature more paylines, flashier and more elaborate bonus rounds, cutting edge digital graphics, and a slew of other innovations that make them unique. For some players, the more bonus features the better, while others still prefer 3-reel games where most of the RTP is generated through line hits.
• Progressives: Some online slots feature community progressive jackpots. The jackpots increase every time players place real money wagers, and the odds are typically stacked so high against hitting a progressive that the jackpot may soar into the six- and seven-figure range before hitting. The downside to progressives is that their base RTP tends to be a bit lower than other slots.
• Brands: Most slots at legal US online casinos are provided by about a dozen or so manufacturers. Slots developed by the same team usually share characteristics. For instance, Big Time Gaming is known for its Megaways slots, while IGT supports Wheel of Fortune games, and Barcrest is famous for supporting Big Bet games, where players ante up $20+ to immediately enter a special bonus round.

What Are The Differences Between Retail And Online Slots?

Many players believe that the only difference between retail and online slots is a clunky cabinet. That’s only partially true.

The differences aren’t as vast as between digital and live table games, where one uses real playing devices like cards and wheels to determine outcomes, and the other relies on random number generators (RNGs).

However, there are still some notable differences between traditional slots and their online counterparts.

Retail and online slots both use RNGs to determine the outcomes of spins, and that outcome is resolved the split second that the player hits the “Spin” button. Technology has evolved to a point where an RNG can generate thousands, if not millions, of payline combinations. Paylines are components of both online and retail slots and determine payouts.

Both types of slots are designed to meet a predetermined certain payback percentage over the long run based on how the developer has configured the RNG.

Regulators thoroughly vet US online slots for fairness and randomness before authorizing casino sites to launch them. In fact, the same gaming regulators in charge of overseeing land-based casinos are also in charge of online gambling oversight.

For instance, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement provided oversight for brick & mortar casinos in Atlantic City long before it became the regulatory body for the NJ online casino industry.

That covers how online and land-based slots are similar.

Now for the differences:

• RTP: Online slots have a significantly higher payback percentage than land-based slots, although there are exceptions. For instance, retail slots at very high denominations may return over 95%, but the penny slots that dominate casino floors average between 88% to 90% RTP. Online, the worst slots have an RTP of about 94%, and the best reach 98% or higher. The difference is likely accounted for the high cost of leasing a physical cabinet versus the relative cheapness of games that exist solely in digital space.
• Denominations: Real money slots online feature a wide variety of denominations. Players can typically wager less than a dollar or hundreds, even thousands, per spin, all on the same machine. Retail slot denominations are much tighter, with penny slots usually capping out at about $5. There are retail slots that can be played at denominations of $25 or more, but they’re usually hidden in a small high-limit room.
• Transparency: It’s unbelievable that retail casinos are still allowed to hide a slot’s RTP behind a shroud of uncertainty. By contrast, online slots provide their RTPs and often arm players with other useful information, like each game’s volatility rating and its maximum payout.
• Bonuses: Online casinos provide large welcome bonuses for slot players, whereas land-based casinos do not. However, retail casinos tend to offer larger free-play kickbacks than online casinos because they need to provide players with incentives to revisit their properties.
• Variety: Retail casinos used to offer more slot variety, but the tables have turned. Today’s online casinos feature tons of titles, many of which are direct ports of those found on brick-and-mortar casino floors. They also have game formats that retail casinos don’t, like Slingo games, scratchers, steppers, and unique innovations like DraftKings Rocket.
• Access: It goes without saying that online slots are far more accessible than their land-based equivalents. There’s no fighting to get a seat at a popular game, no roaming the casino floor for hours trying to find your favorite game. Online, a casino’s entire slot library is accessible from either a desktop or mobile device. The only caveat is that players must be located in a state where real-money online slots are legal to play.
• Gambling controls: Easy access is also one of the drawbacks of online slots, as the accessibility can facilitate gambling addiction. BettingUSA strongly urges players to gamble responsibly and use the gambling controls at their disposal, like deposit and spend limits before engaging in real-money wagering. Retail casinos do not offer nearly as many responsible gambling tools.

Legal Real-Money Online Slots With The Highest Payback Percentages (RTPs)

For those looking for value, BettingUSA has compiled a list of some of the highest payback slots. To qualify, the slots on this list had to meet a minimum standard of 97% RTP.

Most legal online slots with very high RTPs require players to enable the Big Bet feature. This is a special innovation unique to Barcrest games that allows players to trigger a special bonus round.

As the name implies, Big Bet slots require players to wager substantial amounts per round ($10 – $50), but at least the games take a few minutes to play out, much like a bonus round.

Other game studios that feature high RTP online slots are NetEnt, NextGen, and Big Time Gaming. Providers like IGT, Ainsworth, and Komami may not have made the list but offer plenty of games in the 96 – 97% RTP range. Even some Slingo games come close to 97% RTP.

What Are The Most Popular Online Slots?

According to online casino reports, these are some of the most popular slot games currently being played.

Cash Machine Slot

Cash Machine is a simple yet creative take on classic 3-reel games. Players wager in denominations of $1, $10, or $100 per spin and win what they see. To elaborate, if the reels stop on 10-0-blank, the player would win $100 on a $10 spin.

The slot has two built-in game features. The first, Red Respin, randomly triggers after certain winning spins, and gives players a chance at increasing their winnings.

Zero Respin automatically triggers after a losing spin with at least one “0” present on the reels. For instance, the combination blank-0-blank activates the Zero Respin feature.

Cash Machine is developed by Everi and is a very popular game at brick & mortal casino, which could explain why online players flock to it.

The game has an RTP of 96%, which is just above average for online slot games.

88 Fortunes Slot

88 Fortunes, by Shuffle Master, is one of the most beloved retail casino slots, so it’s little wonder why the game has enjoyed tremendous success online.

The Asian-themed slot features 5-reels, 243 paylines, Gold Symbols played on an alternative set of reels, four jackpot tiers, and a bonus game that awards 10 free games.

During the bonus round, common symbols like Ace, King, Queen, and Jack are eliminated from the reels, giving players a much better chance to score some sweet line hits. The bonus can be retriggered inside the free game feature, adding even more games.

The base denomination is a fitting $0.88, but players can adjust it depending upon how many Gold Symbols they play.

The RTP for 88 Fortunes is 96%, which we can safely say is much higher than the RTP of the same game at retail casinos.

Extra Chilli Megaways Slot

Extra Chilli by Big Time Gaming is one of the most popular online-only slot games. Players are attracted to its colorful aesthetic, its elaborate bonus and respin features, and massive number of paylines.

The game is a 6-reel slot with an extra 4-reel row, and each spin has a variable number of paylines, ranging from the low-four figures all the way up to 171,000.

To activate the bonus, players must hit the letters H-O-T on three different reels, or they can automatically buy a Feature Drop for 50 times their stake.

Once in the bonus, players are awarded 8 free spins. They then have the opportunity to gamble for more spins. The bonus multiplier increases with each line hit, so players may feel highly incentivized to press their luck.

Players can gamble up to 24 starting spins and can trigger even more free spins by landing three “BIG” symbols during the bonus game.

Jin Ji Bao Xi Endless Treasure

Jin Ji Bao by Shuffle Master shares a lot of similarities to 88 Fortunes, right down to its denomination increments, overall theme, and Gold Symbols feature. It even features the same Mini, Minor, Major, and Grand jackpot tiers.

However, Jin Ji Bao has more advanced features than its sister title. For one, players that land a Wild on reel 3 have a chance for it become a Gold Wild, which substitutes for a Golden Symbol and doubles line hit wins.

Land six or more money coins to trigger the bonus. From there, players have a choice of six different bonuses. The first five options are for free games. In all cases, players receive six free games.

However, they get to select a premium symbol to add to the reels. If players select a lower end symbol, more of them will be added to the reels. If they choose better symbols, then fewer will be added. Selecting better symbols increases the volatility of the free games bonus.

The final bonus option is called the Top Up Feature. In this game, the money coins are held in place. Players start with 3 spins, but can win more.

Additional coins that appear during the bonus game either award a value equal to the initial bonus (Yellow Coin) or an amount equal to the entire current win amount (Green Coin). Land all 15 symbols and win the Grand Jackpot, worth over 2,000x.

The RTP on Jin Ji Bao is roughly 95.7%.

Can Real-Money Online Slots Be Beaten?

The short answer is no, but there are ways to temporarily overcome the house edge.

Before answering this question in its entirety, it’s important to understand how slot machines work.

How Do Slot Machines Work?

Slot machines may look elaborate, but they’re extremely simple to play. Players select a denomination and a multiplier and hit the spin button. That’s it.

Unlike land-based slots, online slots have an auto-spin feature. Players can set an amount of spins and other stop conditions, and then just sit back and watch the reels spin. With few exceptions, there is no skill element involved.

All online slots have thousands, if not millions, of possible outcomes that are determined by a sophisticated RNG. Whether it’s a simple 3-reel slot or an ultra-modern game featuring advanced visuals and a wealth of bonus features, the underlying technology is the same.

That technology is designed so that players lose a small percentage of their total wagers over the long run as opposed to draining players’ wallets quickly. Frequent small wins and the occasional large win are what make slots so alluring.

At retail casinos, penny slots are among the worst games to play. The action is fast and the house edge is high. This explains why casinos place so many penny slots on their floors. Online, this is not necessarily the case.

Online penny slots may not have as high an RTP as games that require a measure of skill like video poker and blackjack, but the house edge is lower than many table game side bets, some carnival games, and even American Roulette. Online slot players can expect to lose roughly 1-6 cents per $1 wagered, depending on the slot, over the long run.

Trimming The House Edge

The best way to reduce the house edge playing online slots is to pick games with a high RTP. In addition, there are a couple of tricks that can reduce the house edge further:

• Some games have a higher RTP at higher denominations.
• Players may be able to enable special features that will increase a game’s RTP.
• Players who play the same slot consistently may have the option to unlock additional features, which increases the RTP.
• Some games have a Big Bet option. Big Bet games have among the highest RTPs of any online slot.
• Not all online slots are completely devoid of skill. For instance, there is an optimal way to play certain bonuses, like the Monopoly Big Event Big Bet bonus. Players can optimize their chances of winning at games like Slingo by using their wild symbols to select the most beneficial numbers.
• Prioritize online casinos with worthwhile loyalty programs. Reward program members earn points for every wager they place on real-money slots online. Online casinos generally offer better earn rates for slots than table games and video poker. Most slots rewards programs allow players to convert points to casino bonuses or cash. The cashback rates aren’t always great, but loyalty programs are a reliable way to trim the house edge by as much as 1%, which is significant because most slots have a house advantage of 4% or less.

Notice that all of these of these tips merely help players reduce the house edge, not overcome it. Besides bonuses, the only ways to reduce the house advantage online is to play Must Hit progressive slots when the meter is close to the target number or play extremely large progressives.

Even then, players only benefit if they hit the jackpot. That’s an exceedingly rare occurrence under normal conditions, and even more so because big jackpots will attract a higher than normal volume of players.

Some slots, like Ocean Magic, are called persistent state slots. At land-based casinos, advantage players will often lurk around these games hoping that an unknowing player will leave them in a beneficial state. This is known in the slot community as vulturing and is frowned upon by casinos.

However, unless the slot manufacturer launches a game in an an advantageous state (and this has happened), online players cannot benefit from vulturing, because they’re the only ones using their accounts.

Of course, online slot players will sometimes overcome the odds and score big wins. Otherwise, no one would play slots. Yet, the only true way to temporarily overcome the house’s built-in edge is through the use of bonuses and slots promotions.

Online Slots Bonuses

There are three primary types of online slot bonuses. Claiming bonuses with favorable terms is the key to turning the tables on the house.

No Deposit Slots Bonuses

In order to receive a no-deposit bonus, all players have to do is successfully complete the registration process. They’ll then receive a small bonus, which can be used to sample online slots. After the (usually) low wagering requirement is met, players can cash out their bonus.

No-deposit bonuses provide an excellent means for players to try a gambling site, but they’re not the equivalent of free money. Every promotion, even no-deposit bonuses, comes with terms and conditions.

As counterintuitive as it may seem, many no-deposit bonuses actually require a deposit before players can withdraw their winnings. True no-deposit bonuses are exceedingly rare.

Free Slots Spins Promotions

It’s not common, but a few online casinos award free spin bonuses. For example, an online casino may give players who make a first deposit of $30 or more 200 bonus spins to use on all slots or just specific games.

Typically, free spins on slots issue winnings that players must play through one time before withdrawing. Once the rollover is complete, players can cash out their winnings. As always, players should check the terms of any promo before claiming it.

Online Slots Deposit Match Bonuses

Deposit match bonuses are the most common type of online casino bonus.

These offers function much like a contract between the player and the casino. The casino offers to match all or part of a player’s next deposit, and in exchange the player agrees to give the casino a certain amount of action. That amount is called the wagering or turnover requirement, and the lower the turnover, the better it is for the player.

For example, DraftKings Casino sometimes offers new customers a 100% deposit match bonus worth up to $2,000 in casino credits with a 30x wagering requirement on most slots.

Is that a good deal? Well, it depends on what game you’re playing. In order to clear the bonus, players will have to wager $2,000 x 30 = $60,000.

If players select a slot with a 95% RTP and wagers $60,000 on it, they’re expected to lose ($60,000 * 0.05) = $3,000. Even after accounting for the $2,000, the expected loss is $1,000.

However, if the game had a 97% RTP instead, the expected loss is only $1,800, leaving the player $200 in the black (on average) once the bonus is applied.

To quickly figure out what percentage cashback a slots bonus is worth, simply divide 100 by the wagering requirement.

For instance, if the wagering requirement is 20, the cashback percentage is 100/20 = 5%. Now add that number to the RTP of the game you’re playing and subtract 100 to determine your expected value (EV). For instance, if a player wants to play 88 Fortunes (96%), their EV will be 96% + 5% = 101% – 100 = 1%.

1% may not seem like a lot, but think about how casinos nationwide generate billions of dollars in revenue on games like blackjack, with a house edge of just 0.5% or less.

Other Slots Promotions

Unless the wagering requirements are obscene, online slot players should take advantage of all online casino bonus offers.

This includes leaderboard promos, sweepstakes, double points happy hours, and more. It’ll be tough to generate consistent edge playing slots, but savvy players will at least be able to get significantly more mileage out of their deposits.

Real Money Online Slots FAQ