How to locate the best online slots portals

There is nothing denying the fact that slots are indeed the most popular casino games both in off-line as well as online environments, mostly because they promise some real handsome payouts! Slot machines have been around for more than a hundred years and have always been an integral part of the brick and mortar casino set up. Their popularity reached new heights after online gambling came to the fore.

The classic slot machines which payout whenever you get similar symbols in a row have assumed new proportions with well-known online software development companies like Microgaming, NetEnt, Quickspin, PlayTech, NextGen, Evolution Gaming and others, constantly making them better than before, with each passing year. If you go through some of the best slot sites here, you will come across online slot games with amazing bonuses, cool music and excellent graphics. In fact, the majority of them can be played on mobile phones too.

How to pick the best one?

Considering the choices available today, it can get very difficult to locate the best online slots portals, and that’s where this article comes in. 

In order to compare and locate the best online slots portals, you must first be sure about the slot games that you wish to play. In general, it has been observed that the online casinos powered by Microgaming and NetEnt feature the best slot titles. On the other hand, if you’re after live games, NetEnt and Evolution Gaming rule that segment. Regardless, you must try out slot games from different providers to figure out which ones you like the most.

Pay attention to the game providers powering the online slots

For those of you who might not be aware, online slot portals or online casinos don’t create their own casino games, including the slots. These casinos partner with different gaming software providers to offer a wide range of gaming options to their players. Whenever you are trying to locate the best online slots portal, it’s important to pay heed to the game providers that power it.

As mentioned above, there are a handful of game providers that have been able to distinguish themselves successfully over the years. Net Entertainment and Microgaming are widely regarded as the best providers of the present times. Both these are renowned for offering excellent slot titles.

Nowadays since a lot of online casinos are powered by the same providers, they offer the same type of games and look very similar to each other. Although it might not make a lot of difference to you as a player, it can get a little boring. However, the new-age online casinos not only rope in the well-established game providers, but they also lookout for new and exciting providers who can help them improve their market share by offering technologically advanced and different slot games. Hence, the more the number of game providers that an online casino or slots portal is associated with, the better it would be for you as a player. After all, who doesn’t like more variety?!

Furthermore, you should try out their games first hand and make a choice yourself. It’s pretty easy to compare the average RTPs of the slot games as well as their jackpot sizes.

Important to go with the ones with best free spin offers

If you’re just starting out in the world of online casinos/slots, free spins are promotional offers that can help you get initiated into online gambling/slots. As per such offers, you receive a specific number of free spins, with/without the need of a deposit, after signing up with a casino platform. These free spins are only applicable on a pre-specified selection of slot games. Hence, it is very important to check which slot games you are getting the free spins for, to understand their true worth.

The best part about some of these offers is that you might not be required to deposit any of your own money, and can still keep all your winnings as long as you meet the minimum wagering requirements set by the website. This requirement might vary from one casino platform to the other but is essentially about wagering your profits a specific number of times before you’re allowed to withdraw any money. While it might sound like a put-off, please be informed that many slot players have won millions of dollars using such free spin offers. For instance, you can use free spins offer to win a small sum, which can then be used to play progressive jackpot slots like Mega Moolah and others, that are capable of delivering record wins.

Whenever you look for such free spin offers it’s important to understand that there is a difference between free spins and extra spins. As per the UKGC (United Kingdom Gambling Commission) regulations introduced in the year 2018, online gambling and slot sites are allowed to offer free spins to new players only if there is no deposit required. In the event that the website asks for a deposit, it cannot terminate the offer as a ‘free spin’ offer, and would instead need to market it as ‘extra spins’. This rule was introduced to bring more transparency into the online casino bonus offers and to avoid the chances of players getting misled.

Check about the mobile compatibility

It was nearly impossible to play any type of online casino on mobile phones 10 years ago. However, today, the market for mobile casino games and mobile slots is growing at an exponential pace. People are rapidly moving from the conventional desktop/laptop environments to smartphones for their favourite slot games.

Gaming providers have also adapted to this change in the market. Today, whenever they create new slots titles, they always launch them on the mobile platforms first. Regardless of whether you have a tablet PC, an android phone or an iPhone, you can easily play online slots within the web browser on the phone, or in some cases also download and play through efficient gaming apps provided by the concerned online casinos. In a nutshell, go with an online casino or an online slots website only if it offers a mobile version of its platform, a mobile app or both so that you can enjoy your favourite online slots even while being on the move.

Go with the one that offers your favourite online slot game

If you’ve gone with an online slots website with the best game providers, it is highly likely that your favourite slot game would have already gotten covered, but it is still a good idea to make sure that the website does offer the games you’re interested in. There is no point making a fat deposit only to discover that you can’t play the slots that you were so looking forward to.

When it comes to online slots, they are broadly categorised into different levels, depending upon how much you can win from them. Are you interested in winning more often, or are you a high roller who likes taking big risks (for big rewards)? Some online slots are meant to pay out on a regular basis, but their payouts are not very high, usually under £ 1000 in any given spin. Then there are other slot titles that have various free spins and bonus modes, giving you a chance to win much higher sums, but they don’t pay out that regularly. For instance, there’s Gonzo’s Quest where if you reach the bonus game, you’ll be in with a chance to win big through one single spin.

Then at the other end of the spectrum are progressive jackpot slots that give you a chance to win millions of dollars in one single spin. These slot games don’t normally pay out intermediate or small amounts, but nevertheless, give you a chance to win life-changing sums.

Pay heed to the RTP

While you’re constantly required to make strategic decisions while playing casino games like poker and blackjack, online slots don’t require much thinking and are programmed to pay out an average of 82% to 99% of the wagered money to the players. This average percentage pay-out is referred to as the Return to Player (RTP) and must always be checked before playing an online slot game and selecting an online slots website.

Please note, different online slots have different volatility levels, which decides the variation and regularity of the wins. Slot games that have higher volatility don’t pay out frequently, but have the potential to deliver huge wins; as against the ones with lower volatility that payout frequently but the wins are not that big. Eventually, the decision is yours which one you’d like to play. If your main aim is to strike it big, opt for a slots portal that offers you the best of progressive jackpot slots, else go with the one which offers slot games with more frequent payouts and hence longer gameplay.