Best way to play your chances with an online slots bonus
No one is going to turn up their nose at free money. And we’re here to tell you that the good news about online slot bonuses is that they are free money. But we’re also here to tell you to have realistic expectations about what that means for you.
Imagine how you would react if someone walked up to you in the street and said, “Here’s some free money!” You’d look for the hidden camera or suspect a scam.
You don’t need to be quite that suspicious with an online slots bonus, but if you think that a successful business (which most online casino sites are) is going to give you free cash, let you walk in, hit a massive jackpot and walk on out again with your pockets stuffed with their cash then think again.
Getting the best value from an online slots bonus
As it is with political promises. And as it is with a news report or a celebrity interview, you should read beyond the headline.
The headline will be something like, “100% welcome bonus. Deposit $10, play with $20, up to $200!”
And, advertising laws and casino regulations being what they are, all of that will be true.
But you must read the small print to get the full picture.
How to spend your online slots bonus
Once you have read the detail, you’ll have a good understanding of where it’s best to spend your money on the site.
Some games will not pay off your wagering requirement – the amount of money you need to spend before you can withdraw money from your bonus – as quickly as others.
Getting through your wagering requirements is a good idea. So take a cruise of the slot choices and look for games that offer a good theoretical return to the player – the amount an online slot is expected to return to players over its lifetime – and the promise of decent jackpot wins.
You will probably be limited in the games you’re allowed to play and the amounts you’re allowed to stake, so look for games rated at 100% in the weighting lists, and ideally without any maximum on staking.
It’s unlikely that an online slot bonus will make your fortune, but used carefully, it can be a good value and exciting way to explore a site at no risk to your own wallet.
Free Spins Slots Bonuses
Slot lovers are all over free spins bonuses, and for a good reason. These offers accommodate slot players, maybe even more than match deposit bonuses. They are quite flexible, and both new members and regular customers can look forward to free spins bonuses.
These incentives consist of complimentary spins on one or more slot machines at the casino. When you claim a free spins slots bonus, you get to spin the reels free of charge for a determined number of times and collect all the winnings.
Free spins slots bonuses can be offered individually as a part of a recurring promotion or added to a welcome package. It all depends on the casino.
Sometimes, free spins are available within a promotional campaign for a new slot machine, a game recently released and just added to the portfolio.
Although free spins sound great, you shouldn’t ignore the terms and conditions when you claim these offerings. Free spins can also carry wagering requirements, and these apply to any winnings you may generate from gratis play.
If you fail to comply with the conditions of the bonus, you risk losing the winning amount.
Bonuses that involve free spins can be modest and rather generous. Some casinos will award their players with sets of 10, 20, 30 or maybe 50 free spins; others will include 100 or 200 free spins in their offers.
Naturally, you should consider all the aspects before accepting a free spins slots bonus, but most of the time, complimentary spins are hugely beneficial for the player’s balance, not to mention the improvement they bring to the gameplay.
What is a slot machine, and how to play online slots?
Everyone who takes an interest in online gambling is bound to find out about online slots, and chances are, lots of people take up placing bets online just so they could play virtual slot machines. These games of chance are quite different from table games or card games, but they still have the element of thrill, and players have lots of fun with them.
The popularity of slots is so vast and untouchable now that all the casinos on the web put slots in the foreground. Pick any Canadian slot casino site randomly, and you’ll see that its major offering is video slots. Usually, there are hundreds and sometimes even over a thousand different slots at one single casino site.
The slot machine you can play online is inspired by the actual slot machines that were, at first, placed at gaming rooms and convenience stores and later assumed their positions on casino floors.
Old slot machines were really all about the mechanics; there was a lever the payer would pull, and the reels would turn, then stop and show three symbols on one pay line.
As the concept evolved, new generations of slot machines came about, with more reels, more pay lines and more symbols. These new games weren’t mechanical anymore; they were updated with video software and buttons instead of levers.
One press of the Spin button, and the game would run, paying out your bet amount for a winning combination of matching symbols. When slot machines adapted to the video format, it was easy to translate the software into the online world.
The main thing was introducing the RGN (Random Number Generator), a technology that enables slot machines to produce random outcomes every time, which is equivalent to the random outcome of pulling the lever of an old one-armed bandit.
So now, we have web-based slot machines that run on RNGs and produce arbitrary results, offer various themes, special features and gameplay structures, as well as different stakes and payouts.
Classic Slots vs Video Slots
The most common differentiation among online slots is dividing them into two groups: classic slots and video slots.
There are very few differences in the way you play them; the procedure is simple, you load the slot game, set your bet and spin the reels.
However, classic slots and video slots have other distinctions which clearly set them apart, and each group has its own audience.
Classic Slots
Classic slots are online slots that remind us more of the old slot machines. They imitate the look and feel of the old parlour casino, and they keep the simple games played with one or three pay lines. The suite of symbols is almost always the same, with lemons, cherries, plums and other fruit, complemented by bells, lucky sevens and BARs.
Classic slots are often referred to as fruit machines or simply traditional slots. They mostly rely on base game wins and rarely feature special symbols and additional features. The soundtrack is often upbeat and celebratory every time a win happens, and the stakes are moderately high.
Classic slots are still popular because a lot of players like to satisfy their nostalgia with old-school slot action. They may not have impressive graphics and animations, but they carry a certain charm modern slots can’t replicate.
Video Slots
Video slots, on the other hand, are much more versatile and have a lot of subgenres. No wonder why plenty of online casinos have special video slots and bonus codes players can take advantage of.
The diversity of themes and features is beyond anything the creators of original slots could have imagined. Video slots are based on various themes like mythology, movies, music, travel, luxury, nature, animals, popular video games, TV shows, books, sci-fi, the cosmos and many, many more.
Software developers apply modern gaming solutions and creative design to their video slots, so each game is different, even though it may feature a similar theme.
One other characteristic relevant to video slots is the fact that they can have one to several bonus features. We’re talking Wild symbols, Scattered wins, free spins, re-spins, stacked Wilds, Expanding Wilds and collapsing reels, to name a few.
Through bonus rounds and special features, players experience more dynamics during gameplay and bigger wins.
Free Slots vs Real Money Slots
Even though slot machines aren’t hard games to play, online casinos still give the players a chance to practice and enjoy them without having to wager real money. In that sense, we could say that there are free slots and real money slots, which are basically the same games but played in different modes.
Free Slots
Free slots are regular classic and video slots that are accessed in play for fun or demo mode. Most popular casino websites allow free play across their slots in order to attract more players to join after they’ve seen how entertaining and profitable the games can be.
When you play free slots, it’s just like playing for cash, but instead of real funds, you bet imaginary credits – simulated, make-believe money. The wins happen as they would in real play, but any money you win or lose is just a simulated worth of the outcomes of your spins. Still, free play is great practice and allows you to get to know the slot well.
Real Money Slots
Real money slots are the real deal. Once you become a registered casino member, you get to fund your account with your personal money through a preferred banking option.
The money becomes the casino balance you can use to place bets and store your winnings. Once again, we are talking about the same games you had the chance to play in demo mode, and now you are loading them in a true casino format. This allows you to generate great wins but leaves an open possibility to lose money as well.
You need to be much more careful while placing real money bets than when you’re playing in demo mode. The free trial is only an introduction to actual betting, so you should make sure your budget is always on level.
Best Slots Sites to Play Real Money Slots
| Rank | Casino | Bonus Offer | Number of Games | Payout Speed | Win Rate | Play Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
#1
|
Casumo Casino
|
C$ 1,800
|
630+
|
1-2 days
|
97.84%
|
|
|
#2
|
Jackpot City |
C$ 2,000
|
700
|
2 days
|
97.59%
|
|
|
#3
|
Royal Vegas
|
C$ 1,200
|
650
|
1-2 days
|
97.49%
|
|
|
#4
|
Jackpot Village
|
C$2,300
|
3500+
|
0-1 day
|
97.61%
|
|
|
#5
|
Dunder Casino
|
C$ 600
|
300
|
1-2 days
|
98.91%
|
The Role of the Random Number Generator in Slos
Slot machines are all about the winning combination. You just do not have any influence over the symbols appearing on your screen. With slot machines, your faith is truly in the hands of the computer or the casino’s system. And this might lead to some questions and doubts.
After all, do you have a fair chance of winning if the casino is the driving force behind the slot machines and you cannot influence the progression of the game in any way? If you gamble at a reliable casino, you do not have to worry about this at all. Online casinos with a valid Canadian license are subject to inspection by the gaming authorities. The casinos have to adhere to strict rules to prove that they provide a reliable and safe place for gambling. The gaming authorities especially check on the fair operations of the casinos. These authorities are, therefore very important for you as a slots casino player.
The gaming authority is definitely not the only factor that might boost your confidence about fair odds of winning. There is still something called the Random Number Generator (RNG). This is the system behind every slot machine. The RNG is an algorithm that completely randomly determines which symbols appear on your screen. The algorithm is complex enough to ensure that no one can predict the outcome. So you are wasting your time trying to crack the Random Number Generator. The big advantage of this coincidence calculator is that the online casino cannot influence it either.
The RNG determines whether you win, not the casino itself. This means that you get a fair chance of winning with every turn. The odds of winning are, therefore, the same for each player. It is hard to find a fairer game.
How about the payout percentage?
As a slot machine enthusiast, you might still be unsure whether to go to a real or online casino. In a real casino, you can feel the excitement of other players, and you will be tempted by the colourful slot machines surrounding you. This does, without a doubt, add to your optimal gambling experience.
However, are you interested in the highest odds of winning? Then you might be better off trying your luck in the online casino.
Although the odds of winning differ per slot machine, the average numbers are clear. Canadian law determines that at least 75% of the total sum of money ending up in the slot machine has to be paid out. In practice, this number is even higher. Most casinos employ a payout percentage of between 75% and 83%. That might already sound good, yet it can be even better. However, this does require you to ignore the real casinos and focus on the online casinos instead. Here, a payout percentage of between 95% and 98% is very common. Of each $100 that players spend on a slot machine, some 95 to 98 CADs will be paid out. And who knows that money might just be yours.
Slots Tournaments: How do they work?
Slots tournaments are specific competitions organized by online casinos that accommodate a huge number of players and offer massive rewards.
Every now and then, between free spins promotions and match deposit bonuses, web casinos will set up a slot tournament for all registered slot lovers. Participating in a slot tournament can have lots of benefits and give you a great time if you’re a passionate slot fan.
Much like in any other sports tournament, the concept consists of individuals or teams competing against each other under equal circumstances for a grand prize. In order to take part in a scheduled slot tournament players are required to sign up and pay a small buy-in fee.
The need to respect the rules and all the terms and conditions of the tournament, as well as details like the duration of the tournament and the chosen slot game in the centre of it. In order for everyone to have an equal chance of winning in an equal setting, the tournament always requires players to play the same type of game.
All players start the tournament with the same amount of credits and get to play the same amount of rounds. The player who scores the highest – wins. It’s all about doing your best within the time limit and staying at the top while other participants get eliminated. Big, scheduled tournaments that accommodate hundreds of payers simultaneously are organized by online casinos once or twice a month.
The total prize money you can win in a scheduled tourney is calculated by adding up all the buy-in fees and subtracting only the tournament costs. Apart from these, you can encounter smaller tournaments called Sit-&-Go’s. They accommodate no more than 5 or 6 players at a time, and some casinos run them every day. The prize is also smaller, but you get to experience it day in, day out.
Why Play New Slots?
In the beginning, there were only fruit machines with one pay line, but they gradually evolved into machines with multiple pay lines, and if there weren’t for a desire for progress and to improve the game, we wouldn’t have gotten the magnificent online slots we have today.
There are thousands of slots already available online, and they are multiplying at a rapid speed. Players who’ve been playing slots on the internet for a while usually have favourites they always go back to, so you may wonder why you would try out new slots if you already found one that suits you.
Even though you may already have your personal favourites, every new slot game is an opportunity for new wins and experiences. The competition among slot developers is tight, and they are putting all their efforts into launching innovations with each fresh release.
Chances are you’ll get to enjoy a ground-breaking special feature in a new slot machine, something you’ve never had the opportunity to see or try out before. The diversity of online slots is reflected in their themes, design, symbols, bonus features and payouts.
Depending on what qualities you value most, you can always find a different balance amount these aspects in a slot game. Sometimes, you may like the theme, but the payouts are low; maybe you like the free spins round, but the stakes are too high. Keeping up with the latest innovations and various slot setups is always good.
This way, you can discover what you like and what you don’t like and also enrich your online casino adventures with new experiences. Let’s face it – playing the same slot over and over again ends up being boring; it always comes a time when you desire to try something new and refreshing.
Who knows, you may find an even more compatible slot with your style of play and visual preferences in one of the new games online casinos put on offer.
Progressive Slots: Hitting a Slots Jackpot!
We’ve gotten to know classic slots and video slots, but there is also a special category of slots known as progressive slots. Progressive slot machines can be both classic and video slots and have all kinds of themes and visual styles, but what they all have in common is the progressive jackpot prize.
Usually, they are run by leading and popular software providers that have a whole network of casinos under their brand, so the progressive prize reaches astronomical heights.
The progressive jackpot can be won at random or by unlocking a special bonus round in a progressive slot machine. The size of the prize depends on the number of players as well as the sizes of their bets.
The more players are online, the bigger the prize because a small portion of each bet goes towards the prize pool. When the lucky stars align, and one of the players hits the jackpot, the pool empties out, and the accumulation starts over, but never from scratch.
There is always an amount predetermined as a starting point for each progressive jackpot reward, known as the seed. Depending on the game itself, the jackpot can reach thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions.
Hitting the jackpot on a big multi-million progressive jackpot is one of the best things in online gambling that could possibly happen to a player.
Such a big reward is enough to completely change one’s life for the better. People have reportedly bought new houses, taken trips to Disneyland, bought new cars and made most of their dreams come true after winning the grand prize.
The irony is they would usually place a small bet and then get massive compensation, which is the main attraction of progressive slots.
What are some of the Best Online Slots in Canada?
It’s hard to make a choice of top slots out of all the games available online. Most of the reliable casinos on the web host hundreds of slot games, each with its own values and advantages.
However, it’s important to know what to look for in a good slot machine. Obviously, you don’t want to play a game with bad graphics, an annoying soundtrack and small payouts.
A slot game with a pretentious theme, but one that is poorly executed, is clearly not the best slot you can go for.
When looking for a great slot online, you should listen to yourself and follow your preferences but also mind all the important qualities.
Check the game’s variance, the frequency of triggering bonus features, the paytable and the value of each symbol, whether the slot offers a jackpot prize or not and also the return to player rate.
All these aspects put together will determine your online casino experience as you’re spinning the reels of that one chosen slot. The most popular slots online have all the mentioned characteristics at a high level.
NetEnt’s video slots, such as Gonzo’s Quest and Mega Fortune, have an enormous amount of fans because they feature impressive graphics and clever gameplay.
Gonzo’s Quest offers innovative solutions in the form of Avalanche reels, whereas Mega Fortune pays out the largest progressive jackpots in the industry. Microgaming’s Thunderstruck 2 and Immortal Romance is another pair of terrific slot games that online players just adore.
They have intricate themes, 243 ways to win, super entertaining bonuses and high return rates.
Many titles have followed the path of awesomeness, and we now have excellent, rewarding slots on offer around the clock at online and mobile casinos alike.
If you can’t find those at an online casino site, make sure you don’t settle for something of low quality.
10 Most Popular Online Slots in Canada for 2022
Online Slots Reviews: Why Read Them?
Let’s say you’ve decided to take on a new leisure activity – playing online slots. Wouldn’t it be good to do some research beforehand? Even if you aren’t a beginner, but simply want to try out a new slot machine, slot reviews are a great way to get to know the game without risking any of your money.
Online slot reviews are objective descriptions designed to announce slot games and point out their advantages, as well as their downsides, if they happen to have any.
They normally have different sections dedicated to the slot’s appearance, symbols, gameplay, payouts and special features. As you can see, reviews break down different aspects of an online slot game into helpful information that can serve you well in your search for interesting games to play in the future.
By reading online slot reviews, players can find out what the game looks like, what style and design it features, who is the manufacturer, what the return to player rate is and what the minimum and maximum bets allowed.
Slot reviewers often get the chance to try out a new slot game before it gets launched, so they use that experience to bring the game closer to the audience. Knowing how online slots work, who makes them and what are the top payouts, you can be prepared for what is to come once you start placing real money bets on it.
Online slot reviews also give you a nice window into a provider’s portfolio, so you can make your choices without trying out several games and maybe losing some money in the process. If a slot game is good, the review published on a trustworthy gaming website will surely confirm it and let all readers know.
- 5 Creepy Casino Mysteries Of All Time - 13 July 2023
- Top 6 Casino and Gambling-Themed Songs - 12 July 2023
- Everything You Have to Know About Wagering Requirements - 6 June 2023