World’s Biggest Slot Jackpots

Slot machines offer players a fun and exciting experience thanks to the huge array of themes, special features and prizes. Fun fact: the name comes from the coin slots that are found on physical slot machines, although, when you play them online the process is automated. Usually, slot games use either a three-reel or five-reel format with a number of paylines, and payouts are made for landing matching symbols across the reels.

Jackpot slots, in particular, have a special place in the hearts of players mainly because they offer larger prizes than standard slots.

In this article, we aim to help you discover some of the biggest jackpots from around the world, as well as tell you where they’re played the most and the rules for winning their respective jackpots.

Biggest Casino Slot Machine Jackpots from Around the World

The introduction of progressive jackpots helped land-based casinos to thrive as players flocked to try their luck at winning what some would consider being life-changing sums of cash.

With progressive slots, the jackpot increases every time the game is played as a portion of each stake that is placed contributes towards the prize pot. When a jackpot is won, the jackpot resets to its minimum amount and then slowly increases once more.

Slot machine jackpots can be found everywhere from major gambling like Las Vegas and Macau to your local casino.

However, the biggest jackpot winner slot machine records are currently held by Las Vegas.

In the state of Nevada, there are 700 linked Megabucks slots which offer a progressive jackpot. The biggest win was recorded in 2003 when a software engineer from Los Angeles scooped $39.7m at the Excalibur Hotel and Casino. As is standard for US casino winners in Las Vegas, the lucky winner was paid his winnings via 25 annual instalments.

The same jackpot network also awarded a record-breaking $27.5m in 1998 and $21m in 1999, the latter of which was won by a player who placed a single spin worth $10.

Las Vegas

As we’ve just mentioned, there have been many Las Vegas slot machine jackpot winners over the last few decades, and the biggest slot jackpots that players make a beeline for in “Sin City” are as follows:

Megabucks – Megabucks has paid out huge amounts of cash since it first launched, but only one person has ever managed to conquer its jackpot twice. Elmer Sherwin first won with Megabucks in 1989 when he took home $4.6m from the Mirage. Lightning struck twice when he visited the Cannery Casino in 2005 and scored $21.1m on the same game.
Wheel of Fortune – IGT’s Wheel of Fortune awarded $5.4m to an anonymous player at the Excalibur Casino in January 2020.
Money Vault – In 2012, a US marine who was on a week-long training course in Nevada visited the Bellagio Casino and won over $2.8m playing one of Bally Technology’s most popular progressive slots.

Rest of the World

Although Macau casinos draw in millions of customers every year, most of them prefer to play table games (and particularly baccarat) rather than slot games. However, one lucky customer bucked the trend by playing a jackpot slot at the Sands Cotai Central in 2013, resulting in him winning $3.2m. Just one month earlier, a Thai player scored an impressive $2m slot jackpot at the Venetian, and the same casino awarded $2.7m to a Chinese man in 2012 thanks to the 5 Dragons slot machine.

The series of wins caused the general manager of Sands, Geoff Andres, to claim that Macau is the “best place” to win the biggest slot jackpots.

Online Slots

The convenience and flexibility that online slot machines give players are two of the many reasons why more and more online casino and bingo sites choose to offer them.

You can enjoy online slot machines from the comfort of your own home or passing time waiting for a train, and there are several that boast progressive jackpots.

Here in the UK, one lucky customer created a Guinness World Record for the largest online slot machine win of £13.2m. The payout came courtesy of Microgaming’s Mega Moolah slot, which is still considered one of the most popular jackpot slots in history.

In Australia, the networked Dark Knight slot (which has sadly since been discontinued) awarded $10.4m (AUD) in 2016.

Mega Fortune is another big hitter, and the most memorable winning story goes to a 40-year-old man from Finland who won more than £24m with a 25-cent bet.

Biggest Online Jackpots

While there have admittedly been some epic wins on land-based slots, players who are seeking the biggest slot jackpots are more frequently turning to online slot machines.

Below, we’ve listed three of the most popular titles that you’ll often encounter:

Mega Moolah – Mega Moolah comes with four different jackpots, the largest of which is the Mega Jackpot. Whenever the bonus game is randomly triggered, the jackpot wheel decides which jackpot you get. The Mega Jackpot reseeds at £1m and has been known to award as much as €18.9m.
Mega Fortune – The highlight of Mega Fortune is the Mega Jackpot, although two smaller jackpots are also available. The Jackpot Bonus is triggered when three bonus symbols appear on the same payline, and a spin of a wheel determines whether the player receives one of the game’s three jackpots or an instant coin prize.
Marvel network – Playtech’s Marvel-branded slots include the likes of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Fantastic Four, and they form part of a progressive jackpot network. Each game offers four different jackpots (Power, Extra Power, Super Power, and Ultimate Power), and the good news is that they can be awarded at random.