The principle of progressive jackpot slots is both very simple and extremely clever. It is based on three fundamental principles.
Jackpot accumulation
A progressive slot machine is a regular slot, with one difference: every time a player bets, a part of their bet is added to the progressive jackpot. This jackpot continues to grow until a lucky player wins it. Unlike fixed jackpots, there is no upper limit to what the progressive jackpot can reach, which means it can get to life-changing amounts.
A network of machines
Quite often, progressive jackpots are not confined to a single machine but are linked to a network of slot machines, sometimes even across different online casinos, allowing the jackpot to grow faster as players on all machines contribute to its increase. No matter which slot machine you play and on which site, if it is part of the network, each of your bets contributes to a common jackpot between all the slots in that network.
A time frame for triggering
The progressive jackpot is triggered randomly or by aligning a specific combination of symbols. The rules vary depending on the machines and the game developers. Some machines require a maximum bet to be eligible for the jackpot, while others may offer it at any bet. To guarantee players a jackpot of sufficient value, it is usually triggered within a specific time frame.
For example, a provider may decide that its daily jackpot will be won between 8 p.m. and midnight. In the case of a weekly jackpot, this may be at any time on Sunday. Once the jackpot is won, it is reset to a predefined amount and starts to accumulate again.