Slot gaming developers have spent the last two decades exploring every possible avenue to bring new customers to their sites. For some of the world’s top designers, it is an approach they mastered at the inception of online casino gaming. Progressive jackpot slot games are by no means an online-only creation, and were once, at one time, the lifeblood of many land-based casinos.
However, as a broader range of themes and ideas began to permeate the iGaming world, it was only a matter of time before popular gaming mechanics would fuse with them. Progressive jackpot slots still remain a staple of the casino gaming industry.
Although popular themes and progressive jackpot slots have been combining for many years, the games that crossed this bridge most effectively created games and ideas that generated huge noise across the international slot gaming sector and, in some cases, the broader casino gaming industry.
The Snowball Effect
Once a couple of notable designers in the slot gaming world began exploring progressive jackpots and combining them with their most popular themes, it was only a matter of time before other developers followed suit.
While there was some initial hesitation about whether or not progressive jackpots could take their gaming dynamics and make it work online, as soon as enormous names in the industry began to launch their progressive jackpot gaming ideas, this resulted in a tsunami of other developers all looking to cash in on the growing trend, particularly in the mid 2000s when online slots were becoming the main driving force behind the explosive growth of the market.
So, why does it work? Well, the popularity of progressive jackpot slots has not dwindled for close to half a century. They were hugely popular before the rise of the internet. In the case of some progressive jackpot games, they were responsible for the most significant wins we’ve seen in casino gaming history.
Of all the ways players spend their jackpot wins, we imagine the multi-million-dollar progressive jackpot slot wins that have graced the industry since the early 21st century have changed the lives of those who were lucky enough to land the big prize. It also helped that many of the biggest wins, especially in the noughties, were on progressive jackpot games, which gave the sector great organic marketing to shine a spotlight and challenge some of the more conventional types of slot games.
Examining The Success
Ultimately, if you bring together two successful ideas in any area of gaming, you are likely to find success. Popular themes range from mythology games to sweet and food-themed games. They also cash in on movie and TV-themed games, which have found a global market, such as Peaky Blinders, which continues to capture a global audience of millions, and has diversified into slot gaming.
While not all slot gaming developers link their progressive jackpots across every machine they have online, those that do are branching out into a much larger, more expansive network of machines. That’s not to say that these ideas always work, but it shows the scope and the ambition that has been one of the key driving forces behind the exponential growth of the slot gaming sector over the last decade and a half.
Instead of land-based games, which often link together a dozen or so machines on the same floor, online progressive jackpot slots tie together thousands of machines across multiple international markets. While this means more players, it also means that popular games reach their jackpots more quickly and offer a greater yield for developers who have combined progressive jackpot mechanics with popular themes and found success.
What Does The Future Hold?
It’s hard to say what the future holds in any area of casino gaming, but if we are to examine the trends we’ve seen, ranging from the development of VR gaming and AI, then it’s highly likely we’ll see these ideas be rolled out in the world of slot gaming and right throughout the world of iGaming more broadly, too.
Regardless of how the industry unfolds, progressive jackpot slots will play an integral role in bringing customers on board with the latest ideas. Again, it doesn’t matter whether this is in the world of VR or AI; if slot gamers recognize a game theme or title, they’re much more likely to give it a go. This is what worked so well in the early days of progressive jackpots, and we saw them embrace new themes with great ease.
While the market continues to saturate, progressive jackpot slot games have shifted from land-based casinos to online slots, integrating new themes and gaming mechanics, and we’re likely to see them adapt to other technologies and innovations, too. Popular themes will still find themselves at the forefront of design ideas, but disruptive innovations and technological ingenuity will continue to push the industry forward.
