Casino games
What is a casino jackpot?
A jackpot is a top prize that sits above the normal paytable. Fixed jackpots pay a set multiple of stake; progressives grow from a slice of every bet until somebody hits one.
That slice comes out of the game's return rate, so a progressive title usually returns less on ordinary spins than a comparable game without one.
How a progressive is funded
Typically one to two percent of every stake across every player on the network goes into the pot. That money is part of the published return rate, which means the headline percentage includes a prize almost nobody in the room will win.
Strip the jackpot contribution out and the base game on a progressive often returns somewhere in the low nineties. That is the trade you are making for the ticket.
Local, network and tiered
A local jackpot pools one operator's players. A network jackpot pools everybody running the studio's title, which is how the eight-figure numbers happen.
Tiered games have three or four pots with names like mini, minor and major. The small ones drop often, which makes the game feel generous, and they are funded from the same slice.
The bit worth checking
Some progressives only qualify at maximum stake or with a side bet enabled. Playing under that line means contributing to a pot you cannot win, which is the worst square on the board.
It is in the info panel. Two taps, and worth doing before the first spin rather than after the pot drops.