Aim high and hit the progressive jackpot!
If you love playing pokies and you’re aiming sky high, then it’s those progressive jackpot pokies that you should set your eyes on!
These games look like your usual video slot or online pokie machine, but have one main distinguishing characteristic – they are linked to a huge jackpot that keeps on increasing until it is won!
Thanks to the increasing number of online casinos and players these days, some of the best progressive jackpots pay out millions of dollars in winnings to lucky winners.
In this guide, we’ll introduce you to the top jackpot pokies online that you can play from New Zealand, so you can start aiming for that big win!
Top 5 progressive pokies
And now, let’s get down to our hand-picked list of top progressive slots that you can play, based on their RTP and payout potential.
These pokies can be played at multiple online casinos, and players will contribute to the pot wherever they play them from.
It is for this reason that they pay out such massive amounts, as there are always hundreds of players spinning on them at any given time.
1. Volatile Vikings 2 Dream Drop (Relax Gaming)
| RTP | 94.8% | Min bet | $0.10 |
| Volatility | High | Max bet | $100 |
| Max payout | 10,000x | Biggest Jackpot won | Jackpot not yet hit |
In this cascading reels pokie by Relax Gaming, players will find loot, helmets, and runes, on their way to making some wins!
Apart from a 10,000x maximum win on your bet, Volatile Vikings 2 Dream Drop has five jackpots.
The current pot size can be seen right next to the reels.
2. TNT Tumble Dream Drop (Relax Gaming)
| RTP | 94% | Min bet | $0.20 |
| Volatility | High | Max bet | $100 |
| Max payout | 10,000x | Biggest Jackpot won | Jackpot not yet hit |
In this explosive pokie, players can try their hand at making some winnings through the cluster pays mechanic.
TNT Tumble Dream Drop is also home to amazing bonuses, a maximum payout of 10,000x on your bet made, and the chance to win over $12,000,000!
3. Mighty Medusa (Habanero)
| RTP | 96.6% | Min bet | $0.30 |
| Volatility | High | Max bet | $1,000 |
| Max payout | 1,729x | Biggest Jackpot won | Jackpot not yet hit |
If you’re a Greek mythology lover, you’ll love this game by Habanero!
If you want to try your hand at Mighty Medusa’s progressive jackpot, you’ll have to play the Jackpot Race.
Players begin at $100, and every bet they make contributes towards an increase in the jackpot.
4. Vikings Fortune Hold and Win (Playson)
| RTP | 95.2% | Min bet | $0.25 |
| Volatility | Medium-High | Max bet | $100 |
| Max payout | 1,435x | Biggest Jackpot won | Jackpot not yet hit |
This Playson pokie contains Hold and Win as one of its main features.
Vikings Fortune Hold and Win starts with three respins that reset every time a bonus symbol lands on reels.
The Mini and Major jackpots can be triggered by getting two coins, whereas filling 15 spaces with golden coins gives you the Grand jackpot worth 1,000x your bet.
5. Temple Tumble 2 Dream Drop (Relax Gaming)
| RTP | 94.8% | Min bet | $0.20 |
| Volatility | Medium-High | Max bet | $100 |
| Max payout | 10.046x | Biggest Jackpot won | €2.4 million |
In this game by Relax Gaming, you can win the jackpot from free spin modes, wilds, and multipliers.
Temple Tumble 2 Dream Drop has five progressive jackpots (Rapid, Midi, Maxi, Major, and Mega) with the Mega Jackpot worth up to $10 million.
The biggest win ever recorded when playing this game was the equivalent of €2.4 million.
Dream Drop pokies
To make pokies even better, Relax Gaming, which is one of New Zealand’s top game providers, released the innovative Dream Drop feature into some of its pokies, with the first pokie being Temple Tumble 2 Dream Drop.
You can find this amazing feature in Neko Night Dream Drop, TNT Tumble Dream Drop, Snake Arena Dream Drop, Volatile Vikings 2 Dream Drop, and Wild Chapo Dream Drop.
These pokies include five tiers which all lead players to win progressive jackpots.
This happens as the maximum prize is increased by €500,000 after each turn, until the Mega Jackpot reaches its limit.
If you want to try out this amazing feature, LeoVegas, Wildz, Lucky Days, and FireVegas are among the casinos that you can visit to play pokies with Dream Drop!
Jackpot pokies are linked to one or more jackpots that increase every time a player makes a bet and doesn’t win.
What are progressive pokies?
These pokies can look like any standard slot machine, and may feature a different number of paylines, reels and a host of other features.
The only distinguishing trait is that on top of the reels, you’ll be able to view a jackpot meter which keeps on increasing.
Standalone progressive jackpot
In land-based casinos, a standalone progressive jackpot is reserved to just one machine in the casino. It is not linked to other pokie games machines and doesn’t form part of a wider network.
Wide area progressive jackpot
These jackpots are payoffs on a pokie machine that is part of a network of machines. These machines are located at the casinos of more than one licensee.
Such payoffs increase automatically over time.
Online progressive pokies
Progressive slots are games that contain an unfixed jackpot prize. This means that the prize progresses with every bet made, until someone wins it. While some progressive jackpots automatically pay out if they hit a certain size, most of them are uncapped.
How does an online progressive pokie work?
As players spin on a progressive slot game, a percentage of each bet goes towards the jackpot.
Given the large number of casinos that offer the same progressive jackpot game, the jackpot amount can increase quite fast, especially if you’re playing one of the most popular progressive slots (such as the ones listed above).
However, it takes a lot of luck to win the jackpot in all of these slots, as the odds are very low, and similar to those that come with winning a lottery.
When the jackpot is won, the amount resets to the seed value, which is a predetermined amount at which the jackpot restarts to grow.
Are progressive pokies safe?
The Return to Player percentage of progressive jackpots tends to be lower than that of your typical online pokie.
A percentage of this RTP is always made up of the jackpot (i.e. it takes into account jackpot wins in the long term), however, given the low odds of actually winning the jackpot, the actual RTP for non-jackpot wins is typically lower.
Latest online progressive pokies
As jackpot pokies increase in popularity, so do the number of jackpots available.
Here are the upcoming progressive pokies NZ that have been announced:
- Joker Bonanza Cash Spree – Microgaming (September 2023)
- 6 Pure Pearls – Microgaming (September 2023)
- Funky Buddha – Blueprint Gaming (September 2023)
- Hot Hot Blazing Lock – Light & Wonder (October 2023)
5 tips when playing a progressive pokie
As jackpot slots are slightly different from your everyday video pokie, we have a few tips for our readers on how to find the best jackpot slots in New Zealand.
1. Look for jackpot pokies with good bonus features
Given the very low odds of jackpot wins, we believe that the best progressive slots can offer steady and best payouts even if the jackpot isn’t won.
We, therefore, favour the best progressive jackpot pokies that come with free spins or other bonus rounds that are not too difficult to trigger, or those that can reward you with additional prizes as you play.
2. Check the bet amounts for the jackpot
Most progressive slots require you to stake the maximum bet, however, others will offer lower maximum wagers than others. If you’re on a budget, it’s better to stick with jackpot slots with lower bets in the long run.
For example, you can win the Mega Moolah jackpot even with the minimum bet, though the odds of this happening are lower.
3. Try high RTP progressive pokies
A game’s RTP (Return to Player) is the amount of money you might get returned on your bets over time. Let’s say that if you bet $1,000 on a pokie that has an RTP of 96.6%, you could get $966 back on your bet.
High RTP pokies are among the best in the market because the greater the RTP, the greater the chance of getting more winnings back is!
4. Pay attention to game value
Apart from providing fun games to play, game providers also aim to give their players the best quality pokies. Part of the game’s quality can be seen in the game’s graphics, sounds, and usability.
5. Never bet more than what you can afford
While many gamblers spend only what they can afford when playing casino games, some gamblers find it difficult to distance themselves from gambling, and allow it to take over their lives.
This is where Responsible Gambling comes into play. This is a a concept that brings together a series of legislative measures and policies aimed at making online gambling safe.
Responsible Gambling has recently been a topic of interest around the world: a section which we at NZ Casino constantly update through our Casino News page.
Top providers of progressive jackpot pokies
Such amazing pokie games cannot exist without the top reputable game providers that work hard to ensure only the best games reach NZ players. Let’s take a look at some of the top providers in New Zealand.
1. Microgaming
Microgaming is an award-winning game provider founded in 1994. This provider has an impressive collection of games including pokies, Poker, Bingo, a Live Casino and a Sportsbook. This makes it one of the most diverse providers out there.
This provider’s top progressive pokies include:
2. NetEnt
NetEnt is considered one of the pioneers of online gaming with over 20 years of experience.
This provider has become home to premium gaming solutions, providing exciting games and an amazing gaming platform.
NetEnt’s top progressive jackpot pokies include:
- Hall of Gods
- Mega Fortune
- Divine Fortune
3. Playtech
This game provider has many pokies that have amazing software designs. Their games also offer lots of free spins and bonus rounds, as well as large prizes from their seemingly endless progressive pokie games.
One of their best progressive jackpot pokies is Age of the Gods: Apollo Power.
The biggest wins on online progressive pokies
Now that we’ve been talking about the highest payout pokies, it’s time to look at the Top 5 biggest wins ever on online progressive pokies NZ:
In April 2021, the world’s biggest online progressive jackpot was won. While playing the Mega Moolah pokie, a player ended up winning $39.7 million.
In September 2018, a player once again playing the Mega Moolah jackpot pokie, won $37.5 million.
Back in 2013, a player from Finland won an amazing $36.6 million on a Mega Fortune pokie.
In April 2021 once again, on the Mega Moolah game, another player (this time from Belgium), won an amazing $33.5 million.
The Mega Moolah pokie proved to be another chance at a huge win for another player (who remains anonymous), as the big win of $32.7 million was rewarded.
Where to play the best progressive pokies
And now, it’s time to discover some of these online progressive pokies NZ yourself.
We advise playing them at a reputable online casino that guarantees secure payouts and a good level of customer service – in case you win that jackpot, you’d want to know that your money is in good hands and that you can safely withdraw it!
Check out our full list of the best casinos in New Zealand here, or pick a casino featured on this page to start playing some of these jackpot pokies with a welcome bonus!
Make your way to the top with these progressive pokies!
So there you have it! If you feel ready to try your hand at one of these amazing progressive jackpots, we invite you to choose your favourite casino, click on one of the games, and enjoy yourself!
Whichever game and casino you choose, always stay safe out there and play responsibly. Our goal is to see you enjoy these wonderful pokie games safely!