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Games
Online slot games are one of the most popular types of casino games enjoyed across Europe. Based on popular themes and trends, complete with eclectic bonus features, read our guide to video slots to understand their inner workings and the slot games everyone is talking about right now!
These Are the Most Popular Slots Right Now
Table of Contents
What Are Slots?
If you’re new to playing slots online, you may not be aware that these games first came to light offline. Mechanical slot machines – known as one-armed bandits – made their way across America and into Europe, courtesy of the likes of Charles Fey. Controlled by a single pull of the lever, these slot reels would spin before stopping to reveal a combination of symbols. If the right ones aligned, players won prizes.
As time elapsed, mechanical slots began to evolve into video slots. Arcade machine-style cabinets had video screens incorporated, adding a new layer of immersion and convenience to slot gameplay. The internet made online casino gaming possible too, with online slots powered by randomised algorithms to generate true outcomes, in the same way as a lever pulley.
From old-school fruit machine action to 21st century video slots with console-style protagonists, the slot game experience has come a long way in a short space of time – and, at Slotsoo, we’re here for it!
How to Play Slots
The beauty of slot gameplay is its simplicity. Follow this simple step-by-step guide to get started at your favorite European-friendly online casino:
- Pick an EU casino you like
Unsure where to start? Make sure you head over to the online casinos we recommend with up-to-date information on all approved sites. - Keep your eyes peeled for fun slot promotions
Some of the online casinos we rate offer online slot-specific welcome bonuses to EU players. Free spins slot promotions give you a risk-free shot at playing new slot titles. - Decide which type of slot games you prefer
Select the slot game themes and features you like the sound of best. Most slot libraries at EU-friendly online casinos have thousands of slots to choose from! - Test them out in demo mode first
Any licensed online casino worth its salt should offer their slots in “demo mode” as well as “real-play mode”. Pick demo mode first and play using a virtual “play money” balance to get the hang of things. - Time to play!
Once you’re confident you know how each slot works, feel free to start risking your own money but do so responsibly.
What is RTP?
Every online slot game you play at a casino site will carry a return-to-player (RTP) percentage. This figure explains how much of your stake in a slot game is likely to return to you over the long term.
Let’s say a slot game has an RTP of 95%. Theoretically speaking, every unit wagered per spin should return 0.95 units. But remember, this percentage is derived over hundreds of thousands – even millions – of spins.
What does this mean? Well, it means you can win big (higher than the advertised RTP), but you can also lose more than the advertised RTP. This is merely the average payout over time.
Slots With the Highest RTP
- Money Cart 2 (98%)
You can give Money Cart 2 a spin in demo mode or with your own balance with a Rollino account. - Jokerizer (98%)
Play the Jokerizer slot from Yggdrasil in demo or real-play mode with a Slots Hammer account. - Blood Suckers (98%)
Find the demo and real-play versions of NetEnt’s Blood Suckers slot with a Jettbet account.
Bonus Features in Slots
Every online slot will have some kind of bonus feature waiting to be unlocked. Below, we’ll list the most common bonuses that can yield bigger prizes:
- Free Spins
Receive extra spins which don’t cost you a cent – risk-free spins with a chance of winning! - Expanding Wild Symbols
Wild symbols are some of the most common symbols on a slot reel grid. When wilds land, they often expand to fill entire reels and help to create bigger wild wins. - Pick’ Em Bonus Screens
Enter a basic bonus screen and click one of several symbols to reveal an instant cash prize. - Multiplier Wild Symbols
Look out for wild symbols which can also land with multipliers attached, magnifying potential wins when involved with winning paylines or symbol clusters. - Bonus Buy
Aimed at those who don’t want to wait to trigger bonus games via basic spins, you can buy directly into certain features. But, be warned, it’s not a cheap entry fee! - Gamble Feature
Not content with the size of a winning spin? The Gamble feature allows you to play a virtual game in a “double or nothing” environment.
Slot Paylines – How to Win in Slots
Paylines are traditionally the mechanism which helps you to create winning symbol combinations on the reels. They appear in set patterns across the reel grid to determine successful symbol combos.
Paylines can run horizontally, vertically, and even diagonally to create additional winning angles. Most modern-day slots will have dozens of paylines – fixed or otherwise – for you to work with.
Fixed Paylines or Adjustable Bet Levels
Online slot games with traditional paylines will either have fixed paylines or adjustable bet levels. With fixed paylines, all available paylines will be active during every base game spin. You place a ‘total bet’ per spin, covering every payline.
Alternatively, some games will offer more flexibility with how their paylines are used. Firstly, it may be possible to pick which paylines are active and inactive. Secondly, you can also alter the size of your bet per active payline.
Changing Paylines (Megaways)
For an even more dynamic slot experience, you should consider picking slot games with changing paylines. The number of active paylines (or win ways) alters at random with every spin.
The most popular dynamic payline slot engine is Megaways. This game engine has redefined the possibilities of contemporary online slot gameplay, with adjusting reel heights creating anything from a few hundred to upwards of 117,649 ways to win in Megaways slots.
There’s also the Infinity Reels engine which is incorporated in some next-generation video slots. This mechanic adds further reels to the game grid whenever a successful symbol combination appears, theoretically opening the door for an infinite number of new reels and greater payouts too.
“Win Both Ways” Slots
If you’re looking for more flexibility from your slot gameplay, it’s best to check out “Win Both Ways” slots online. Traditional video slots will determine wins from left-to-right on the reel grid. However, this type of slot makes it possible to land winning combos from right-to-left, as well as left-to-right.
Cluster Pays Slots
Cluster Pays slots work differently to slots with conventional paylines. Like Megaways slots, successful symbol combinations are achieved by locking in “clusters” of matching symbols on adjacent reels and rows.
Clustered combinations usually start from five-to-six symbol combos on adjacent reels and rows. Cluster Pays slots usually have the Cascading Reels feature integrated too, whereby winning symbols are removed from the reel grid, to be replaced by new symbols cascading down from the rows above. This creates an opportunity to watch new symbols to drop in and form new clusters, effectively from the same spin.
Slot Volatility
Aside from RTPs, players also need to think about the level of volatility they’re prepared to risk when picking their favorite online slots. Volatility denotes the payout frequency of a slot game. It can often indicate how frequently and how much a player can expect to win too.
- High volatility slots
Slots with high volatility usually pay out bigger wins but less frequently. Highly volatile slots are best suited to those prepared to take higher risks for the chance of higher prizes or even jackpots. - Low volatility slots
Slots with low volatility tend to pay out less but more frequently. Low-volatility slots are aimed at players who prefer consistent yet smaller wins rather than chasing the bigger payouts.
Slotsoo’s 5 Favorite Slots
We’ve been rating and reviewing online slot games and casinos since 2017, so we like to think we’ve got a good handle on the best and most iconic slots in the EU iGaming market!
Below, you’ll find our five best-loved online slot titles through the years:
Starburst Slot Review
If we’re talking truly iconic 21st century slots, there are none more enduring than the cosmic-inspired Starburst slot. This is one of the biggest slot hits from Swedish iGaming studio NetEnt from a commercial perspective.
There’s a fast-paced, futuristic soundtrack and simple gameplay, built around the multi-colored Starburst wild symbol. This is also a “Win Both Ways” slot, which effectively doubles your chances of making a winning symbol combination across the ten paylines.
Starburst is a low-volatility five-reel slot with an opportunity to win up to 50,000€, with a solid RTP percentage of 96.01%.
Gonzo’s Quest Slot Review
Head into the ancient Mayan world of the Gonzo’s Quest slot, another big-hitter from the NetEnt slot portfolio. Join adventurous protagonist, Gonzo, on the 5×3 reel grid in search of free spins and multiplier wins galore.
Gonzo’s on a mission to uncover the lost city of El Dorado. It’s one of the first slot titles to feature a console-style protagonist, with the moustache-laden Gonzo designed to look like a cross between Indiana Jones and Super Mario!
This slot features an Avalanche Reels feature, where winning symbols crumble to dust to be replaced by new symbols from the rows above. It’s not uncommon to land multiple symbol combinations with one paid-for spin.
Book of Dead Slot Review
Pack your bags for an adventure into an ancient Egyptian tomb in search of the Book of Dead. The Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead slot is an Indiana Jones-esque protagonist with a thirst for adventure.
Uncover the free spins feature, with a chance to unleash up to 200x multipliers by landing five scatters on the same spin.
There’s also an opportunity to land a maximum jackpot worth 5,000x when you fill all five reels with expanding Rich Wilde symbols.
Reactoonz Slot Review
Make friends with these colorful aliens on the reels of the Reactoonz slot. Watch them plunge from outer space onto your 7×7 reel grid to try and make winning clusters or charge your meters to unlock fast-paced bonus games and one of five reel modifiers known as “Quantum Features”.
This has spawned a string of additional alien-themed slots from Play’n GO spun off from the success of Reactoonz. The likes of Gargantoon now have their own slice of slot stardom.
Sweet Bonanza Slot Review
Lastly, but by no means least, Pragmatic Play’s Sweet Bonanza Slot has the potential to unleash wins worth up to 21,175x that are as sweet as candy. This slot is another “Win Both Ways” game, with the ability to create clusters of matching juicy sweets in any direction on the 6×5 reel grid.
There’s also the opportunity to trigger a string of free spins, with unlimited re-triggers available. This game is one of the higher volatility slot games, standing at medium-to-high on the volatility spectrum. The standard RTP weighs in at 96.51%, comfortably about the industry average for slot RTPs (circa 96%).
Slot Regulations
The EU’s iGaming market is designed to offer fair, transparent gameplay, player safety and responsible gaming at all times. The likes of the Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) and Sweden’s Spelinspektionen have taken a dim view in recent years of unlicensed online casinos which encourage excessive gaming, this includes tools like autoplay and turboplay.
The latter of which can speed up the result of spins, thereby enabling players to play twice as many spins – risking twice as much money – over the same timeframe.
In the UK, slots with “bonus buy” features are prohibited as per the UKGC’s regulatory framework. This isn’t the case yet with EU video slot sites regulated by the likes of the MGA, but it’s something to keep an eye on in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions - Games
How Do I Know What a Trustworthy Video Slots Casino Looks Like?
There are two checks to make when picking an EU-friendly online casino – 1) does the site offer encrypted connections to secure your data? 2) is it licensed by a reputable iGaming jurisdiction? Use your web browser to make sure the casinos you use have a valid Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate to encrypt sensitive data. Also, look to see if the site is licensed by respected jurisdictions in Europe, namely the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) or the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (EMTA).
How Can I Be Sure if Slot RNGs Are Fair?
When you log in and play at your chosen EU-friendly online casino, operators will usually advertise that their games are independently tested and verified by third-party certifiers in their homepage footer. The most notable testing house for online slots is eCOGRA, whose certification carries the most weight in the EU iGaming market.
Is it Possible to Win Real Money Playing Online Slots?
Yes, absolutely. Although, you must remember that it’s just as likely that you’ll lose the money you risk on the reels. At Slotsoo, we want all our users to enjoy playing their favorite online slots responsibly, safe in the knowledge that they’re only risking funds they can afford to lose.
Should I Play Slots Online With Paylines or Win Ways?
This is a matter of personal preference among European online slot players. If you enjoy the traditional style of slot gameplay, opt for fixed payline slots. If you want to try the more versatile, next-generation alternative to online slot gameplay, give slots powered by the Megaways game engine a spin or any other “Cluster Pays” style slot.
How do I Win a Jackpot Playing an Online Slot?
Jackpots come in various forms in an online slot game. Progressive jackpots rise until they are won at random by a lucky, unwitting winner. Other slots will have fixed jackpots at various prize levels which can be won by landing a set number of bonus symbols in specific formations on the reel grid.
