A progressive jackpot is a prize that grows over time, because a small slice of every qualifying bet is added to a shared pool until one player wins the whole amount and it resets.
Unlike a fixed jackpot, which always pays the same, a progressive keeps climbing as more people play. Some are local to a single game, while others are networked across many casinos, which is how the largest totals build up. After a win, the jackpot resets to a preset seed value and starts growing again.
Because that contribution is taken from the return to players, jackpot games are typically high volatility: the headline prize is enormous, but the odds of triggering it are very long, and most sessions will not come close. A jackpot total is a real figure only when a casino can verify it, which is why our Jackpot Watch board lists only progressives we can confirm against an operator’s own data, never invented numbers.
For example, a networked slot might take a fraction of each spin across every casino that offers it, pooling those fractions into a single prize that can grow steadily until one lucky spin claims it.
Related terms
- Volatility
- RTP (return to player)
- Live board: Jackpot Watch
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