Online Slots Guide for Beginners

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BetMGM Feb 16, 2024, 11:33 AM

At BetMGM’s online casino, you’ll find some of the best online slots worldwide, thanks to how the casino sources its various online casino games. Through multiple product development partners, including NetEnt, Novomatic, Aristocrat, Light & Wonder, IGT, Ainsworth, and Konami, to name just a few, BetMGM is capable of providing hundreds of online slot games consisting of every conceivable theme, storyline, reel structure, and jackpot system.

But what about the novice player? What about the individual who’s playing online slots for money for the very first time? How does this person navigate what, in some cases, can be deemed a rather intricate and complicated affair consisting of various rules, symbols, and bonus games? 

Well, fret not, would-be first-time online slot player. This online slots guide will walk you gently through the basics.

The Basics of Online Slot Games

At first glance, online slot machines might appear intricate, especially for novice players. Unlike the classic 3-reel slots in pubs, online slots boast a greater variety of features and symbols. The reassuring aspect is that these symbols and features remain consistent across most video slots, only varying in appearance based on the slot’s theme. Once you grasp their functionality, navigating through most slot games becomes seamless. 

Here, you can delve into the essentials of online slots, covering the common symbols encountered during play, understanding bonus rounds, and the impact of a slot machine’s RTP on your winning chances. This guide equips you with the fundamentals, ensuring a smoother slot gaming experience.

Know Your Slot Symbols

Symbols serve as the cornerstone of slot machines, emerging on the reels during spins to craft fortunate winning combinations. While every slot incorporates low- and high-value symbols with designated payouts, contemporary online casino games introduce extra symbols for enhanced gameplay. Among the frequently utilized special symbols are wilds, scatters, and multipliers. Here’s a breakdown of their functions.

Wilds

Wild symbols function like a joker in a deck of cards within the realm of slot machines. When a wild symbol appears on a reel, it serves as a versatile substitute, stepping in for a missing regular symbol to facilitate the formation of a winning payline.

Scatters

Scatter symbols stand out as among the most rewarding icons you can encounter in an online slot game. They fulfill dual roles, either presenting an instant monetary reward when you land a sufficient number of scatters on the reels or guiding you into the slot’s bonus game, where the most substantial prizes await.

Multipliers

Multipliers, a feature found in certain slots, can be activated by specific symbols or during the slot’s bonus game. In some cases, even wilds and scatters serve as multipliers. These enhancements elevate your winnings across one or more spins by multiplying your initial win by a designated factor. While a 10x multiplier is common, some slots boast extraordinary multipliers up to 777x and beyond.

The Base Game

Slots typically consist of a base game and one or more bonus rounds. During the base game, play consists of collecting pay symbols in various patterns known as paylines or sometimes ways. Three (or more) of a kind is known as a winning combination, awarding wins according to the paytable of the specific game.

What Is a Bonus Round?

Numerous contemporary online slots feature enticing bonus rounds that manifest in various forms. The prevalent types include free spins or distinct bonus games, both harboring the potential for substantial rewards. The pinnacle prizes in many slots are often nestled within these bonus rounds. Accessing these lucrative segments typically requires the accumulation of sufficient bonus symbols or scatters.

What Is RTP and Why Should You Be Aware of It?

RTP, or return to player, is a percentage that refers to the average payout of a slot game — so it holds great significance in the realm of online slots. For instance, in a game with an RTP of 97%, you can anticipate receiving $97 for every $100 wagered. It’s essential to note that the RTP is computed across millions of spins, so your results may deviate from the actual RTP during a brief playing session.

What Do You Need To Play Slots?

Minimal requirements suffice to play casino online slots. Owning a smartphone, tablet, or internet-capable computer is all you need to get started. This flexibility extends to choosing between playing directly in your browser or opting for a dedicated casino app. Almost all casinos facilitate browser-based play, eliminating the need for software downloads. Additionally, some casinos provide specialized slots apps that consume minimal memory space on your device, ensuring a smoother running gaming experience.

Types of Online Slots You Can Play

The diverse range of online slot games surpasses the selection found in physical casinos. BetMGM Casino alone, which is active online in Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, and West Virginia, has thousands of slots to choose from. The options span classic slots, video slots, progressive jackpots, cluster pays slots, and Megaways slots (to name but a few).

Video slots are particularly recommended for beginners, offering simplicity, a high RTP, sharp graphics, and mobile compatibility. They dominate the online slot landscape, providing thousands of titles for your selection. Jackpot slots stand out, capable of delivering million-dollar wins in a single spin, often making headlines.

Emerging favorites like cluster pays slots and Megaways slots cater more to seasoned players, and therefore are only recommended once enough experience has been gained.

How To Play Online Slots for Money

Embark on the journey of playing online slots for money by effortlessly replenishing your online casino account, mirroring a routine online purchase. A modest sum, around $10—$20, suffices to kickstart the excitement. Navigate to the slots lobby post-deposit, where you’ll find a spectrum of online slot machines curated by your chosen casino. Choose a slot that catches your eye, and set your bet size carefully. Opt for a stake that safeguards your bankroll, especially after a smaller deposit, with minimum bets usually hovering between $0.10–$0.20. For those with a more substantial deposit, the betting range expands, reaching up to $20–$500 per spin, contingent on the specific slot.

Play Online Casino Games at BetMGM

If you’re looking to play some of the best online slots around, look no further than BetMGM. A diverse portfolio of banking options means that depositing funds and withdrawing winnings is always a seamless process, made even easier by user-friendly and intuitive casino software.

Register your account and let your slot gaming adventure begin.

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Our BetMGM editors and authors are casino experts with a wealth of knowledge of the online casino industry at all levels. Their coverage includes company news, game reviews, how-to instructional articles, strategy guides, and editorials showcasing BetMGM’s superior product and game library.

Our BetMGM editors and authors are casino experts with a wealth of knowledge of the online casino industry at all levels. Their coverage includes company news, game reviews, how-to instructional articles, strategy guides, and editorials showcasing BetMGM’s superior product and game library.