There are ordinary video slots, and then there are progressive jackpot slots. Progressive jackpots offer the player the chance to win a life-changing sum of cash for a relatively small stake.

But how can you take advantage of the biggest progressive jackpots, and are they reserved for the big players only? Let's take a closer look at how progressives changed the landscape of slots forever.

What are progressive jackpot slots?

All video slots carry a jackpot, the highest payout possible in the game. With the advance of slot technology, more and more machines have been able to be added to special networks.

This led, first in land-based casinos in the US, to linked jackpots that increased every time a player dropped in a coin. Progressive jackpots were born.

When online slots first appeared, the idea of having progressive jackpots was pretty natural. With games linked across multiple casinos, and with thousands of players logging in at home to spin the reels, progressives have grown and grown.

Some of the largest progressive jackpots in the world are now found online.

How do the jackpots work?

You will find progressive online slots in the Betway Casino lobby. So how do they work?

Every progressive slot is slightly different, depending on the game and the developer. Typically, a portion of each bet goes towards the jackpot. The rest of the bet is played on the regular game.

Some online progressives have just one jackpot. Others, like Microgaming's popular Mega Moolah slot, have three or four. The lowest jackpots are easiest to hit, while the big mega jackpots are hardest. A jackpot tends to "seed" after a win. That is, it will reset to a minimum level after someone triggers it.

Many online progressives reward the higher-limit players. Some jackpots can only be won if you are betting the maximum amount.

You can think of a jackpot like a lottery. The more tickets you purchase, the better your chances of winning. A progressive works in the same way: the higher your stake, the more chances you will have of triggering the big prize.

Triggering an online progressive jackpot can be done in one of three ways:

At random: Using the slot's Random Number Generator, the jackpot will activate at random. There is no bonus feature or skill involved.

Landing a special payline: Some games use a payline trigger. The player might have to land five special symbols on a designated win line in order to win the jackpot.

Activating a bonus feature: Sometimes, players will win a jackpot via a bonus feature. This can be a prize wheel with special slots that have to be hit in order to win the corresponding jackpot. Playtech's Marvel Jackpots prizes were triggered via a simple pick 'em style bonus. Players would select from 12 hidden symbols on the screen. The first three matching symbols picked would release the corresponding jackpot.

The biggest online progressive jackpots of all time

Because progressives get bigger the more you play, the jackpots can grow quicker and quicker as players chase the dream of a big prize. Here are some of the eye-watering jackpots taken down online.

Game: Mega Moolah

When: September 2018

Amount won: €18,910,668

The record for the largest online slot jackpot stood for three years before one lucky punter hit Mega Moolah for a giant €18m sum.

The anonymous winner took down the life-changing prize by hitting Mega Moolah's Mega Jackpot, which seeds at a cool €10m at the player's casino.

As the prize remained unclaimed, more people flocked online to try their luck. This simply pushed up the Mega jackpot even faster.

Game: The Dark Knight

When: October 2015

Amount won: £13,221,383

In 2015, a retired soldier from England won what was then the largest progressive jackpot ever seen online. Jon Heywood won the jackpot playing at Betway Casino.

The beauty of Jon's win was that he had only recently signed up for an account at Betway. That's one way to kick off your online casino journey.

Game: Mega Fortune

When: January 2013

Amount won: €17.8m

NetEnt's Mega Fortune is popular with players due to its slick gameplay and millionaire theme. The game has the power to make millionaires, too.

An anonymous Finnish casino player won a record-breaking prize worth nearly €18m back in 2013 by triggering Mega Fortune's largest jackpot.

Try a progressive slot at Betway Casino

Progressive slots tend to be volatile. But that's for a good reason: jackpots aren't meant to be won easily. The temptation of a life-altering sum of cash is huge for a lot of players.