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Poker.co.uk - Poker News Archive
Wednesday 17th November 2004 Slots of Luck: The Internet Craze
Online gaming has seen a recent explosion in popularity, driven predominantly by the poker craze, which has swept through Europe and America like wildfire this year. Hot on the heels of poker, and fast becoming the new game of choice for the savvy gamer is the ‘progressive jackpot’. Progressives are slot machines, which link a single game across a network of machines. A percentage of the money played on each machine throughout the network is added to a big jackpot, which grows and grows until it reaches dizzying heights, sometimes to over $1 million. When a player hits a certain combination, the progressive jackpot topples, and the player becomes instantly rich.
But online progressive slots are far removed from the image of those hypnotized legions in Vegas, monotonously clanking the levers and feeding the ‘one armed bandits’ from their mountain of quarters, with glazed eyes and unchanging expressions. On the contrary, progressives are increasingly popular with people from all over the world, young and old alike, because, quite simply, they offer big money, good odds and low stakes. Many people are finding slot machines a viable alternative to other soft gambling pursuits such as bingo, or buying lottery tickets.
Most progressives offer something approaching 98% payback, which means that, over time, the casino will have a 2% edge, but within this period percentages can vary widely and often rise to over 100% payback. Furthermore, stakes are low considering the size of the windfalls available, and are varied to suit all pockets, ranging from a few cents to around three dollars per play. They’re not like, for example, the roulette table where one might become seized with an uncontrollable urge to put their life savings on red!
The new breed of online casino takes a responsible approach to gambling, and therefore will set limits on the amounts wagered and monitor excessive betting patterns. It’s this attitude which has helped progressives become a mainstream pastime, as the public are able trust online casinos and view them as safe and exciting places in which to stake a few dollars.
Hannah Morante of Slotland.com told us: “Progressive slots are the thing at the moment, and it’s not only because they look great and there are so many different themes and variations. I think it’s because they’re fun and people know they can play and enjoy themselves without getting ripped-off.”
For more information please contact: Lyceum Media, +44 207 828 6988 info@lyceummedia.com
Source: OnlineCasinoNews
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