Best online slot sites 2023

Ian Zerafa Last updated on September 21, 2023

Looking for the best online slot sites in the US? Whether you’re a newcomer on the hunt for a casino with a free spins bonus or a seasoned player looking for a site that offers fantastic jackpot slots, we’ve got you covered.

This page explores everything to do with slots and where to find the best slot machine games. Let’s kick things off with our list of the best online slot sites:

We’ve listed these casinos based on their slots offering, starting with the one we think is the best slots casino. Of course, when we’re rating casinos, we rate for a ton of different factors, not only slots and games — that’s why this doesn’t just look like a copy-paste of our online casinos list.

Overall rating is still important; we’d never recommend a bad casino with some good slots, but slot offering takes chief priority for this list. You can learn more about which one’s best for you over on our page for best slot sites.

The best 10 online slots

Da Vinci Diamonds (IGT)

The Da Vinci Diamonds slot is known for its tumbling reels, which can turn even small wins into victory chains, and its scatter bonus round, which can net up to 300 free spins.

Cleopatra (IGT)

Based on the immensely popular casino-floor slot machine, the online version comes with 5 reels rather than 3, and 20 paylines.

Bonanza Megaways (Big Time Gaming)

This 6-reeler offers up to 117,649 ways to win, and floats a theoretical RTP of 96%. Has win-chaining bonus rounds with unlimited multipliers.

Starburst (NetEnt)

A simple game that got thousands of players into slots. Up to 3 respins on wilds and payouts from both the left and the right are nice twists to this low-volatility, high-RTP slot.

88 Fortunes (Scientific Games)

Scatter symbols can score you free spins, and a bonus game is triggered whenever you land the Fu-Bat symbol, netting you 1 of 4 available jackpots!

Blood Suckers (NetEnt)

Famous for its incredible 98% RTP, the wins here come from the vampire-slaying bonus game which can net over 20,000x your bet, and the jackpot which can do you for 30,0000x.

MegaJackpots Cleopatra (IGT)

Like Cleopatra, but MORE. This variant on IGT’s Cleopatra game features a progressive jackpot, leading to some truly massive potential wins.

Divine Fortune (NetEnt)

The progressive slot game. You can win up to 600x your bet in the base game. 2 different wilds, free spins and a jackpot game where you can win cash prizes, 2 fixed jackpots or 1 progressive jackpot add a whole lot to this Divine offering.

Zeus (Scientific Games)

Another land-based favorite that’s made the jump to online, its scatter bonus feature can net you up to 100 free spins at once.

Golden Goddess (IGT)

A simple low-volatility slot focused on lots of small wins. Stacking symbols and free spins rounds on scatters sweeten the deal.

How to choose the best slots and their casinos

When you’re looking at a slot machine’s rating, it’s worth looking at a casino’s rating too. The most popular online slots will be on dozens of websites, so there’s more to picking than just finding one you like. Fortunately, we rate slots and casinos, and give you the rundown on how we do both.

Slots:

First thing we look at is the type of slot, whether it’s a video slot, old-schooler, progressive jackpot etc. Then we consider what features it’s got available, and how many of them. The payouts come next; we look at the return-to-player stats, a slot’s volatility, and the min/max payouts. Freshness is another factor — we don’t give or take points based on whether a slot is new, but we have certain expectations of recently released slots.

Areas that can affect both slot and casinos:

Bonuses: some operators give better bonuses than others, and some slots have better bonus compatibility.
Software: A slot built by a casino software provider will get a better showing. Casinos that host a boatload of top providers deserve a shout too.
Mobile access: Some slots don’t work well on mobile, or at all. And if you’ve downloaded a few casino apps in your time, you know there are leaps and bounds between the best and worst.

Casinos:

We’d consider things like what casino payment methods are available, the casino’s safety rating, if any slot tournaments are available to give gamblers more chances to win (especially if these are freeroll tournaments, where you can participate without having to buy a ticket), the quality of their actual website, and the strength of their customer support offering. Our online casino reviews will help you dive into the good stuff.

Types

Slots take in money, spin, and should spit some money back out. But that’s just about the only thing they’ve all got in common. Slots can be totally different from each other. The number of reels can change, the number of paylines can change, and tons of different features can be offered. These all have a say on what type of slot a given game is classified as.

No one type is necessarily better than another, but they can be more suited to different kinds of players, so knowing your playstyle can help you decide what are the best online slots for you.

Live slots

They’re still pretty new to the scene, but they’re gaining popularity quickly. If you want to add a human touch to your slots gameplay, this option’s for you. Just like online slots, you select your wagering options and hit spin. But rather than instantly lighting up the reels, this info is passed to a dealer who will spin a physical machine for you live on camera.

Video slots

In terms of sheer volume, there’s no bigger category. Technically, you could call all online slots video slots, but the term is generally used to refer to any slot that doesn’t fall into a specific special category. There’s tons of variety here, in everything from RTP and volatility to the number and type of features available per game.

Classic slots

There is beauty in simplicity, and that’s where classic slots shine. They’re modelled off the old fruit machines, and their old-school 3 (sometimes 5) reels usually line up to create just a single payline across the center. That usually means winning less often, but that’s compensated for by higher payouts-per-win. Because of this, many are considered medium-high volatility slots.

Quick hit slots

This popular slots series from Bally can trace its roots back to classic slots, and you’ll see some visual reminders in there — they like to use classic slot symbols like fruit, bars and 7s. If you want classic flavor combined with modern bonus rounds and features, you’ve found your place.

Quick Hit slots series

Progressive jackpot slots

These are the online slots that offer the biggest wins. Their theoretical RTP tends to be a little lower than regular slots’, but a portion of the wager made on each spin goes into a jackpot pool, and those can go into the millions. It’s a greater risk for the greatest rewards. NetEnt’s Divine Fortune is one of the most popular progressive games at US slot casinos.

243 ways to win

Originally thought up by Microgaming, one of the oldest names in online gambling, these slots drive a stake through the heart of traditional paylines. Rather than have a set paytable, any three matching symbols that appear left to right on neighboring reels score a win.

Features

When it comes to slots, features are little twists that’ll help you score wins. Each slot works differently of course, but in general, the more features you have, the better. Scatters and wild symbols are the most common things you’ll find, but here’s a quick look at some of the most popular options:

Scatters: In casino slots, the winning symbols have to line up in a payline pattern in order to pay out. Not so with scatters. No matter where they fall on the screen, scatters pay out, as long as the minimum required number appears (usually 2 or 3).

Wilds: Function like wilds or jokers in certain card games. They substitute for the symbol you need to score your payout. There are sub-species of wilds too, like stacked wilds, which can wild out most or all of a reel, or sticky wilds, which can remain on the reels for a while, increasing your chances of landing wilds wins. Wilds wins are especially good, because they tend to be the highest-value symbols on the reels.

Free spins: There are many ways to trigger free spins, but they mostly work the same way. A spin you can win money on, but that you don’t have to pay for. Some slots have free spins that can retrigger themselves, racking up higher-value wins on free respins rounds. Free spins in free spins. It’s….Spinception.

Bonus rounds: Online slots also have bonus rounds. There are many ways to trigger these, usually by landing bonus symbols. This type of online slots bonus can take many forms, including free spins, often themed, or picking mystery prizes to see what bonuses you’ve won.

Multipliers: If a x2 multiplier symbol forms part of your winning payline, your win is doubled. If it’s a x3, it’s tripled. So on and so forth. Online slots players love these, for obvious reasons.

Gamble: Usually manifests as a double-or-nothing, where you can take a wager to stake your bonus round winnings on a single bet.

Cascading reels: You can think of these like a ‘mini-respin’, the nice part being that they usually trigger every single time you land a winning combination. When you win, the winning symbols pop out of existence and are replaced by new ones, potentially landing further wins.

This isn’t an exhaustive list, and new ones are coming in all the time. Games from upcoming software providers, such as 4ThePlayer slots, often come up with their own unique features.

Some popular features:

Cleopatra (IGT) — Floats an uncomplicated free spins round with 15 spins and a 3x multiplier.
Guns n’ Roses (NetEnt) — Features a bonus game with coin wins, stacked wilds respins, and a 3-level pick-to-win game.
Gonzo’s Quest (NetEnt) — Avalanche reels can chain wins together, and add a multiplier of up to 5x when they do.
88 Fortunes (Scientific Games / SHFL) — Free spins on scatters and a bonus round with 4 different jackpots.

Payouts and volatility

Sure, the point of playing is to have fun, but winning is always the best part of the game when playing at the best payout casinos. The likelihood of winning is an important thing to consider when choosing the best online slots. We usually look at RTP% and slot volatility when evaluating real money slots.

RTP (return-to-player) is a descriptor for the percentage of wagered money that a player can theoretically expect to get back when wagering over a very long time. For example, if a slot has an RTP score of 95%, then a player making 100 bets of $1 on it could hypothetically expect to have $95 remaining at the end of their run.

Of course, theoretical RTP is only an estimate calculated across a massive sample size, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a player who deliberately looks to play low-RTP games, such as China Shores slot.

Volatility refers to a slot’s risk level with its wins and win rates. Low volatility slots are preferred by players who want to win smaller amounts more frequently, while high volatility slots hold a higher risk of losing money, but with the potential for much bigger payouts. If you’re playing a slot machine online, one isn’t necessarily better than the other, but there’s definitely something more suited to your style of play.

Slot name	RTP%	Volatility
Blood Suckers	98.00	Low
Starmania	97.87	Low-medium
White Rabbit Megaways	97.24	Medium-high
King of Slots	97.00	Low-medium
Jack Hammer	97.00	Low

Bonuses: free spins and no deposit

Bonuses have a huge say on choosing the slot you play, as well as where you play it. Many casinos have special online casino bonuses on specific slots — the Starburst slot and Book of Dead both became household names because loads of casinos give free spins bonuses on them.

Whenever free spins are attached to a sign-up bonus, it means you can play on a slot for free but win real money in exchange.

There are two different ways slot sign up bonuses can work:

The bonus offer states that the free spins can only be played on a specific slot
If not specified in the bonus offer, you can use the free spins on any slot listed in the casino’s T&Cs

Some operators will even offer an online slots no deposit bonus, which gives you the chance to win real money without risking your own cash. While ‘no deposit free spins’ are a thing, this is usually a small amount of bonus cash you can use as slot credit.

In general, though, most casino welcome bonuses can be used on slots. This goes for all casinos in legalized states, like NJ, PA, MI or WV online casinos.

When it comes to cash-type no deposits bonuses, slots usually contribute 100% towards the wagering requirements. These requirements are as low as 1x at the best online slots sites.

Software

Online casino software is important to consider when picking both your slot game and your casino. If a slot is made by a top, reputable provider, you’re in good hands.

If you’re looking for a casino, what you should know is this: operators pay to ‘rent’ providers’ games, and host them on their site. If you’re seeing a lot of providers, and specifically, a lot of top providers in a casino’s slots library, you know they’re investing hard in pleasing their playerbase. To give a rough benchmark, over 20 total with 8-10 top providers is a top-notch offering for US online slot casinos.

Some of the most popular slot providers are:

NetEnt — Insanely solid all-rounders, they’ve put out over 200 online slots covering a variety of themes. Top NetEnt slots include Starburst, Dead or Alive and Dead or Alive 2, and jackpots such as Divine Fortune and Hall of Gods.

IGT — They have land-based slots, original online slots, and provide the massively popular MegaJackpots series, like Mega Jackpots Golden Goddess slot, which waves some huge numbers around at slots casinos around the country.

BTG — Incredibly known for their Megaways series, which takes some of the best online slots and adds the Megaways mechanic, which changes the number of symbols on the reels with each spin, creating over 117,000 ways to win in most Big Time Gaming slots. The Final Countdown is a particularly beloved BTG slot.

WMS — A subsidiary of SG Digital, known for turning some top land-based games into online slot machines, you’ll find names such as Zeus and Black Knight in WMS’s libraries.

Lightning Box
Microgaming
NetEnt
Playtech
Red Tiger Gaming
SG Digital
WMS
SHFL Entertainment

Mobile access

For a slots casino to have a good mobile offering, we expect it to have the vast majority of its games available on mobile (95%<). Apps should also be easy to navigate and be completely glitch and crash-free, if a place wants to be considered among the best mobile casinos.

For games themselves, the best online slots on mobile should at the very least be compatible with all devices. Good graphics and responsiveness are important too. It’s really great to see when slots are particularly well-optimized for mobile play, for example, by changing the button sizes on the interface to be more accessible on smaller screens. Overly small buttons on touchscreens can be a recipe for disaster when real money is at stake.

NetEnt, for example, have revamped a significant number of their games into the NetEnt Touch series, which is specifically designed to make the games more mobile-friendly.

When a slot is mobile-exclusive, even better. That means it was made from the ground-up with mobile play in mind, so you can (usually!) expect better compatibility.

rating-online-slots-on-mobile-app-user-accessibility

New

In the world of online slot games, brand new USA online casinos have to make sure their top new stuff is bigger, bolder and more innovative than anything already out there. It’s worth keeping an eye on new online slots since you never know what’s going to come next. It’s another area where no one development is necessarily better than another, but there’s lots of room to find something that’s great for you.

New mechanics are always a thing to watch out for, while they may not all be as game-changing as tumbling reels or Megaways, there are plenty of twists to season your online slots with. New bonus features or higher potential max wins are worth watching out for too. On the purely aesthetic side, graphics and animations are getting better all the time at top slots provided by top studios.

Picking a slots casino, what you’d definitely want to keep an eye on is the size of their new games section and the frequency with which that’s updated. New Jersey casinos have some of the best slot catalogs, but online slots in Pennsylvania are also ramping up. Of course, if they’re bringing in the new stuff constantly, there’s a higher chance that you’ll be able to play the next big thing here. Any way that a casino is innovative makes it worth keeping an eye on, even if you want to be the first person to play at the newest Paysafecard slots casino.

Other tips for picking a slots casino

You can head over to our online casino reviews page to get a detailed look at how we rate the casinos where to play slots. But a few top tips for things you can watch out for when doing your own research:

Payment methods — Most operators will offer 6-14 options, and our top slots casinos will offer 15+. Those should include a variety of top options like Visa & MasterCard, Skrill and VIP Preferred. PayPal is a particular favorite.

Safety — Safe online slots are a must. Make sure an operator offers a suite of responsible online gambling sites tools, and that any payment terms and other T&C’s are transparent and easily accessible. Other good signs include being an award winner, and partnering with a land-based casino.

Customer support — Always worth asking some questions before signing up, to analyze the quality of support you will get if a problem comes up. Easily accessible live chat is a good start, but we also like to see email and phone support, and a set of detailed FAQ and help pages. If live and/or phone chat are available 24/7, it’s a good sign.

Usability — Signup and bonus claim should be easy and take no more than a few minutes. The website or app should be well-designed too, having easy navigation through different game sections, and preferably, a complex search and filter system to quickly sort through your favorite online slot games.

other-things-to-consider-for-players-picking-the-best-online-slots

Online slots guide — how they work

Free slots vs real money slots

Free online slots are greatly sought after and for good reason. They’re demo versions of the real money slots editions and are available for most top slot games and at most casinos – online slots in NJ online casinos are the vastest in terms of quantity and quality. They can be a lot of fun, and they give you the opportunity to learn the game before you try slots for real money. The main benefit of free slots is that you won’t lose any real money on them.

However, you won’t gain much either, unless you find an online slots no deposit bonus you can use. We have pages dedicated to both free and real money slots, as well as sweepstakes casino slots like Slotomania online casino which are the only alternative in states where regular casinos aren’t legal.

Mississippi casinos are all sweeps for that very reason, and it’s the same with Louisiana casinos and their social casino offering. If you want to play slots in Indiana or at Tennessee casinos, you’re once again relegated to these virtual currency sites, though sweeps coins can be redeemed for cash prizes at certain operators.

Here’s a quick scan of the main pros and cons of free and real money slot games:

Real money slots:

You can win real money
More games
Progressive jackpots

Usual risks

Free slots:

No risk
Learn how the games work
Peace of mind

No reward

How to play online slots: Top tips

While hitting ‘spin’ on a slot is easy enough for anyone, there are some useful tips and tricks for beginner players. Regardless of whether you play from a New Jersey online casino, try your hand at online slots in West Virginia, or any other licensed state, we have you covered.

Take a look at our list for more or check out our slots strategy guide for more info.

Learn the rules
Even if you’ve already chosen your slot, a bit of research goes a long way. Learn the paytable and rules, and familiarize yourself with the bonus rounds. Some bonus games can have a small skill element to them, and it’s best to know what’s up before you’re picking the best way to sweep coins into your pocket. You can find a general guide on our how to play slots page.
Features can help
Apart from scatters and wilds, and their variations, one of the most common bonus features is the free spin — and we doubt we’ll ever hear a player complaining about getting one. But there’s tons of features out there, and some of them are where players can make the biggest gains, especially in bonus games. Learning what’s available and how it works is never going to be a bad idea. Check out our favorite features.
Understand the payouts
Everyone’s got a playstyle, which means everyone’s got a paystyle. Do you prefer to win small, but often? Then a low volatility, high RTP% slot is what you’re looking for. Do you prefer bigger risks for bigger rewards? Look at high volatility slots and progressive jackpot games. More in our payouts section.
Play for fun first
Play free online slots before hopping over to the real money section. If you can find the same slot titles for free and as a real money version, that’s the best practice you’re ever likely to get when it comes to learning rules and mechanics. See our list of pros and cons for free & real money slots. Of course, you may only have access to playing slots for fun as some states like Wyoming online casinos only allow residents to play for fun at social casinos.
Choose your casino wisely
Picking somewhere safe and legal should always be at the top of your list, but even when everything’s above board, some casinos are better than others. Our rankings list notes down the casinos we think offer the best online slots experience.
Pick the right slot type
It’s hard to pick a single type when it comes to choosing the best slots to play. The biggest difference is what kind of player each type appeals to. For example, if you like excitement and innovation, you’d probably enjoy new slots. If you’re a fan of the classic feel and don’t want to get mixed up with bonus rounds, classic slots may be your niche. High rollers can chase progressive jackpots, etc. See our online slot types overview for more.

FAQs

Where should I play online slots?

You’ll be fine playing online slots at just about any legal, audited casino — the top rated slot games are the same at most places. However, some casinos are stronger in specific areas. For slots specifically, we’ve put together a rankings list you can check out, but you can also check out our casino reviews. We only recommend legal and licensed spots.

Should I play free slots, or real money slots?

Honestly, we think you should play both, and cover this in our pros and cons list. Free slots will teach you how to play and understand slot mechanics, and prepare you to move to the real money side of online slot machines. Once you’re feeling confident in your knowledge, you can head to the real money side of internet slots. That’s where the wins are.

How do I play online slots?

The short answer: research, find a slot that suits your playstyle, find a reputable casino with a good online slots bonus, learn the gameplay mechanics, and get playing. We have a how to play tips list that will get you started, and you can read more about what would suit your style of play in our slot types section.

Which online slots have the best payouts?

There are different ways to evaluate payouts. You can look at the highest possible win, in which case you’ll want to look at progressive slots. You could also look at hit frequency, the likelihood of each individual spin giving out some bit of money. Most people look at RTP%, the theoretical average return a player will receive over a long time. This page contains a list of some of the highest RTP, legal online slots in the USA.

What online slots pay real money?

If you’re playing at a legal casino, all of them. Slots must be audited and tested for fairness in order for the casino to get its licence. Most states where online casinos are legal contain a directory of approved casinos on government websites. If you’re looking to get started, some of the best slots online are made by top software providers such as NetEnt, IGT, H5G and BTG.