Jackpot structures: fixed, progressive and named tiers

Fixed jackpots: an amount written into the rules

A fixed jackpot is a prize with its amount set in the paytable, usually as a multiple of the stake, so it scales when the bet changes. In rule terms it is one more paytable line that happens to carry a name.

In this site's catalogue, 63 titles mention a jackpot in their format line — 59 from Booongo and 4 from Microgaming. The label alone usually does not say whether a prize is fixed or progressive; that is something to check on the game's info screen.

Progressive jackpots: a pool that grows

A progressive jackpot takes a share of each bet into a prize pool. The pool grows until it pays, then resets to a set seed amount. Whether the pool builds within one game or across several games or operators depends on the title.

The share feeding the pool is designed as part of the theoretical return. Whether a game's stated RTP includes that contribution or lists it separately is something to check on its rules screen. A large current pool says nothing about when it will next pay.

Mini, Minor, Major and Grand are names

Many games split their jackpots into tiers labelled Mini, Minor, Major and Grand. These are common labels, not an industry specification. A label gives the order within one game; it does not mean another game's tier of the same name has the same amount or structure.

Mixed tiers are common: the lower tiers fixed as stake multiples and only the top tier progressive, for example. You cannot compare one game's Grand with another's from the label alone.

In this site's catalogue, 10 titles have “Jackpot” in the game name itself. Even then, the rules screen is what tells you which structure is behind it.

An order for reading a jackpot label

For a game with jackpots, three checks in order are enough: whether each tier is fixed or progressive, whether its amount is stated as a stake multiple or as a sum, and how the jackpot contribution is reflected in the stated RTP.

Jackpots are usually listed separately from the win cap. Reading the two together can count a ceiling twice or not at all. What cannot be confirmed is left as unconfirmed — that is how this site treats it.