What can online casino offer to fans of slot machines? Well, practically everything, that real halls can, plus something more than that. But before we look into online slot machine halls, let’s give a meaning to several notions. “One-handed gangsters” have been divided into two categories called slots and video slots (meaning a slot of a coin-receiver). Classical slots represent three mechanic barrels with a possibility to play on 1-5 lines. Video slots are a video screen 3x5 with the game on 9-30 lines with rich additional bonus possibilities.

One can find both kinds of playing machine in an online casino. From the point of view of the games quantity and their functional possibilities online games do not yield (and to some degree they may exceed) to offline ones. The doubtless leader in the slots quantity and quality is the “Microgaming” software. The downloaded versions suggest up to 180 kinds of different slot machines, classic ones and video slots in about equal parts. The classic slots suggest a game from 1 to 5 lines. There can be up to 10 plays with progressive jackpots which average sums vary from 5 thousand to more than one million dollars. The first 9-line video slots appeared several years ago. The play “Tomb raider” (that is known thanks to the computer game and the film “Lara Croft, tomb plunder”) still holds much favour. Lara’s picture of 4 floors height can even be seen in the company “Microgaming” office. After that 20- and even 30-line video slots appeared. The video slots provide with an opportunity to win free of charge bonus rounds including prize multiplication, additional bonus games, the possibility to risk and double the win, jackpots of hundred thousand dollars. The maximum prize of such games is usually $40-200 thousand. There are of course “wild” and bonus symbols, animation that is all the variety of possibilities for what the players love video slots. Besides, the player can set the quantity of games and then games start will be conducted automatically.

The second place would be rather given to the casino with the soft of the company “Criptologic”. Recently they have concluded a treaty with a popular comics publisher – the company “Marvel” and have already created more than ten video slots with popular comics heroes (we know, for example, such personages as Hulk and Spiderman). All in all, the casino suggests more than 50 classical video slots, covering 9-20 lines with the abundance of possibilities. Another unique possibility, provided for payers of the British casino “William Hill” is the availability of English “fruity” slot-machines that function with an opportunity of “pushing” the drum in order to make it move for a little while giving a player the winning combination. At the moment when I’m writing these lines jackpot on the video slot “Millionaires’ Club” exceeds $3,5 ml., that is twice as much as the previous record for the on-line casino. When you receive a current issue of the journal, the jackpot will either reach the sum of $4 ml. or it will be hit and consequently it will constitute its original sum of $400 thousand.

Such producers of slots as “RTG” and “Playtech” yield a little as to the diversity of slots (but not as to their functionality). There are classical slots and video slots with diverse functions and jackpots including the ones at one million dollar. Only the “Boss Media” out of five provider leaders yields a little its competitors as to the quality of slots, but they too possess video slots, at least for nine lines and without a full abundance of possibilities.

While evaluating slots online, it is necessary to consider such a burning question as the percentage of payment. Unfortunately, in spite of the numerous players’ requests the absolute majority of casinos do not show the laid into the game percentage of payment. However, one can try to estimate it. For example, the casinos with the software from “Microgaming” and “Criptologic” publish monthly common payment percentages, notarized by auditing company PricewaterhouseCoopers. So the average payment percentage of all the slots usually varies in the range of 94-96 %.

As a conclusion, I want to mention that an online casino represents a very wide choice of different kinds of playing machines that do not yield with their functional characteristics to those ones you can see in playing rooms. The pluses of the online playing are more comfort conditions, wide range of stakes, the presence of bonuses that can double your means for playing. Besides, some casinos give the information about payments in pawn and the honesty guarantee that is difficult to see in real world. So, if someone decides to play slots in an online casino (s)he won’t regret it.