As much as online casinos are continually in a state of perpetual change and reinvention, the fact of the matter is that there will always be one constant when it comes to casino game play, whether it be at a land-based brick and mortar site, an online option, or via a mobile device. And that is the fact that the slot machines will always remain kings of the casino floor, real or virtual.
The vast majority of players still gravitate to the slots when they are entering the casino. That’s why all online casinos offer well-stocked libraries with massive amounts of slot games to play. The advances in those slot games have grown and changed in leaps and bounds over the years. You have wonderful video slots with video game quality graphics.
There are progressive jackpot games that can set you up for life and celebrity slots enabling you to play alongside your favorite athletes, musicians, or TV stars. That being said, a significant portion of the slot game population still wants the chance to play old-style fruit-based machines.
Slot Machine Types & Features: A Complete Guide for 2025
The selection available to slot players today is immense. We’ve set out to explain all of the available options at your disposal in the following guide to different types of online casino slot machines. Read on and enjoy.
Fruit Slots
Paying tribute to the birth and the history of the slot machine, classic three-reel fruit-based slots were the starting point for the industry. The beauty was in the simplicity. You put in a coin, pulled a lever and three reels started spinning. As they came to a stop, the lines would feature bars, bells, the number 7 and a variety of fruits. The more of the same symbols you could line up, the greater your win would be.
The igaming industry is right in line with other businesses in that there’s a market for nostalgia. People love kicking it old school and it’s no different when it comes to playing slots at an online casino.
As much as there’s excitement in seeing the storyline being developed via the latest 3D video slot, a portion of the slot-playing public still likes to embrace the simplicity of trying to hit three cherries on the same payline. That’s why you’ll still find that people want to play these old-style slots in which the winning, like the game itself, is much simpler and easy to decipher.
Lacking the many complicated bonus variations that are prevalent in many video slots, these fruit-based reel slots are ideal for beginner players because they are so simple to play and understand.
New Fruit Style Slot – Lucky 7s: A medium volatility slot with a 97% return to player, Lucky 7s really has that old-school feel about the game. Featuring a classic three-reel screen and only one payline, all of the old classic symbols that first made you fall in love with the slots are spinning around the reels of this game – bars, bells, fruit symbols and of course, those lucky 7s. You don’t have to be on the lookout for any bonus features, because there aren’t any in this Betsoft game. Still, it offers a maximum win of $5,000. Play Lucky 7s online at Wheel of Fortune NJ Casino. Another hit is a Fruit Blaster slot machine with huge payouts.
Video Slots
The first video slot was developed by Fortune Coin in 1976. It was a significant step up in technology from the old-style reel slots. Utilizing a video display for game play, developers could now add numerous features. Storylines were added to games, and themes such as Asian games, ancient Egypt and the Wild West became popular genres.
The move to online casinos in the 1990s ramped up this technology even further. Playing on a home computer, players could experience more complexity in interactive gaming and graphics and an increased complexity in the types of bonus rounds offered. The advent of HD and 3D technology only served to make the ability of these video slots to offer sensational eye-catching graphic performance all the more enticing.
New Real Money Video Slot – Better Wilds: On the surface, Better Wilds slot machine appears to be kicking it old school. The theme for this video slot is old-time, featuring fruits and 7s, along with gold bells and glistening diamonds. However, don’t be fooled. Better Wilds is as modern as it gets. The 5×4 reel game can be activated to expand to 25 paylines, presenting you with the chance to earn up to 500x your stake. Dazzling bonus features include wilds, expanding wilds, even moving wilds.
There’s also plenty of free spins, re-spins and multipliers dancing around the reels. Better Wilds, developed by PlayTech, offers medium volatility and an RTP of 96.42%. The maximum win offered is $500,000. Play Better Wilds and the PlayStar NJ Casino.
Megaways Slots
A massive change in the world of online slots came in 2015, when Australian company Big Time Gaming introduced the Megaways mechanism to slot play. With this additional function, a video slot could now offer a variable reel system that is changing the number of symbols present on each reel during every spin. This dynamic massively upgrades the possibility of potential winning combinations. These numbers can grow exponentially into the hundreds of thousands.
Big Time Gaming licenses the Megaways mechanism to competing developers, enabling many of the most popular video slots in existence to be ramped up in the number of ways to win each offers. Megaways slots tend to offer both high volatility and RTP. While on the one hand wins may hit with less frequency, when they do, the payday can prove to be magnificent.
New Megaways Slot – Cash Strike Hotsteppers Megaways: A high volatility slot from Blueprint Gaming, Cash Strike Hotsteppers Megaways offers three reels and can expand from 3-5 rows. It offers 125 paylines in standard play. This grows exponentially to 50,000x your stake once the Megaways mechanism is activated.
Other game features include additional Free Spins, Cash Collector and Fixed Jackpots. The Hotstepper feature is activated when a Cash Collect symbol lands on Reel 2. The RTP for this slot is 96%. Play Cash Strike Hotsteppers Megaways at BetMGM.
Jackpot Slots
A jackpot slot is a machine that is offering a fixed rate winning prize. It’s a maximum set win that can arrive following a single spin. That rate of the jackpot on these types of slots will never change. The winning total will either be a pre-set amount, or it may be based upon a player’s bet, such as 5,000x the stake, for example.
Since fixed jackpots are offering an established predetermined maximum prize, the RTP on these fixed jackpot games tends to be a little higher than on a progressive jackpot slot. Still, that doesn’t mean it isn’t possible to win a life-changing amount while playing on a fixed jackpot slot. Some fixed jackpots do climb into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
New Jackpot Slot – Bar Bar Black Sheep: A take of the famous nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep, this Microgaming title offers grazing sheep across its five-reel grid with 15 paylines. There are retriggerable free spins, offering 20 free spins and a 3x multiplier. The Bar Bar Black Sheep bonus is a 999x multiplier.
Bar Bar Black Sheep also offers a top jackpot set at 95,000x your stake. This slot also offers scatters, multiplier wilds, a bonus buy and re-spins. Bar Bar Black Sheep features medium volatility and an RTP of 95.32%. Play this slot game at the Borgata Casino.
Progressive Jackpot Slots
The progressive jackpot is in essence a jackpot slot game on steroids. The more money players pump into a progressive jackpot slot, the more the value of that jackpot gets pumped up. With a progressive jackpot slot, a portion of every single play on the game is added to the ever-growing jackpot amount. You can actually watch the number increase as part of the game’s icon on an online casino website. Since progressive jackpots offer the potential for such a life-altering win, these games tend to be higher in volatility and lower in RTP. You won’t win as often playing a progressive jackpot slot but when you do you tend to be handsomely rewarded.
Progressive jackpots are growing even more massive of late as online casinos are setting up networks of progressive jackpot games across a number of slot machines as well as multiple online casino apps. In fact last year, one example of this type of progressive jackpot led to the largest single slot payout in US history. The Big One was a network of progressive jackpot slots set up by BetMGM. Included in this grouping was the progressive jackpot Fruit Blaster. In August of 2024, one lucky player hit this jackpot for a US-record $6,450,023 progressive jackpot on Fruit Blaster.
New Progressive Jackpot Slot – Ancient Disco: A high volatility slot from Red Tiger Gaming, Ancient Disco features an Egyptian theme, mashed up with 1970s disco style. There’s an RTP of 95.74%. One of the best features of Ancient Disco beyond the progressive jackpot is the opportunity to buy your way into the bonus round, increasing your chances of grabbing that life-changing win. Play Ancient Disco at BetMGM Online NJ Casino.
Respin Slots
Everyone appreciates getting a second chance and that’s what happens when an online slot machine is offering the re-spin mechanism as a feature. Respin slots are online slot games featuring a specific bonus effect enabling players to re-spin certain reels independent of others. The opportunity to do so is generally attained at an additional cost to the player.
The advantage to enacting the re-spin feature is that it will improve your chances of hitting winning combinations or perhaps even to trigger bonuses. This mechanism offers additional opportunities to win without needing to spin all the reels again.
New Respin Slot – Thundering Shenlong: An Asian-themed slot, Thundering Shenlong offers four progressive jackpots, but it’s the game’s re-spins feature that is truly unique. It can be triggered in perpetuity. As long as you continue to land the required lightning scatter symbol on the correct reel, your re-spins will just keep on refreshing. This Nyx slot delivers high volatility, an RTP of 95.09%, 243 paylines and a maximum win of 25,000x your stake. Play Thundering Shenlong at bet365 NJ Casino.
Bonus Buy Slots
With bonus buy slots, you don’t necessarily have to earn your way into the bonus round of a popular slot game. You can literally pay your way there. Simply put, a bonus buy slot lets you acquire access to the game’s bonus round by outlying a designated amount of cash. You can also pay to trigger free spins and other features of the slot, all in order to try and increase your chances of hitting a big win.
New Bonus Buy Slot – Dragon’s Lock: A Red Tiger game, Dragon’s Lock slot machine online offers a 5×4 grid, 40 paylines, high volatility and a 95.73% RTP. But the feature that makes this medieval dragon game stand out is the Feature Buy option. This allows you to purchase direct access to free real money bonus spins or a guaranteed Dragon Key spin. Play Dragon’s Lock at BetRivers Casino.
Branded Slot Machines
Online casinos lean heavily into pop culture for slot themes. TV shows such as Peaky Blinders, Squid Game and Narcos have spawned slots. Likewise, musicians such as Jim Hendrix, Guns N’ Roses and Kiss, as well as athletes like Wayne Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr and Frankie Dettori have lent their likenesses to slot machines.
New Branded Slot – Dan Marino Hail Mary: One of the most legendary QBs in NFL history is at your disposal when you play Dan Marino Hail Mary, an arcade-style slot game from Light & Wonder. You get four downs to pass your way to glory. Complete passes for cash wins or one of three progressive jackpots. Play Dan Marino Hail Mary exclusively at StarDust casino with free spins and a no deposit bonus on sign up.
Land-Based Casino Slot Machines You Can Play Online
There are plenty of titles in land-based casinos that you’ll also be able to play at online casinos. However, there’s a unique movement afoot in some circles in which casinos are offering crossover games. That’s the chance to play a game online that is actually physically situated inside brick and mortar casinos.
New Land-Based Slot Available Online – Rakin’ Bacon Sahara: There are 2,500+ slots to play online at New Jersey’s Hard Rock Bet. But only one of them lives in both the land-based and online realm. Rakin’ Bacon Sahara is an actual slot on the Hard Rock Casino floor in Atlantic City that can also be played by players who are online. It’s the first slot game to be made available both online and in person.
22 Types of Slot Machines
Here’s a list of various slot machine types that you can find and play online at bet365, MGM, Borgata casino sites (or via apps) in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan and West Virginia:
- Classic (Fruit) Slots – Traditional 3-reel slots featuring bars, bells, lucky 7s, and fruit symbols.
- Video Slots – Modern slots with advanced graphics, animations, and bonus features.
- Megaways Slots – Offer changing reel configurations and thousands of ways to win.
- Jackpot Slots – Slots with fixed, high-paying jackpots.
- Progressive Jackpot Slots – A portion of each bet contributes to a growing jackpot.
- Respin Slots – Feature respins where players get a second chance at landing a win.
- Bonus Buy Slots – Allow players to purchase entry into bonus rounds or free spins.
- Branded Slots – Themed around movies, TV shows, celebrities, and musicians.
- Land-Based Casino Slots Online – Physical casino slot machines that are also playable online.
- 3D Slots – Slots with high-end 3D animations and immersive themes.
- Cluster Pays Slots – Pay based on groups of matching symbols instead of paylines.
- Cascading Reels Slots (Avalanche Slots) – Winning symbols disappear, and new ones fall into place for potential chain reactions.
- Multi-Payline Slots – Slots with multiple paylines instead of just one.
- Multi-Reel Slots – Feature more than the standard three or five reels, often six or more.
- Expanding Reels Slots – The reels grow during play, increasing the number of ways to win.
- Hold and Win Slots – Feature a sticky respin mechanic, locking winning symbols in place.
- Skill-Based Slots – Some level of player skill affects the game outcome.
- High-Volatility Slots – Offer less frequent but bigger payouts.
- Low-Volatility Slots – Pay smaller amounts but more frequently.
- Crypto Slots – Designed for gambling with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
- Penny Slots – Low-stakes slots allowing bets as small as $0.01.
- Virtual Reality (VR) Slots – VR-compatible slots offering immersive gameplay.
