There’s never been a better time to be an online slots player. We’re fortunate enough to live in an era where great new online slots websites spring up almost every day, and they’re all in direct competition with each other.
That means they’re falling over themselves to bring you the best introductory deals and the best loyalty reward schemes in order to entice you to stick with them instead of checking out their rivals.
From Amazon vouchers to meal deals and endless free spins offers, if you’re prepared to shop around and spend your time weighing up offers, you can get a lot more spins out of an online slots website for your money than just the ones you pay for.
As a side effect of the growth of the online slots and casino industry, the hobby now has a higher profile than it ever has in the past.
More attention is being paid to how online slots websites operate, and that means good times might not last forever.
There are constant calls for more regulation in the sector, and in time that means tighter controls over what can and can't be offered as an incentive.
The more reputable online slots websites probably have nothing to fear from that, but we can't bank on the fact that we'll always have as much freedom to play where we like or receive the incentives that we do right now.
We might look back on this time in years to come as the 'golden era' of gaming - so let's enjoy it by playing the best games we possibly can!
Identifying those games isn’t easy. Just as there are thousands of online slots websites, there are tens of thousands of online slots.
Some are better than others, and some are more popular than others. It doesn’t necessarily follow that the most popular slots are always the best payers - but there has to be a reason why so many people are playing them!
We’ve cast our eye over the highest-ranked slots on the world’s most - visited slots website, and as we move into August, we believe that these are the five slots entertaining the most players right now.
Starburst
When major British tabloid newspapers are printing ‘how to play’ guides about ‘Starburst,’ you know that it must be a big hit!
This hypnotic, space-age slot from Net Ent has been around for many years now, but it never seems to get any less popular. Perhaps that’s down to the fact that the middle reel turns wild with pleasing regularity.
Alternatively, maybe it’s all down to the fact that the soft colors and relaxing soundtrack make it so stress-free to play. You don’t have to be an online slots expert to enjoy ‘Starburst;’ with its simple five-reeled layout and its ten paylines, even the most inexperienced player can get to grips with it in almost no time at all.
Volatility is low, and the 96.09% RTP is reasonably generous. This is a bonafide classic, and it’s no surprise to us that millions of people still play it every month almost seven years after its release.
Bonanza
The idea of mining for precious stones isn't a million miles away from the idea of playing online slots. In both cases, you're risking money and effort for an uncertain reward.
There's no guarantee of success, but when success arrives, it usually makes your efforts feel like they were worthwhile! 'Bonanza,' which was released by Big Time Gaming in 2016, was one of the earliest 'Megaways' slots, and can probably be credited with making the 'Megaways' concept popular.
It might take you a while to get your head around playing a slot that has over 117,000 ways to win - and with all those paylines it's not surprising that volatility is high - but when multipliers and collapsing wins start to interact with each other during the free spins feature, you can usually sit back and watch the money roll in! 'Bonanza' has an RTP of 96%.
Book of Dead
As part of the always popular 'Book Of' series of online slots, Play N' Go's 'Book of Dead' was always likely to attract interest even if it wasn't a great slot.
Fortunately for the people who play it, it's every bit as great as some of the other popular slots that have formed part of this successful franchise in the past. 'Book of Dead' is set in the always-popular Ancient Egyptian genre of slots, and comes with ten paylines contained within a familiar 5x3 layout or rows and reels.
Free spins and expanding symbols are both welcome aspects of the bonus features along with the classic 'book of' functionality which, if you haven't come across it before, it a delight to get to know. RTP is a pinch low at 94.25%, but there are still great prizes to be won if your luck is in.
Centurion Megaways
‘Centurion’ by Inspired Gaming was already one of the most popular Roman-themed online slots on the market, so it wasn’t a surprise to us to see the developer come back and give it the ‘Megaways’ treatment in July 2020.
Part of its current popularity might be down to its newness, but there’s enough packed into this good-looking slot for the popularity to last. All the things that players know and love from the original ‘Centurion’ slot is still there, but now it’s been ‘beefed up’ with the full set of 117,649 ways to win that we’ve come to expect from the biggest ‘Megaways’ creations.
The enormous 6x7 layout gives you plenty to keep an eye on, but there are so many bonus features included that you’ll never get bored. The RTP of 95.9% is fair, and you can always choose to risk your winnings on a simple ‘double or nothing’ game if you’re not satisfied with your lot.
Rainbow Riches
Like 'Starburst,' 'Rainbow Riches' by Barcrest is a slot that seems destined to remain popular for the rest of time. Often imitated but never bettered, the original 'Rainbow Riches' has been the most-played Irish-themed slot since the day it was released in 2009.
As it's over a decade old, some of the features feel a little dated, and it's not the most graphically-impressive online slots game you'll ever play, but that doesn't matter when it possesses so much charm and focuses so heavily on fun.
The innovative 'Road to Riches' multiplier-collecting bonus feature is still as lucrative as it ever was if you can trigger it, and while 95% RTP might not be anything to write home about in 2020, it should still make managing your bankroll fairly easy.
The slot contains twenty paylines, and while it may not have a 'free spins' feature, it does come with enough cute side-games to make up for it.
The five slots we've mentioned above are at the top of the pile right now, but they may not stay there.
There are plenty of exciting-looking brand new online slots lined up for an August release, and we expect to see some of them challenging the established players.
We'll check in from time to time to bring you the latest developments, but until then - happy spinning, and be lucky!
