Online casinos appeared in 1994 thanks to the well-known company Microgaming. It was she who created the first online casino platform. In 1996, according to some data, about 15-20 online casinos were opened on the Internet. And only in 1997, the rapid development of online gambling began. Another company, Cryptologic, entered the market.
In 1998, the number of online casinos began to grow at a rapid pace. This forced software manufacturers to launch software that combines certain slots into a single network, on which a progressive jackpot began to be played.
In 1999, Playtech entered the online gambling market with its new software, competing with well-known companies.
An important role in the development of online casinos was played by progressive jackpots, which attract gamblers with their amounts. If in 2001 the largest online casino win was $415,000, and the maximum jackpot in 2002 was $1.5 million, at the moment these winnings have grown significantly. It is not uncommon for progressive jackpots to exceed $10 million these days. But players should be aware that online casino progressive jackpots vary in amount.
In-House – standalone progressive jackpots are played inside one casino on slot machines connected to each other in a small network. On them, from each bet made by the players, a small amount is taken and credited to the jackpot growing from this. Standalone jackpot amounts are not particularly high and range from several tens of thousands of dollars to several hundred thousand dollars. An important fact is that the amount of the jackpot depends on the amount of the bet made on the slot machine.
Stand Alone Progressive are jackpots played on certain slots in one online casino. They have their own system for calculating the amount of the jackpot, which is formed by the percentage of the total turnover on slot machines. The amounts of these jackpots are not as big as standalone jackpots, but they can still enrich players by several thousand dollars.
Area Wide are the most attractive jackpots, the amounts of which can reach tens of millions of dollars. Such large amounts are due to the fact that these jackpots are played not in one casino, but in the whole network. Many slot machines located in various online casinos are united in a single network, as a rule, these are slots from one of the software companies, for example, Playtech or Microgaming. With each bet on these slots, deductions go to the jackpot fund, so its amount grows incredibly quickly. It doesn't matter what bet is placed to get the jackpot. It may be a minimum bet of $1, but the payout will be the maximum.