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What are the best slots for wagering?

CasinoFreak Editorial
Written by CasinoFreak Editorial
This guide is suitable for beginner players. Beginner Percentage of users that found this guide helpful. 91% Estimated reading time based on the average reading speed. 13 Min
What are the best slots for wagering?

Online casinos tempt players the most by offering lucrative promos that you can claim on top of your deposit. You can easily find a 100% match deposit promo at pretty much every online casino, while some offer even 200% or more.

Playing with a higher balance is certainly most welcome, as you can hit the slots on higher bets and get bigger payouts in return.

But every player has encountered a common problem when playing with a bonus. How to keep most of your balance and successfully clear the wager.

This is where experience and a little luck comes in. There are many slots you can play solely for the purpose of clearing the remaining wager. Some can even increase your balance, leading to a higher withdrawal.

Choosing the right slots

Like we mentioned earlier, to have a better chance of clearing your wager it’s crucial to choose the right slots. The general consensus of the gambling community is that for this purpose, low variance, high RTP slots are the way to go.

But at many casinos, these games are forbidden for play, simply because you can wager big amounts of money without losing a lot of your balance. Also, these games simply don’t have a big payout potential so all you can hope for is to clear the wager with minimal losses.

slots for wagering 
But there are also a number of medium and high variance slots which can help you clear the wager and bring big payouts along the way. This is why here we will divide the slots into several categories and point out the pros and cons of each one. Consider this as a small guide to help you with any wagering requirements you might have. 

Low Variance Slots

The goal of playing these slots is to clear as much of your wager with minimum impact to your overall bankroll. If your goal is to keep your balance in place, these slots can be a perfect choice. These slots can easily be played on higher bets, upwards of $1.50 - $2 per spin. Let’s see what they are!

FUN FACT

In addition to being less risky, many low variance slots have a medium to high RTP rate, offering a solid return after playing them for a long time. To increase your winning chance, your best bet is to know the volatility of each slot you chose to play.

Learn everything there is to know about volatility from our Slots Volatility guide.

Starburst

Starburst NetEnt

Starburst is a NetEnt classic, part of the new collection of slots, which was released back in 2012. The game has a simple 10 pay line design and comes with a low variance and an RTP value of 96.09%. With bets ranging from $0.10 to $100 per spin, this is an affordable slot for all types of players. But why is Starburst one of the best slots for wagering?

The answer is simple. The low variance of the game and the pay table combined with the features produce frequent small to medium payouts. This way you can play a big number of spins with a minimum loss or even a small plus on your balance. The biggest advantage of the game is the Stacked Symbols and the Both Ways Win design. 

This way you get winning combos from both sides of the reels and you can even land a full screen of matching symbols. You can even land some bigger payouts if you manage to land 3 Wilds on the central reels with 2 spins of stacked Sevens or Bars on each side. 

Blood Suckers

Blood Suckers NetEnt

Blood Suckers is one of the NetEnt slots with the highest RTP value, set at a whopping 98%. Landing wins on the reels is a piece of cake, as you manage to line up winning symbols on pretty much every spin. With 25 pay lines and bets up to $50 per spin, this is the perfect game to play with a higher bankroll and on higher bets. 

One thing you notice about the game is that the Wilds land quite often on the reels. This is part of the reason why the payouts are so frequent.

But the game also comes with two bonus rounds. The first is a cash bonus, triggered by landing 3 or more symbols on a winning payline, from left to right. Here you need to pick coffins and get cash prizes in return.

This feature is triggered very often and awards small to medium payouts, enough to help keep your balance level. The other feature is a free spins bonus, triggered with 3, 4, or 5 Scatters on the reels. You get 10 free spins which can be re-triggered and all payouts are tripled in size. Here you can expect bigger payouts, but still nothing in the mega range.

Fruit Shop

Fruit Shop NetEnt

Fruit Shop is another Oldie but Goldie from the NetEnt portfolio. Released in 2011 this 15-pay line slot became a favorite among players looking to wager a big chunk of their bonus, while still having the chance for some decent payouts. With a low to medium variance, the game is a bit more volatile than the previous two, but the payouts it can produce are also a bit higher. 

The main attraction of the game is the bonus feature.

Whenever you land a win with the high-paying fruit symbols, you trigger some free spins. Their number depends on the symbols and the number of winning symbols included.

The best part is that during the feature, even wins with the low-paying card symbols trigger extra free spins. The Wilds, which can land on the 3 central reels, double the payout, so with the x2 multiplier attached to the free spins, all Wild wins come with a x4 win multiplier. 

Medium Variance Slots

The next category of best slots for wagering is the medium variance ones. These games can be more volatile for your bankroll, but with some luck on your side, you can hit some bigger payouts.

For these slots, you can easily use $1 - $2 bets, or even more, depending on your bankroll. But one thing we can recommend is to try them out for a maximum of 100-150 spins. Usually, that’s how long it takes to land a bonus round.

medium variance slots

Steam Tower

When Steam Tower was first released across NetEnt casino,s players quickly flocked to its reels. The main reason for this was the relatively high 97.04% RTP value that came with it. This meant the slot returned higher payouts for your bets, with relative consistency, making it perfect for wagering purposes.

Steam Tower NetEnt
But what many players also noticed is that the game can also pay pretty well in the bonus round. As for the feature itself, all you need to do is land a Wild in full view on any reel to enter the free spins. Here you have 16 floors to climb, and each floor is passed by landing a Wild on the reels.  

Better yet you get 2 extra free spins for every Wild on the screen, in addition to the 10 original spins. You get a win multiplier attached as you pass each floor, up to x7. Reach the final floor for a hefty bonus win of 1,000 coins on top of your current wins. 

Koi Princess

Koi Princess NetEnt

Koi Princess is quite a popular slot among online players of all calibers. The game features 20 pay lines and a plethora of features. You can easily trigger at least one or two as you play and each one can produce decent payouts.

For this slot, we strongly recommend playing with the Bonus Bet option deactivated and trying two sessions of 50 spins. If you don’t win anything on the first one, wait a few minutes and come back to try it again. In many cases, we’ve seen the bonus round triggered on the second try with decent payouts. 

As for the features, there are several ones to expect. On any spin, you can randomly trigger the 5-Hit, Random Wilds, Wild Reels, or the Bonus feature. In the bonus feature, you can win the Sure Win Free Spins, Wild Reels Free Spins.

The Bonus Wheel, and the Coin Win. From all the features, the biggest payout potential comes from the Wild Reels, as you have a chance to land a full screen of Wilds. 

Gorilla Kingdom

Gorilla Kingdom NetEnt

Gorilla Kingdom is one of the newer NetEnt slots and you can clearly see that by the symbols design and the visual details. With top-notch graphics and animations, it’s easy to see why NetEnt climbed to the throne of the online gambling industry. But this slot has a lot more to offer, and yes, we’re talking about the payout potential and the bonus round. 

One detail we love about the game is that the top paying Gorilla symbols can land stacked on the reels, both in base play and in the bonus round. This is why you can easily hit payouts of 500x the stake and more in this game without even triggering the free spins bonus. As for the feature itself land 3, 4, or 5 Scatters for 10, 15, or 20 free spins.

Once there, expect to win more free spins for each set of 2 or more Diamonds on the reels. Collect as many Gorilla Masks as you can to upgrade each of the high-paying symbols, eventually leaving only Gorilla and Card symbols on the reels, once you reach level 4.  

High Variance Slots 

Most of the time not many players would recommend playing high variance slots to help you clear wagering requirements. They are known as insatiable money eaters and can have a devastating effect on your balance. 

While this is true, you also need to look at it from another angle. Many high variance slots can shell out a big payout bonus round early on. This way you can actually end up in a big plus, while still knocking out some of the wager. This is why it’s a good idea to try at least a few high variance slots if you have a big bankroll and try to increase it even more.

high variance slots

The Dog House

The Dog House is a perfect example of a high variance slot well worth giving a try. For this game, we recommend playing a set of 100 spins per session, on $1 - $2 bets.

Developed by Pragmatic Play, you stand to win up to 6.750x the stake in the bonus round, but what’s also interesting is the base play payouts. During base play, you can land wilds on the 3 central reels and each one can come with a x2 or x3 Win Multiplier attached.
The Dog House Pragmatic Play
This is where things get interesting. If more than one Wilds contribute to the payout per payline, their multipliers are added together. So, on a single payline you can land a win with a top win multiplier of x9. The same rule applies to the bonus round, but with a boosted twist.

Once you land 3 Bonus symbols on the reels, you can win anywhere from 9 to 27 free spins, with Sticky Wilds on reels 2, 3, and 4. All you need is a high number of free spins and Wilds on the screen for mega payouts. Risking $200 for a payout upwards of $10k is well worth it, don’t you think?

The Hand of Midas

The Hand of Midas Pragmatic Play

The Hand of Midas is another slot from Pragmatic Play that is well worth trying for 100 spins or more. An interesting fact about this game is the frequent payouts it produces during base play, despite the high variance. For some reason, the Wilds land quite often and can contribute to many small to medium payouts. 

The main reason for this is the random Win Multiplier of x1, x2, and x3 that comes with it. If more than one Wilds contribute to the payout their multiplier is added together. But things get really interesting in the bonus round. Land 3, 4, or 5 Scatters to win up to 27, 36, and 45 free spins.

During the feature all Wilds that land on the 3 central reels remain Sticky for the entire feature. The win multipliers that come with them are added to the total Win Multiplier for that bonus round. So, the maximum win multiplier you can have for the free spins bonus is x27. 

Drago: Jewels of Fortune

Drago Jewels of Fortune Pragmatic Play

Dragons are an endless source of inspiration when it comes to designing video slots. Pragmatic Play added a great Dragon title to their portfolio with this slot, instantly drawing a big number of players to its reels.

The first thing you notice about the game is the unusual 5x4x4x4x5 design with 1,600 ways to win. But what’s even more notable is the top payout of 48,000x, which is the stake that the slot can produce. 

In addition to the main free spins bonus, Drago: Jewels of Fortune also has a few extra features in its sleeve. The first one is that all of the symbols can land stacked on the reels, so you can easily hit some great payouts in base play. Another feature is the Dragon Super Spin, triggered by landing 4 matching Dragon symbols in all corners of the reels.

Here you can win up to 10,000x the stake, depending on the symbol you land. In the free spins bonus you can win up to 10 free spins, x3 win multiplier, up to 5 Sticky Wilds on the reels, and up to 50 Mystery Symbols. Combine all of that and you are well on your way to a mega payout. 

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed reading our article and we hope you like the games we described. Remember, when it comes to wagering bonuses it’s all about choosing the right slots to play and some simple luck.

We also have a lot more slot guides in-store on other topics if needed, all to help you become a better player against the mighty casinos.

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