Online Slots for Australians

There's been an absolute boom in the online slot machines that are available for Australians to play. Whether you're new to online slots or are a seasoned player, you'll always be able to find slots with interesting and hopefully profitable bonus features. This is due to the strong competition between both the casinos and the games suppliers, each one trying to offer as compelling a playing experience as possible, and to retain as many players as they can.

That's why you'll always find new online slots being released. Of course the ultimate prize for online slots players is to win one of the massive progressive jackpots that are linked to specific slots games. So to help you find the very best games, let's have a closer look at them...

This article covers:

• Having fun on free slots games
• Slots with big themes and branded slots
• A comparison of online slots software providers
• Advice on how to pick an online slot machine
• The slots bonus games we love the most
• Information on slots payout percentages and return to player

Play free slots

If you're new to online slots a good way to start is by playing some free slots. These games are every bit as fun as real money slots, except that they allow you to get the hang of the games without the risk of losing any money. It's a great way to learn the ropes: how the wild symbols work, how the paylines pay out, and how the various bonus feature games are played.

We have lots of different slots reviews on this site, and almost all of them can be played for free as well as for real money. So read some of them before you dive in - they'll give you an idea of the slots that most suit your taste.

We cover all the major online slots providers, like Microgaming, RealTime Gaming, NetEnt and Playtech. We also recommend where you should play to have the best experience.

Australian players are in the fortunate position that most online slots are available for them to play. Of course we all know how fond Australians are of pokies, so we're sure you'll be very happy to know that many of the pokies found in hotels and casinos in Australia have counterparts online. And these are improved versions, with bigger progressive jackpots and much more choice.

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Themed slots and branded slots

Slots with big themes are extremely popular. These usually take their themes from popular comic books, movies and video games. The Marvel comics series of slots is a good example, with online slots themed around these legendary action heroes providing great entertainment. We've seen the likes of Thor, X-men, The Hulk, Punisher and Silver Surfer immortalised in online slots form. Video game like Hitman and Tomb Raider have also been featured.

These are all slots with bonus rounds that reflect the themes. For example, with Tomb Raider you'll play a mini game where you help Lara Croft find hidden treasures. In Hitman you play a game of taking out contracts in order to win extra prize money.

Here are our top 6 themed slots:

Based on themes, payouts, and game features, these are in our opinion the best branded slots at the moment.

Comparing online slots providers

There are essentially two types of game developers providing online slots: full platform developers like Microgaming, and specialist game developers like Betsoft.

Here is an overview of a few of the biggest names in slots software and an idea of the games you can expect at casinos that use their technology:

Software	Type	Game Stats	Signature Games	Where to Play
Software	TypeFull Platform	Game Stats120+	Signature GamesAliens, Starburst	Where To Play
Software	TypeFull Platform	Game Stats400+	Signature GamesTomb Raider, Thunderstruck	Where To Play
Software	TypeFull Platform	Game Stats120+	Signature GamesMarvel Hero Slots like Iron Man 2	Where To Play
Software	TypeFull Platform	Game Stats60+	Signature GamesAll the I-slots	Where To Play
Software	TypeFull Platform	Game Stats120+	Signature GamesHen House, Gold Rally	Where To Play
Software	TypeFull Platform	Game Stats200+	Signature GamesBejewelled, King Kong	Where To Play
Software	TypeGames only	Game Stats30+	Signature GamesPsycho, Medusa II (A must play!)	Where To Play
Software	TypeGames only	Game Stats38	Signature GamesHigh quality games like Gunslinger and Gemix	Where To Play
Software	TypeGames only	Game Stats30+	Signature GamesLand-bases favorites like Cashwave	Where To Play
Software	TypeGames only	Game Stats12 high quality video slots plus many other games	Signature GamesRobotnik	Where To Play

How to pick an online slot machine

Picking an online slot machine to play comes down to a combination of personal taste and the various features that the slots game contains. There are hundreds of different online slots out there, each with its own theme, paytable structure, special features and bonus games. It can be a bit bewildering. So let's break down the different features and look at each one to help you decide what type of online slots you'd like to play...

Payout Percentage

The first (and possible most important) factor in choosing an online slot is the payout percentage. This is basically the theoretical percentage of return that you can expect to get from a slots game over time. It's also known as the "return to player" or the "house edge". The higher the payout percentage the better your return will be from the game the more you play it. Not all online slots providers or casinos list the payout percentage of their slots, but it's worth reading the description of the game to see if it is given, so that you can have an idea of which games give the higher return.

Top Prizes

The next factor to consider is the top prize. Here you'll find a huge variation between different slots. Some have quite small top prizes, say 1,000 coins, while other have big top payouts, like 15,000 to 50,000 coins. To translate that into real money you take the value of the coin you are better (let's say $1) and multiply it. So you can see that a big paying slot can pay out $50,000 on a $100 bet, for example, while a smaller paying slot may only pay out $1,000 on a $5 bet. You should also realise that because your bet is higher with the top paying slots, you risk losing more money while trying to hit the big prize, so make sure that you take that into account.

Smaller Prizes

Another factor is the secondary prize structure. This is arguably more important than the big prize amount, because you are statistically more likely to win secondary prizes than the big jackpot. You'll find this information in the slot's paytable, which is a list of all the payouts that you can expect for all the different winning combinations.

Coin Sizes

Coin denomination is another important factor. The larger the denomination, the bigger your bet, which means the bigger your risk but also the bigger your potential reward, because payouts are usually calculated as a number of coins paid out. So if the coin value is higher, naturally both the bet and the potential payout are higher. You will usually be able to set the coin denomination that you want to use. This tends to vary from 1c to $1, and you use the game controls to select the coin denomination that you wish to play with. For example, if you bet 5 coins at 1c denomination, your total bet is 5c and if you win 100 coins your win is $1. If you bet 5 coins at $1 denomination, your total bet is $5 and if you win 100 coins your win is $100.

Free Spins

Free spins are another factor to consider when choosing an online slot to play. They're a great way of earning extra prize money. Typically a certain combination on the reels will unlock the free spins feature, where you get a specified number of spins for free (without having to place a bet) and you get to keep any winnings.

Bonus Rounds

Lastly, the bonus features add an extra dimension to a slots game, in terms of fun and interest, and the potential to win additional cash prizes. There are different types of bonus features, from simple wheel spins to pick a box opportunities to interactive mini games that you can play.

Below are some of our favourite bonus features from various online slots

Our favourite online slots bonus rounds

These are our top 6 bonus rounds at the moment:

Our slots reviews have more information about these bonus games, as well as detailed overviews of each slot game itself.

Online slots payout percentages and return to player

We mentioned the payout percentage (also known as "return to player") previously, so now let's have a closer look at what this is. As we said, it's the return that a player can expect from a game, expressed as a percentage of the amount that you bet.

If, for instance, an online slot has a payout percentage of 80%, this means that for every dollar you bet you can expect to win 80 cents. Payout percentages for online slots usually vary between 80% and 95%, so it's obvious that it's in your interests to play the game with the higher payout percentage. Of course this doesn't take into account big wins - you may hit a great combination that pays you above the odds. It's simply a number that represents your return if you keep playing over and over without any big wins.

Not all software providers and casinos give the exact payout percentage for each game, but many of them do, for example, Microgaming and Playtech.

Top 5 slots based on RTP:

• Hot Ink (97.5%)
• Kathmandu (96.79%)
• Alaskan Fishing (96.63%)
• Big Kahuna Snakes & Ladders (96.86%)
• Big Top (96.94%)

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