Online slot machines have been creating millionaires since they first appeared in the 1990s. As online casino technology improves and progressive jackpot networks grow larger by the year, we continue to see truly staggering wins that set new records. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest online slot jackpots in history and the lucky players who hit them.
Software Glitch Turns Small Bet into $20 Million
In 2009, a software glitch in the Mega Moolah slot from Microgaming led one man to trigger the jackpot bonus round on a $0.25 bet. The minimum bet was supposed to be $5, but he walked away with the full $20 million prize. It’s the largest jackpot ever won at Neo Spin Casino from a single slot spin. Microgaming honored the payout but made changes to prevent it from occurring again.
Athena Slot Produces $17 Million Jackpot
When a player in Sweden hit the jackpot on the Athena slot in 2018, it set the record for the largest mobile jackpot in history at €17.8 million (over $$20 million). The Athena slot, developed by Swedish studio Nolimit City, has a special feature where one lucky spin can award 100% of the progressive prize.
Two Wins of $15 Million+ on Mega Moolah
The infamous Mega Moolah slot has produced some truly staggering jackpots from its multimillion dollar prize pool:
- In 2015, British soldier Jon Heywood won an unbelievable £13.2 million (around $20 million USD) from a £0.25 bet. His record win held up for over 3 years.
- An anonymous player shattered Heywood’s record in 2018 by winning a €18.9 million ($21.7 million) mega jackpot from Mega Moolah. That win still holds the record for the largest online slot jackpot today.
Biggest Mobile Jackpot – $14.5 Million on Hall of Gods
Mega Fortune might be the most famous NetEnt slot, but it was actually the Hall of Gods slot that awarded a world record €17.8 million ($20 million) jackpot to a Finnish player in 2021. It officially holds the Guinness World Record for the largest mobile jackpot in history.
| Year | Slot Game | Jackpot Amount | Player Country |
| 2018 | Mega Moolah | $21.7 million | UK |
| 2024 | Hall of Gods | $14.5 million | Finland |
| 2009 | Mega Moolah | $20 million | NA |
| 2018 | Athena | $17.8 million | Sweden |
| 2015 | Mega Moolah | $13.2 million | UK |
As you can see in the table, most of the biggest online slot jackpots have been won on Microgaming or NetEnt slots. These two providers have some of the largest progressive prize pools running across hundreds of online casinos.
Why Do Progressive Slots Produce Such Big Wins?
Games like Mega Moolah, Hall of Gods, and Athena are known as progressive slots. These games have jackpots that increase over time as more players spin across the world. A tiny percentage of every bet adds to the prize pool.
Some progressives at the largest online casinos climb to multimillion dollar amounts, which allows them to pay life-changing sums when one lucky player triggers the jackpot bonus. Many progressives have paid 5, 10, or even 20 million dollars to individual winners.
Seed Funds Ensure Big Jackpots
To start a progressive prize pool at an exciting level, the game provider puts up an initial sum called the seed to fund the jackpot. NetEnt and Microgaming seed their biggest progressives at $1 million to attract players.
Connected Jackpot Networks
Progressive slots are connected online across hundreds of casinos running the same software platform. With so many players betting across so many casinos, the top prizes grow rapidly. Individual wins take just a tiny fraction from the total jackpot pool.
British Soldier Wins Record $20 Million Jackpot Twice
Could you imagine winning $20 million on an online slot, then repeating that incredible feat 3 years later? That’s exactly what happened to British soldier Jon Heywood.
Heywood made headlines around the world in 2015 when he won a £13.2 million ($20 million) progressive jackpot on the Mega Moolah slot from Microgaming. His record win was so unbelievable that Guinness World Records recognized him for the “Largest jackpot payout in an online slot machine game.”
In a shocking turn of events, Heywood won another £1 million jackpot on Mega Moolah just a few years later! Lightning had struck twice for the lucky slot player. He says he still plays the game that made him a multimillionaire, chasing another life-changing score.
“It was incredible to win once, but twice was truly astonishing,” Heywood said. “It just goes to show, lightning can strike twice when you least expect it!”
While not in the billions, Heywood’s back-to-back huge jackpot wins are an incredible slots success story that may never be duplicated. It seems Mega Moolah delivered some mega millions for this very fortunate British soldier.
Final Thoughts: Anything is Possible in Online Slots
Online slot machines have truly changed lives with their multimillion dollar jackpots. The incredible wins described above were all awarded to ordinary people, who never expected their tiny bets could earn such staggering sums.
“I’ve seen first-hand how these games can pay life-changing money from just a small spin,” said Fredrik Elmqvist, CEO of Yggdrasil Gaming.
As slot providers compete to offer the biggest prizes, we will undoubtedly see even larger jackpots in the future. With so many massive seven-figure wins already on record, one has to ask: just how high can these progressive slots go? For such games, it seems the sky’s the limit.
So next time you spin an online slot, remember – in the world of gambling, anything can happen. One lucky bet is all it takes to land your name in the history books.