8 Helpful Tips for Playing Slot Machines

Scour the internet and you’re likely to come across many articles that suggest how you can ‘beat the casinos’. Although that is the dream of many gamblers, the likely reality is that you’re going to get a good few hours of fun for your money.

With that in mind, we’ve created a list of 8 helpful tips for playing online slot machines to ensure your money goes as far as it can to maximise the enjoyment you’re fully entitled to!

Choose Reputable Casinos

It should go without saying that the number one rule is to always play at a licensed and regulated UK online casino. 

All of the UK casinos on Gambling.com are fully licensed by the UK Gambling Commission - the regulator of all gambling properties, both land-based and online.

The UKGC put strict requirements in-place for all casino operators to ensure gaming is conducted in a fair manner, along with the protection of player funds.

Practice in Demo Mode

There is no requirement to jump straight into the action of gambling with real money. Most online casinos offer the chance to play top slots in demo mode if you’re a registered player.

This is a great opportunity to try new games and experience the bonus features - there’s nothing more disappointing than managing to hit the bonus after 200 spins and find out you really didn’t enjoy it.

So the next time you’re browsing the games lobby of your favourite new UK casino, hit the ‘Demo’ button of the most popular slot games to experience what new game features are available.

Know How Online Slots Work

Online slot games use a Random Number Generator (RNG) to decide the outcome of a game round.

The RNG is an algorithm that takes a seed value, which is run through a number of mathematical steps to achieve a random result.

Every game round is independent of another and there is no way to tell if a game is likely to pay out or not. Some games may be listed as ‘Hot’ or ‘Cold’ but this is only based on its current output and is in no way indicative of its future performance.

When you press the ‘Spin’ button, a message is sent to the Remote Gaming Server (RGS), which starts the process of generating a random game result.

The images you see on your screen are purely a visual representation of the result from the RGS.

Select Your Game Carefully (or Understand Volatility & RTP)

Not all slot games are created equal. They’re usually classed as ‘Low’, ‘Medium’ and ‘High’ volatility.

Volatility is determined by how frequently you spin a winning combination and how much that win pays - a game with a higher hit frequency of smaller amounts will usually be rated as low volatility. Conversely, a lower hit frequency with larger payouts would be rated as a high volatility game.

A lower volatility slot game will usually enable a longer playing session with less swings of your balance. However, if you are looking for bigger wins, we would recommend playing a high volatility game.

Slot performance is rated by a metric called Return to Player (RTP), which is how much a player can expect to receive back in payouts over a given cycle.

Although many consider it a deciding factor in whether to play a slot game or not, this figure is only true over millions and millions of cycles.

Limit Progressive Jackpot Play

Progressive jackpot slots offer life-changing sums to be won - Wheel of Wishes WowPot! Paid one lucky punter more than £32 million in December 2023.

While nobody is knocking the appeal of such a dream pay day, do bear in mind that for every £1 you play on a progressive jackpot slot, around 10% of that will feed the prize pool.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t play progressive jackpot slots - it’s just that you should be aware that your base game wins are going to be lower and often less frequent as it’s all about that bumper payday progressive jackpot.

Take Advantage of Casino Offers

With such fierce competition for your business, UK players have an incredible choice of online casinos and casino offers to take advantage of.

Welcome bonuses are an excellent way to boost your balance and allow for more playing time, particularly if you lose your initial deposit.

You will find an incredible array of welcome bonuses at Gambling.com, which often match your first deposit. You can join as many casinos and take up as many welcome bonuses as you desire.

Whether you accept a casino welcome bonus or not, you can always enjoy other regular promotions that may include cashback, reload bonuses, free spins and VIP reward schemes.

Understand the Terms & Conditions of a Casino Bonus

The biggest bone of contention for players taking a casino deposit bonus is falling foul of the terms and conditions. This can result in forfeiture of winnings when you play using bonus funds.

However, a little familiarity with the most common T&Cs can prevent unfortunate incidents like this.

UK players are lucky enough to have such stringent gaming regulations that prohibit ‘sticky’ bonuses - this means that your deposit and winnings must be withdrawable at any point and cannot be locked to a bonus offer.

Yes, you will usually have to forfeit the bonus - but you will have achieved the main objective when making the deposit, which is to win and make a withdrawal!

The other main things to consider when taking up a casino bonus are:

• Game Restrictions - bonus funds can often be restricted for play on specific games
• Wagering Requirements - bonus funds will always need to be wagered before they are eligible for withdrawal
• Maximum Withdrawal - some bonuses will have a maximum amount of bonus funds that can be converted to withdrawable cash 
• Maximum Bet - you may be confined by maximum betting limits when playing with bonus funds - these tend to be around £4 or £5

Understand Wagering Requirements

Wagering requirements are the main key to unlocking your casino bonus winnings.

 Put simply, it’s the multiple that your bonus money must be played before being converted to real money and available to withdraw.

As an example, if you deposit £20 and receive a £20 casino bonus with 35x wagering requirements, that means you will need to place wagers of at least £700 before the bonus funds are available to withdraw.

This may seem like an insurmountable figure - and admittedly it’s not ‘easy’ - but with some decent wins it is wholly achievable.

Bankroll Management / Bet Responsibly

To maximise your enjoyment and playing time, always choose a sensible stake level and play within your limits.

A reasonable rule of thumb is to play no more than 1% of your balance, per spin. For example, if you deposit £20, you really shouldn’t be playing more than 20p per spin. At least until you start winning!

Managing your bankroll requires discipline but ensures you will enjoy your playing session without seeing ‘red mist’ and start chasing your losses.

All UK online casinos provide responsible gambling tools that include setting deposit limits, a reality check, self assessment, time-outs and self-exclusion.

Some also offer the chance to set limits on how much you can wager per spin.