With the release of the Jack Hammer 3 Diamond Affair slot review, our little slot reviews website has crossed a new milestone.
It may not be as big as some of the other video slot game review sites, but we take pride in each review we write, making sure we take the time to play, gamble, and form our own opinions.
No AI or machine learning here. Just people with a passion, writing for the love of casino games.
After 10 years and 3,000 slots played, we look at some of the changes we’ve seen, what stays the same, and our promise that, as long as you keep coming back to read, we’ll keep creating great showcase videos, honest reviews, and finding great online casino bonuses for you to enjoy.
#1. the future of online casinos WAS mobile and tablets
When we first started, we were maybe two of a handful of players who enjoyed mobile casino games. Everyone played online on their desktop. We wanted to showcase the few slot machines that played well on your phone.
Mobile gambling was just starting, and we were on a mission to convince people to play on their iPhones, iPads, and Androids. Well, the world caught up, and now (according to the UK Gambling Commission), three-quarters of in-play bettors have used a mobile phone to gamble, compared to 50% of online gamblers overall.
The numbers don’t lie, and neither do the games. There’s now no difference between mobile and online slots.
It does make the name of our site a bit redundant, but hey, hindsight is a b***h.
#2. We continue to help protect players because some things never change
The bright side: the online gambling industry has come leaps and bounds from the wild days when you logged in and hoped they would pay out. Now that we have decent regulatory bodies and licenses, from the Malta Gaming Authority to the UK Gambling Commission to the Spelinspektionen, gamblers are better protected than ever.
And yet. And yet. Want to know one of our most consistent top 10 most read pages? Slot reviews come and go, but “What Happens If An Online Casino Doesn’t Pay?” is forever.
Despite the best licenses and reputation, greed will always get the better of even the biggest online casinos. And sometimes, you need to know exactly what to do if you feel you’ve not been treated fairly.
#3. Video slots machines have gotten bigger and better
That’s not hyperbole. Grid slots started it with their 5×5 reels that pay all ways, but then Megaways video slots took the horse by the rein and took over the race in a way we could never have predicted.
117,649 ways to win were here to stay, and every slot studio jumped on board, creating vastly different flavours of Megaways games, each outdoing the other in their mechanics.
Who Wants to Be A Millionaire Rush gave you Megaclusters, opening up 100 symbol wins. Thor 10K Ways has 10,000 ways to win and one symbol that can instantly win you 10,000x your bet. Or how about Papaya Pop, where the reel will expand by one symbol on each win, giving you a huge 118,098 betways? Or the Possessed slot with those dramatic xWays, xNudge, and xActivations?
Now, we love a more grounded slot with 10 to 20 paylines occasionally. But you have to admit that the line between slot machines and video games has blurred so much that it can be hard to tell one from the other.
#4. Video slots paying less than 5,000x your bet? Bah! Why play?
Once upon a time, noone knew their variance from their slot volatility, and that’s ok. You’d play. You’d win 100x your bet. You walked away happy.
It’s crazy to think we were satisfied playing on Rainbow Riches with a top win of 500x our bet now, right?
Bigger and better video slots mean bigger and better top wins. Ridiculous top wins. As gamblers have gotten smarter and started reading more slot reviews (you’re welcome), game studios started crafting games for more seasoned players.
Games with huge top wins of 5,000x your bet like in Book of Dead. And then moving on to what is now the acceptable minimum of 10,000x your bet max wins,like in the Gears of Horus.
And then there’s NoLimit City Slots. If you want wins of 40,000x to 50,000x your bet and games that make you feel like Mad Max on a good day, check them out. No limits, but no pain, no gain.
One of the highest paying slots without a jackpot has to be NetEnt’s Starburst XXXtreme with up to 200,000x bet wins.
#5. Casino reviews matter less, but always take a second look at the casino bonus and terms
We will always review online casinos because we like finding somewhere new to play and sharing in that joy. But for the most part, as long as you play on a regulated licensed casino, most casinos will provide you with safe place to play online slot machines.
They can afford to pay out the wins if they have those machines on the books. If they don’t, the game studios and the regulatory bodies will come down on them like a ton of bricks.
Casinos can still exert some black hat marketing methods in the casino bonus and their terms and conditions.
We’d bet our right foot that a good 70% of casinos won’t pay out a big win because you’ve done it using a bonus, and there are bonus wagering requirements or max win limits associated with them.
Remember when they say nothing in life is free? Beware of free casino bonuses that sound too good to be true; they usually are. When in doubt, use our casino bonus calculator to figure out the odds of you walking away with anything after you play.
For the most part, we think it’s best to play with your real money budget, but if you do need help bulking up your wad of playable casino cash, we’ve got you covered.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the best online casino bonuses, which offer value for money and reasonable terms at reputable casinos we trust.
#6. We are grateful for every one of our readers over the years
We started our website as a labour of love. We have only managed to continue writing and playing slot machines as a living because you keep coming back and reading.
We make no secret that if you choose to play at one of our recommended sites, we will make a small commission that doesn’t affect your bonus, gameplay, or casino experience. It’s how we keep the website up and running.
Our focus has been and will always be on continuing to write honest slot game reviews. We have 278 slot reviews that bear the mark of death of 1 or 2 stars—frankly, the reason we don’t have more is that we are a small team, so we have to focus on the best rather than the worst.
But if a big game claims to be the best and isn’t, we promise we’ll be the first to say it.
For the most part, unless a slot game has a terrible return to player rate and wins, most games will fall under the ‘very playable, it’s ok’ 3-star rating – those account for 1210 of our game reviews.
It’s not enough to simply read what you’ll find in the slot. You need to know that the slot machine you are about to spend money on is worth your time. Because your time and money are precious.
And over the years, we’ve never forgotten that. We will continue to ensure our reviews are honest, helpful, and written by humans.
Thanks for reading, and happy spinning.
