Base game and a separate prize on one screen
In a jackpot game the reels spin just as they do in any slot. The difference is a second layer: a few named prizes – Mini, Major, Grand or similar – unlocked by a separate event, such as a full grid or a random draw.
This shelf is for players who already understand the payout percentage and know that the cost of a big prize shows up somewhere in the game’s maths.
A jackpot is not a ‘gift’ from the game. It is part of the RTP, just packed into a few rare outcomes.
The jackpot shelf at a glance
| Feature | On this shelf | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Prize type | A fixed multiplier, or a pool fed by many bets | A fixed prize scales with your stake; a pool does not |
| Tiers | Often 3–5, with the smallest hitting far more often | The ‘Grand’ is rarer than the display suggests |
| RTP split | Part goes to the base game, part to the prizes | In a short session the base game does the work, not the prize |
| Lobby tag | The ‘Jackpot’ tab does not check the mechanic | Expect both false hits and missing titles |
| Bonus rule | Under 2.15, ‘all Jackpot slots’ are excluded from wagering | You can’t be sure what counts |
Fixed multiplier, local pool, shared pot
A fixed jackpot equals a set multiple of your stake. If a tier is ×500, it pays 100 EUR at a 0.20 EUR stake and 500 EUR at 1 EUR. Other people’s play does not raise it.
A progressive or pool jackpot follows another logic. Each bet sends a small slice into the pool; when someone wins it, the pool restarts from a seed value. If one game or one casino feeds the pool, it is a local pool; if several sites share it, it is a network pool – that is where it grows fastest and where the top prize is rarest.
There are hybrids too, where the lower tiers are fixed and the top one grows. Which type a title uses is stated in the info panel or the studio’s description (rarely in the game’s name).
Jewel Boom Super Drop and Piggy Bank Hold&Win side by side
Two BGaming games in the Dukat.bet lobby show nicely what a fixed jackpot looks like in practice.
| Detail | Jewel Boom Super Drop | Piggy Bank Hold&Win |
|---|---|---|
| Grid | 3×1, 1 line | 3×3, with sticky coins |
| Jackpot | 5 fixed jackpots, per the studio | Mini ×25, Minor ×50, Major ×125, Grand ×500, Royal ×2,500 |
| Extra | Super Spins with multipliers up to ×100 | three ‘piggies’: multiplier, +3 spins, expansion |
| RTP / volatility (studio) | 96.50% / Medium-low | 96.98% / Medium |
| Top win | ×3,000 | ×2,500 |
| ‘Jackpot’ tag | yes | no |
In Piggy Bank the upper tiers are tied to the grid: a full 3×3 gives the Grand, and the grid expanded to 3×5 gives the Royal. The Royal’s ×2,500 is also the game’s maximum – here the jackpot is the ceiling itself. How the sticky coins work is broken down on the Hold & Win shelf.
Neither title carries a ‘Nodemoplay’ marker, so going by the lobby both appear to have a demo. The percentages above are BGaming’s own figures – which RTP version runs on Dukat.bet is not publicly indicated.
Mega Rise: a jackpot tag with no jackpot
Red Tiger’s Mega Rise is a 3×3 slot with 5 lines and a multiplier bar that climbs to 100×. According to the studio it has no jackpot, yet in the lobby it wears the ‘Jackpot’ tag – while Piggy Bank, with its real tiers, did not get one.
So the tab is a search aid, not a data sheet. In a word: verify.
‘All Jackpot slots’: what point 2.15 covers
Alongside the long list of excluded slots, point 2.15 of the Dukat.bet bonus terms contains a catch-all phrase: ‘all Jackpot slots’ are excluded from wagering. Whether this refers to the lobby tag or to the actual mechanic is not made clear anywhere public.
Jewel Boom Super Drop is both tagged and has jackpots, so it most likely does not count. Piggy Bank has jackpots but no tag; Mega Rise is the reverse. With an active bonus, check the exclusion list before spinning a title like this; the terms are collected in the bonus dictionary.
Vetting a jackpot title in six steps
- Open the info panel and find the jackpot description, not just the display.
- Decide whether it is fixed or growing: do you see a multiplier (×25, ×500) or a rising euro amount?
- Check the condition: what unlocks the prize, and whether a minimum stake level is required.
- Compare it with the studio’s description to see whether the tag is right.
- Note the studio’s RTP figure and volatility rating, plus the cap if there is one.
- Fix your budget – amount and time – before the first spin.
How much of the RTP a rare tier is worth
Worked example with invented values – independent of Dukat.bet:
The top tier of an invented slot is ×500, with a 1 in 50,000 chance per spin. How much does it add to the total RTP, and what is the chance of hitting it at least once in 2,000 spins?
Solution. The contribution is 500 / 50,000 = 0.01, i.e. 1 percentage point. If the game’s RTP is 96%, the remaining 95% goes to the base game and the smaller tiers. The chance of at least one hit is 1 − (1 − 1/50,000)^2,000 ≈ 3.9%.
In plain terms: it lands in roughly one session out of twenty-five, and in the rest you are playing a 95% game. What that means for a small budget is shown in the risk levels lesson.
Three questions before the ticker starts
- Which prize are you really playing for? The smallest tier comes often; the top one almost never within a single session.
- What is the prize at your stake? With a fixed multiplier, work it out in euros before raising your bet.
- Do you have an active bonus? If so, 2.15 makes this shelf uncertain ground.
Next, take a look at the Hold & Win shelf, where the tiers are built from sticky coins.