Online Penny Slots

Going back a decade or so, you used to be able to rock up to a land-based casino in the US, put a penny in a slot, and pull the lever to try your luck. But casino technology has come a long way since then. We bet you’ve come here because you want to know if there are still slots you can play with just 1 cent per spin, and can you play these penny slots online?

We are about to dive deep into what these slot games are, the best penny slot machines to play at the casino and the top online casinos in the USA where you can play them for free or real money!

Best Online Casinos to Play Penny Slots

What to Expect from Online Penny Slots?

Firstly, let’s get started with what penny slots are. These games come in a number of different themes, with unique features, free spins bonuses, and even jackpots. While they don’t make up a category of their own, they are slots that you can play with a bet of only $0.01 per line.

This is where things can get complicated because providers can use different terms such as coins, credits, and bet levels. You will be able to set your stake per spin by adjusting any of these settings.

On any slot game, the number of paylines, your bet per payline, and whether or not the paylines are adjustable will determine your total bet per spin.

On Megaways slots, the bet options are worked out differently. You will see a minimum bet per spin (usually anywhere from $0.40 to $1.00), which you can multiply to suit your budget.

History of Penny Slots

As we mentioned before, penny slots started as games you could play at brick-and-mortar casinos in the US, as well as arcades and even bars. A punter would be able to literally put a penny in the slot and pull the lever to spin the reels and potentially win!

These old slots would likely only have one win line and were pretty basic yet fun to play nonetheless. The aim of the game (as with all slots) was to have the reels stop with matching symbols showing on the same position across the payline.

Nowadays, slots are more complicated than these simple machines. You rarely find classic slots like this, especially at land-based US casinos. There’s only one land-based casino in Las Vegas where you can still play coin slots. However, you find plenty of online penny games for real money.

Benefits of Playing Penny Casino Slots

Why would you choose to play penny slots over other types of slots? Below we will list some of the main reasons why players prefer this type of slot:

• You can play penny slots for free no download. You don’t need to download any special software to play these slots. Most slots also have a demo or free play option, so you can test out the game before you stake real pennies!
• You don’t have to be a high-roller to play. That’s right, by the very nature of the game, you can play these slots on minimum bet. If you have a small gaming budget, you can still play them. Beware of penny slots that don’t have adjustable bet lines, though, because even if you can change the bet to $0.01 per line, you might have a high stake per spin if the game has 50 or 100 lines!
• You can enjoy flexible wagering. Only a few online penny slots have 1 win line, and the vast majority will have 5, 10, 20, or even 100 paylines. Some slots have fixed paylines, so even if you play with a cent bet per line, you have to multiply that by the number of paylines to get your bet amount per spin. However, some slots allow you to turn betlines on and off so you can choose how many lines you want to bet on. This way, you can easily decrease or increase your stake per spin to suit your budget.
• You can win big even on a small bet. Even if you are playing with $0.01 per line, you can still get big payouts if you land high-paying symbols on your win line. You can even land a huge prize pot if you play a progressive penny slot. Of course, wins aren’t guaranteed on any slot machine as they are all based on random number generators (RNGs), but that’s where luck comes in!

How to Win on Penny Slots

When you play any type of casino game for real money, you want to know how you can win. In demo mode, you will be able to play penny slot machines for free, but you won’t win for real. Every slot has different rules, so it’s best to check the paytable before you start spinning.

Let’s look at the various ways you can win:

1. Match up symbols on a payline. Matching symbols are the bread and butter of all slot wins! Paylines show the paths of the positions that matching symbols have to land on for you to get a payout, and they can be straight, diagonal, or zig-zag. On a standard 5-reel slot, you’ll have small payouts for 3x matches, medium payouts for 4x matches, and big payouts for 5x matches on a payline. Almost always, paylines pay from left to right, but some penny games will pay both ways.
2. Hit the special feature. Some of the best things about slots are the special features, and penny slot machines are no strangers to some cool bonus games! You’re not guaranteed to hit the feature when you’re playing, but, if you do, you’re most likely to get those massive payouts during a feature rather than during the main game! Many providers save a lot of the return to player (RTP) percentage for the features. These can include anything from win multipliers to reel nudges, symbol transformation, and more. Check the paytable for the rules on how to trigger the bonus; you will most likely need to land at least three bonus symbols. Otherwise, you might have random slot features that can trigger at any time!
3. Win the free spins bonus. As you can from special slot features, you can get some super mega wins during free spins rounds on penny slots. It doesn’t always happen, and sometimes you can use up your 10 or 20 free spins and go back to the main game without a big payout, but at least your bankroll won’t have gone down. As with features, the free spins can be where a lot of the slot RTP is hiding, especially on a high volatility game. To win the free spins, you will probably have to land 3 or more scatter symbols.
4. Land the jackpot. Jackpot penny slots can have fixed or progressive jackpots. You can still win the jackpot even if you are playing with 1 cent per line bet. To land the jackpot, you might have first to trigger the free spins or the special feature. Otherwise, you might have to land 3x scatter or jackpot symbols on one spin. It depends on the game, but the paytable will show you how to get the jackpot!

How Much Can You Win with Online Penny Slots?

This depends on the category of penny slot that you prefer or choose to play. Keep on reading to find out more about those, as we go over the categories a bit later. If the penny slot you’re playing doesn’t have a jackpot, you can usually win between 500x and 10,000x your bet per line. A $0.01 stake, could net you from $5.00 to $100.00 on a single spin.

Jackpot penny slots are a different ballgame altogether. The payouts you can get on those will depend on when the pot last dropped, and the percentage of the pot that you can win can sometimes (but not always) depend on your bet size. Some progressive jackpots on these games can get up into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars!

Penny Slots Strategy

All you regular players out there will know there isn’t a slot strategy you can follow to help you win. All online slots, including penny slot machines, are based on random number generators (RNGs). These RNGs ensure the result of each spin is completely random and that you can’t influence it by playing in a certain way.

There are a few steps you can follow to get the most enjoyment out of your gameplay:

1. Choose a game that suits you. Play a low volatility penny slot if you like frequent, small wins and more chilled gameplay. Go for highly volatile penny slot machines if you prefer risking long stints without payouts to potentially get that big win!
2. Check the paytable. Looking at the paytable will help you understand the game before you start playing. You can quickly spot the high-paying symbols, figure out the special features, how to trigger the free spins, and how to win the jackpot.
3. Set your bet per spin. Does the slot have different coin sizes, credits and bet levels? If so, how do those settings correspond to the paylines? Check if you can turn win lines on and off and how to adjust your bet per line.
4. Stick to your budget. Whether you’re playing with 1c bets or 20c bets, don’t go over your budget. Let the high-rollers do their thing and stay within your limits. You’re just as likely to win with $0.01 per spin as you are with $5.00 per spin, so gamble responsibly.

Best Penny Slot Machines to Play

Finding the best online penny slots for real money is not easy! Not all casinos or slot providers give you the correct bet information when you’re playing in demo mode. You often have to log into your casino account and open the game to check the minimum bet. Some casinos even have a section for penny slots but don’t even give you a list of the games you can actually play with $0.01!

Luckily, we’ve scoured the web and the top US casinos to bring you a list of the best games that you can play with a penny per spin.

Age of the Gods: God of Storms

Age of the Gods: God of Storms is a progressive penny slot by Playtech. It’s a mythology-themed slot, like the others in the AOTG series. It’s packed with special features and features 4 jackpots!

• Number of Paylines: Up to 25
• Adjustable Paylines: Yes
• Minimum bet per Payline: $0.01
• Minimum bet per Spin: $0.01
• Maximum Payout per Payline: 500x your bet for 5x Gods

Rainbow Riches

Rainbow Riches is a classic penny slot by Barcrest. This Irish-themed slot has been popular for over a decade, and it’s still a favorite amongst many payers. It has three different special features: Road to Riches, Wishing Well and Pots of Gold.

• Number of Paylines: Up to 20
• Adjustable Paylines: Yes
• Minimum bet per Payline: $0.01
• Minimum bet per Spin: $0.01
• Maximum Payout per Payline: 500x your bet for 5 Wilds

Rise of Merlin

Play’n Go’s Rise of Merlin is a penny slot based on a fantasy theme. Play’n Go is a relatively new provider to US casinos, so you might not find this slot everywhere but, if you do, it’s great for players on a low budget. Rise of Merlin features free spins with a special expanding symbol.

• Number of Paylines: Up to 10
• Adjustable Paylines: Yes
• Minimum bet per Payline: $0.01
• Minimum bet per Spin: $0.01
• Maximum Payout per Payline: 5,000x your bet for 5x Wilds or Merlin symbols

Great Blue Jackpot

Great Blue Jackpot is a jackpot penny slot from Playtech. This underwater slot has 4 different jackpots which you can win when you’re playing with just 1 cent bets. You can also win up to a 15x win multiplier and free spins, which can re-trigger indefinitely!

• Number of Paylines: Up to 25
• Adjustable Paylines: Yes
• Minimum bet per Payline: $0.01
• Minimum bet per Spin: $0.01
• Maximum Payout per Payline: 10,000x your bet for 5x Wilds

Captain’s Treasure

We’re staying in the sea with this last penny slot, Captain’s Treasure. Another gem from Playtech, this slot has a lot of devoted followers. It has no added features, it’s a straight-up slot where Wilds double your wins.

• Number of Paylines: Up to 9
• Adjustable Paylines: Yes
• Minimum bet per Payline: $0.01
• Minimum bet per Spin: $0.01
• Maximum Payout per Payline: 5,000x your bet

Categories of Real Penny Slots Online

Depending on the kind of player you are, you might prefer one category over another. Players who like regular payouts during their gaming sessions will prefer non-progressive slots. On the other hand, players who hang on for that millionaire-maker jackpot will prefer progressive jackpot slots. We’ll go over each category in more detail below.

Progressive Penny Slots

If you like to play the lottery and go for that million-dollar prize pot, you might enjoy progressive penny games. The jackpots on these games rise and rise until they drop and pay out thousands or even millions of dollars to a lucky player. A small percentage of each bet goes into the pot. The jackpot can be local to a casino, so only players from that casino contribute, or else they can be linked to other casinos - and that’s when the amounts get really insane! Out of our top 5 picks, Great Blue Jackpot is a progressive game.

Non-Progressive Penny Slots

Not every player is a dreamer, and some prefer to go slow and steady. That’s where non-progressive games come in. These can have fixed jackpots (which are essentially big payouts of a fixed amount depending on your bet) or normal payouts. The majority of penny slots are non-progressive games. From our top picks, Captain’s Treasure, Rise of Merlin and Rainbow Riches fit into this category.

Can You Play Penny Slots on Mobile?

You can absolutely play them for free on your mobile! Depending on the casino you choose to play at, either you will be able to play on your phone’s browser, or you can download the casino’s mobile app.

Free Penny Slots for Android

One of the best casinos to play free penny slots on your Android is Mohegan Sun. You can play a lot of their slots in demo mode on your phone. They also offer real money gameplay in New Jersey.

Free Penny Slots for iPhone

Resorts Casino has perhaps the top iPhone casino app for free play. They have the biggest selection by far! You also have the option to play for real money at Resorts if you’re based in New Jersey.

What You Should Know About Penny Slots

The name can be deceiving, which is vital for you to keep in mind. As we have mentioned earlier, you can play for free or with one cent per line, but some penny slots don’t have adjustable paylines. That means, even if you set your bet to $0.01 per payline, you might have to pay $0.10, $0.20, or even up to $1 per spin if the slot has multiple paylines.

Can You Play Penny Slots with 1 Cent Bets?

Yes, there are many slots that you can play with a $0.01 bet. You need to find slots that enable you to switch paylines on and off and adjust your bet per line. Most slots nowadays have way more than 1 payline, so even if you play with a penny per line, you might end up betting upwards of 10 cents per spin if the paylines aren’t adjustable. For example, Captain’s Treasure by Playtech has 9 paylines, but you can turn off all lines except one and set your bet at just $0.01 per line, so you’ll be playing with just 1 cent per spin!

Penny Slot Machines vs Other Slot Machines

The difference between penny slots and other slot games is that you can play the former with a minimum bet of $0.01 per win line and even $0.01 per spin. On some penny slot machines, you can change your bet easily to 1 cent per line but you’ll still have to bet on all paylines, so your bet could be 20 cents or even up to a dollar per spin. On other slot machines, the minimum bet could be $0.05 per line or more.

On Divine Fortune by NetEnt, you can choose the lowest bet level, which is 1 cent per coin, but you have to bet on all lines, taking your minimum bet per spin to $0.20. On Book of Dead by Play’n Go, you can actually bet on just one payline but the minimum bet per line is $0.20 so your minimum bet per spin is also 20 cents, just calculated in another way.