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Online Slot Tournaments: How Do They Work?

Slot Machine

Slot tournaments are usually events held at brick-and-mortar casino venues but the popularity of online gaming has now led these events to do online. Today, you’ll find plenty of casino websites offering online slot tournaments but for anyone new to them, they can be a little confusing. If that applies to you, keep reading to discover how online slot tournaments work and how you can start enjoying them.

What Are Slot Tournaments?

Slot tournaments are basically competitions in which multiple players compete against each other in a select slot game to make the most points or reach the top of the leaderboard. Depending on the casino venue and online casino website, the winning player will usually receive the top prize and some venues and websites may also award other prizes for run-up players.

As already mentioned, slot tournaments are usually played at brick-and-mortar casino venues but they can also be found at online casinos too. However, some online casinos refer to tournaments with other names, normally Spinoffs.

How Do You Play Online Slot Tournaments?

Generally speaking, there are two ways of playing slot tournaments and it depends on the online casino. If the online casino you’re registered with offers regular slot tournaments, the process usually involves you simply purchasing a ticket to the spinoff or tournament.

However, some online casinos may require you to have deposited in the last seven days to purchase a ticket and enter the competition. After you’ve purchased a ticket, you’ll be credited a limited number of spins on a select slot and will have to use the spins.

Casinos that do not offer regular slot tournaments may occasionally offer tournaments as special limited-time promotions. These tournaments usually follow the same rules as those explained above but these promotions may sometimes allow you to earn tickets by making a deposit and playing certain slots. You may also find that these promotional tournaments run for a longer period of time than the tournaments offered by a casino on a regular basis.

Note: Slot tournaments follow the traditional slot rules, meaning you’ll always be required to spin the reels to make wins. Although you won’t be able to adjust your wager, you’ll still have access to any of the slot’s special features to help you make more wins.

How Are Winners Calculated?

All online slot tournaments or spinoffs have leaderboards which are used to determine who is winning. The winnings you make using your limited number of slot spins are converted into points and added to the player leaderboard, and you will be given a position on the leaderboard.

Most online slot tournaments will allow you to rebuy tickets or earn new tickets for the slot tournament. Additional winnings made on the slot tournament will not add to your original point score but if your end score is better than your initial score, the updated score will be added to the leaderboard.

This means that you are free to re-enter slot tournaments as much as you’d like to try and gain a higher position on the player leaderboard, but this greatly depends on the casino and how long the tournament or spinoff is available. What’s more, we’ll highlight again that points and winnings made in these competitions are not cumulative and reentering a tournament only provides you with a chance of a higher leaderboard position if you manage to land a higher score.

What Can You Win?

The prizes offered through online slot tournaments depend on the online casino. Most casino websites will provide you with a selection of free spins as a reward but others may offer cash prizes or bonus funds as prizes for ranking in the top places.

Other online casinos, normally those that run tournaments as special promotions, tend to offer bigger and greater prizes. For example, BGO regularly runs promotional online slot tournaments and offers the latest technology as prizes including iPhones, Macbooks, iPads, and so much more.

Note: You can always check what prizes are available in a slot tournament before joining it, allowing you to assess whether or not the competition is worth it for you.

Brick-And-Mortar Slot Tournaments & Online Tournaments: What’s The Difference?

Now that you know more about online slot tournaments, it’s worth taking a look at how these competitions differ at brick-and-mortar casino venues. Although they generally follow the same rules, there are some slight differences. For example, there are many more types of brick-and-mortar slot tournaments including:

  • Freeroll: Free of charge and usually offered by casino venues
  • Feeder: You must pay an entry fee to a regular slot tournament that offers free entry to a bigger tournament as a prize
  • Sit and Go: A quick game in which a small group of people all play against each other at the same time
  • Survival: A tournament with multiple rounds where only the highest-scoring players can stay on

These are the main slot tournaments that you’ll find at brick-and-mortar casinos. As mentioned, some casinos may invite customers to freeroll tournaments but most require you to purchase a ticket or pay an entry fee.

Playing Real-Life Slot Tournaments & The Prizes

In terms of playing these competitions, brick-and-mortar slot tournaments generally follow the same rules as online tournaments but there are again some slight differences. First of all, you’ll need to actually visit the casino venue and use a real slot machine to take part in these tournaments, rather than playing online from home.

Depending on the casino, some venues will give you a set amount of time to make wins rather than a set amount of spins which means that you’ll have to work harder than your opponents to make wins and land more frequent spins.

For longer tournaments, particularly those that are Survival-based and include various rounds, you may be required to return to the casino more than once in the same day or maybe the next day.

Finally, brick-and-mortar slot tournaments will generally only offer you cash prizes. The money offered will depend on the individual casino venue as well as the tournament. For example, free tournaments and competitions with fewer people will generally offer a smaller prize while bigger tournaments and Survival competitions offer more money. However, there may be some casino venues which mix-up their prizes and do something different.

What’s Better To Play: Real-Life Or Online?

There are advantages and disadvantages to playing both online slot tournaments and real-life tournaments. Many people enjoy playing slot tournaments at brick-and-mortar casinos because you’re at a real casino and can enjoy the atmosphere and meet fellow players.

However, many people prefer playing online tournaments because they can be played anywhere including from the comfort of your own home and they generally offer much better prizes. There’s no travel involved and these competitions are much more widely accessible since they can be found at numerous online casinos.

Have a think about the different drawbacks and advantages to the different ways of playing and see what appeals to you most. The biggest factor is whether or not you can regularly travel to a casino venue to enjoy these competitions. If not, playing online may be a better option for you.

Where Can I Play Online Slot Tournaments

As already mentioned, online slot tournaments are widely available at online casinos. However, there are some casino websites which run these competitions more frequently or regularly than others. Take a look here for some suggestions of online casinos that offer slot tournaments.

PlayOJO

PlayOJO is a popular online casino that is known for its vast game selection and number of promotions. Included are regular online slot tournaments which are available multiple times a day and offer great prizes like free spins which can then be used on slots available at PlayOJO. You can read more about PlayOJO and why so many people in the UK enjoy playing there by reading our PlayOJO review.

SlotsMillion

SlotsMillion is a slot-centric online casino which overs thousands of unique and fun video slots. Considering the name, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that SlotsMillion also offers regular tournaments for you to enjoy. Like with PlayOJO, you will need to pay a buy-in entry fee and can win real money prizes distributed to the top three players. Discover more about SlotsMillion with our review here.

BGO Casino

BGO Casino is another popular online casino in the United Kingdom. The site, which has been around since 2012, is well-known for offering a great selection of casino games, bingo titles, and virtual betting too. BGO is also praised for offering regular bonuses and promotions and for frequently running limited-time slot tournaments where you can win some of the latest technology as prizes. Check out our BGO Casino review for more information on the site.

VideoSlots

VideoSlots is another slot-centric online casino which offers a range of casino games to enjoy. It also runs its famous Battle Of Slots tournaments which take inspiration from brick-and-mortar competitions and updates them for the web. You can enjoy freerolls, sit and gos, and so much more here! If you’re interested in learning more, just take a look at our VideoSlots review here!

Those aren’t the only websites offering slot tournaments but in our opinion, they’re the best. All of these casino sites we’ve mentioned here are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and offer some of the best games and promotions around. However, we do understand that some may not appeal to you, which is why we’ve made a list of the best UK casino sites right here. Take a look and find a site you enjoy, register, and start playing!