Online slots: our picks for some of the best for real money (December 2025)

This review includes my picks for the best online slots from numerous legal U.S. online casinos. I rate real money online slots based on their value to players, ease of play, access to popular features, and more.

Many of the casino welcome bonus offers at licensed U.S. online casinos focus on offering credit for real money online slots. My selections for the top bonus offers include choices for which of the online slots I was able to use bonus funds on and which games had playthrough requirements with simple completion terms.

I selected BetMGM out of all the online slot machine sites I reviewed for its game library because with more than 2,000 titles to choose from, the sheer size of BetMGM's menu tops all the other brands in this guide. BetMGM consistently refreshes its selection of online slot machines with exclusive games and the latest releases from providers like IGT and Light & Wonder.

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During my review, I found more than 60 exclusive games on Caesars Palace Online Casino, which is more than what is available on any of the other apps I reviewed. Caesars Entertainment has invested heavily in its Empire Creative division to continue to produce exclusive slots with diverse themes and chances at progressive jackpots.

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DraftKings Casino is my pick for slot bonuses because it does the most of all the brands in this guide when it comes to offering promos focused on online casino slots. DraftKings has hundreds of online slot machines and changes up the promos involving them on a daily basis.

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Fanatics earns the distinction as the best to enjoy online slot games with rewards because FanCash converts to casino credit at a 1:1 rate, and players earn five tier points for every $1 in FanCash wagered on real money online slots at Fanatics.

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FanDuel Casino is my top pick for real online slots with jackpots because of its FanDuel Jackpots offering. Many of the online slots at FanDuel offer daily chances at special progressive jackpots, with the allotment of participating online slots with real money prizes changing regularly.

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Real money online slots are reel-based games of chance that randomly award cash prizes. When playing slots online for real money, results are most often represented by combinations of symbols on the reels.

Playing on some of the best online slot sites could be as simple as following these steps:

Some of the best online slots have straightforward and uncomplicated gameplay mechanisms.

Online slots with real money payouts ask players to select a betting denomination from among the available options. Betting denominations can range from as little as a penny to hundreds of dollars depending on the casino and the game.

After settling on a wager value, initiate the game action to view the result of the random number generator (RNG) activation. An RNG algorithm determines a wager's results in online slots. Winnings may or may not represent a profit compared to the stake.

Players can then repeat their last bets, change up the value of their wagers, or select a different title from among the hundreds or thousands of online slot machines on the apps. Some online slots also have an autoplay feature that allows for a preset number of plays at a particular betting denomination, and then the computer will place the wagers in succession.

Players who enjoy more strategy-based casino games often switch from slots to real money blackjack online for more decision-making control.

Online casino slots have spawned some popular variations that are available on many of the best online slot sites featured in this guide.

The scope of live dealer games has evolved to include slots. These are wheel-based games in which live video of a human game operator spins a real wheel in real-time, with players able to wager on the results of each spin.

Slingo games are a hybrid of bingo and slots. In Slingo games, combinations of symbols function like rows in a bingo game, and the more of those that are collected, the closer you get to a payout.

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RTP, or return to player, is the portion of all the money that all players wager on a casino game that the casino returns to players over time through winnings. In slots, RTP is usually expressed as a percentage. At the best online slot sites, a standard for a good RTP is 96%.

Many real money online casinos with the highest slot payouts owe part of that distinction to offering games with RTP statistics. My picks for the best high RTP slots include:

*casino availability was valid for players in Michigan as of December 2025
**RTP statistics are accurate as provided by the software developers

While most of the best slots to play online for real money are based on a random number generator, many online casinos do have live dealer slots available. These are wheel-based games in which a human operator spins the wheel after bets are placed on which segment of the wheel an indicator will rest when the wheel stops spinning.

These titles are very rare compared to other types of live dealer games. One of the most popular titles in this genre is Crazy Time Live, according to popular game aggregations on BetMGM, Caesars Palace, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, and Golden Nugget. Crazy Time Live is a wheel-based game with 54 wagering options and four bonus mini-games, like a coin flip and the puck-based Pachinko game.

DraftKings and Golden Nugget also offer Adventures Beyond Wonderland, Buffalo Blitz Live, and Dream Catcher within this category. Players can try these games with the DraftKings Casino promo code bonus.

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Lags and connection interruptions can happen in live dealer games. However, players can take actions to limit these frustrations.

If you still encounter connectivity issues, consult the customer support channels of the casino you're playing with. Normal policies include voiding bets and returning stakes for players whose connections time out.

Many online slots with real money prizes have demos available either on the casino sites or the websites of the game developers. This can be a great way to try some of the best slots.

A big upside to demos is that there is no need to risk any bankroll to play. These versions of online slots can also provide introductions to unique features in the games.

Obviously, though, real-money prizes are not available when playing demos for the top online slots. I found a great selection of slot demos after I used the Golden Nugget Casino promo code for new players.

Jackpots are a fixture in many online slot games. In fact, many of my choices for the top online slots offer chances at progressive jackpots worth thousands of dollars.

BetMGM, Caesars Palace, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, and Golden Nugget all have dozens of slots with chances at jackpot winnings. These prizes are rare but usually represent the most valuable prizes available in online slots with real money payouts.

Some of my favorite jackpot slots include:

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With Christmas at the forefront of many minds in the United States in December, some of the best online slot sites reviewed in this guide have rolled out appropriately themed games. Some of my favorites among the newest additions to online slot machines are as follows.

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There is common lingo across many of the best online slots sites that I believe is crucial for slot players to be familiar with. In my experience, these terms have standard meanings across most online casino slots, but verify these meanings for any casino that was not reviewed in this guide.

While you're enjoying some of these best online slot games, there is nothing you can do to influence the outcomes of your bets once you set your stake and press play. At the same time, you can put yourself in a position to benefit from some good luck if you know how to find the top online slots.

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While I have spent hundreds of hours playing many online slots, I only play licensed casino games online that provide a good return-to-player percentage. In determining the value of an online casino, I look for the availability of games from trusted developers and full transparency in slot paytables. I also highly value access to customer support and responsible gaming tools.

Responsible gaming is a high priority when making my picks for some of the best online slot sites in my review. Besides the customizable limits in each of the apps, fans of online slots can also access more resources with numerous organizations in the United States.

At many of the best online slot sites, results of player bets are determined at random following players' commencement of the game action. The value of player bets can affect the value of potential prizes and access to game features.

A random number generator determines the results of each bet at all of the best online slot sites. Online slots are luck-based, but you can check each game's return-to-player percentage to see, over time, how much of your wagers are returned to players. Note that the highest RTP rates are still never a guarantee of winning. 

After registering for some of the best online slot sites, pick a game, then select a bet denomination. Then, initiate the game action by pressing the play button or setting the autoplay parameters.

Video slots simply mean that the game does not use physical reels but instead contains a video screen that displays digital reels. A classic slot would use physical reels. Many of the best online slots are designed to present a traditional aesthetic.

In most of the top online slots, paylines are sequences of three or more symbols that usually read from left to right on a horizontal line across at least three reels. When one of these lines appears on the screen, you receive the associated payout or the appropriate feature activates.

RTP stands for Return to Player, and it's the portion of all the money bet on a slot that the casino gives back to players via winnings over time. At my picks for some of the best online slot sites, a standard for a good RTP is 96%.

Variance or volatility refers to the diversity of the array of possible results of plays in slots. The top online slots can be extremely, moderately, or only slightly volatile.

As long as players are of legal age (at least 21 at all of the top online slot sites in this review), otherwise eligible to play, within the borders of a state where the casinos are licensed, and put up real money on their plays, they may win real-money prizes depending on the game's random number generator. Slots are games of chance.

The top online slots with progressive jackpots take a portion of each bet or all of a special side bet and add that amount to the value of the jackpot. The process continues until a player wins the prize or it hits a predetermined cap, then begins anew with the jackpot returning to its seed level.

All of the top online slots are games of pure chance. Players control which game they play and how much they wager. Once the game action is initiated, though, there is nothing players can do to influence the outcome of their wagers.

Many of the top online slots contain special features that include bonus spins or bonus mini-games. My picks for some of the best online slot sites also make promotions available that may grant bonus spins or other benefits for playing specified slots.

The name originates from the game action for the earliest incarnation of modern slots. Players formerly needed to insert coins or tokens into slots in the game terminals to initiate the games.

Whether you win on any given play of the top online slots is a matter of absolute luck. However, players wield control over which games they choose to play and how much they put on each wager. In some slots, higher bet amounts can grant access to special features or bigger payouts.

Derek Helling