7 Warnings about Playing for the Mega Moolah Jackpot

Mega Moolah is the most popular internet slot of all time. It’s no wonder why when considering that this Microgaming slot has paid out the biggest jackpot in online slots history at $20 million. In fact, as I write this, Mega Moolah has an $18.8 million jackpot and is fast approaching the record.

Given that the sheer amount of money that you stand to win with this game, it’s no wonder why so many people play Mega Moolah. But before you go joining the jackpot party, it’s important to know the full story on this highly popular game. I’m going to discuss 7 warnings that you should consider before playing Mega Moolah. After reading these warnings, you may have an entirely different opinion about this slot.

1 – Mega Moolah RTP Is Terrible

The biggest problem with Mega Moolah is its return to player (RTP). This game only offers base payback of 88.1%.

That means you’ll only win back $88.10 for every $100 wagered on average. Here’s an example on how much this would cost you over the long term:

• You make the minimum $0.25 bet on Mega Moolah.
• You make 600 spins per hour.
• 600 x 0.25 = $150
• 150 x 0.119 = $17.85 in hourly losses
• You play Mega Moolah for five hours.
• 5 x 17.85 = $89.25 In theoretical losses for the session.

This is all the worse when considering that most online slots offer RTP ranging from 94% to 97%. Your theoretical losses with Mega Moolah are around 2-3 times what you’d experience with most games. It’s worth mentioning that Mega Moolah’s payback increases along with the different jackpot sizes (there are four total jackpots). You’ll theoretically win more over the long run when accounting for this huge payout.

But the catch is that you actually have to win a share of the top prize to enjoy the higher payback. Considering that only one person can win the top Mega Moolah jackpot at a time, earning shares is impossible. Therefore, the average player will be facing 88.1% RTP when playing this game. 88.1% payback is bad for a land based slot machine – let alone an online game.

2 – You Have Low Odds of Winning the Mega Jackpot

As mentioned above, a notable portion of Mega Moolah’s payback is wrapped up in the progressive jackpot. Any rise in the base 88.1% RTP is tied to the largest jackpot’s value. Unfortunately, you’re unlikely to win this prize. The chances of hittingMega Moolah’s jackpot are extremely low.

How low the is uncertain, because Microgaming has never released the actual odds of winning. But I can make a vague estimate on your low chances with some math. I’m going to assume that every Mega Moolah bet contributes 2% to the Major progressive jackpot, which is common within the gaming industry.

Now, on to an example of your jackpot odds:

• The Mega Moolah top jackpot payout is $5.4 million.
• 5,400,000 / 0.02 (contribution) = $270,000,000 must be wagered to hit the jackpot.
• You make the $0.25 minimum bet.
• 270,000,000 x 0.25 = 1,080,000,000
• You theoretically make 1.08 billion wagers to win the jackpot with $0.25 bets.

You’d actually have even worse per-spin odds than 1 in 1.08 billion when considering that minimum bets have a lower chance of winning the jackpot (discussed later). Another way to view this is by looking at the jackpot odds on Las Vegas’ Megabucks slot machine. Megabucks requires $3 minimum bets and typically pays progressive jackpots worth about twice the size of Mega Moolah.

The odds of winning this prize are 1 in 49,836,032. If we halve these odds to honor the jackpot comparison, Mega Moolah would give you 1 in 24,918,016 odds of winning the top payout with $3 bets. Any way you slice it, you must make countless spins to win the jackpot. Either that, or you have to get extremely lucky.

3 – You’re More Likely to Win the Small Jackpot

I mentioned earlier that this slot offers four different progressive jackpots, including the Mega, Major, Minor, and Mini prizes. It’s certainly nice that you can play for four jackpots with every spin. But the size disparity in each of these payouts is huge.

Here are the typical disparities between all of the payouts:

• Mega jackpot = $10,000,000
• Major jackpot = $100,000
• Minor jackpot = $2,000
• Mini jackpot = $200

The biggest reason why everybody plays Mega Moolah is the dream of hitting the Mega jackpot. This prize always offers a life-changing amount of money, including the current $18.9 million value.  Most players would also be extremely happy to win the Major payout. And many gamblers would certainly take the Minor prize too. Unfortunately, the odds of you winning any of the top three payouts are very low. You’re most likely to win the Mini jackpot.

I’m sure you’d be perfectly fine with winning a $200 payout multiple times. But Mini jackpots aren’t the main reason for playing this game. You likely envision hitting the Mega jackpot and pampering yourself afterward. However, the more-common scenario is that you’re playing for the Mini prize and a chance to win$100-$200.

4 – You Must Trigger the Bonus Round to Win Jackpots

Many online slots pay the progressive jackpot through the main game. In other words, you land the required number of specific symbols in a payline and hit the top prize. For example, you might need to get five yacht symbols in a line to win the progressive jackpot. Mega Moolah differs, though, because you have to trigger a bonus round before you can play for the jackpots. This leaves an additional layer between you and winning any of the four progressive payouts.

You may have no problem with having to trigger the bonus round first. But many slots players prefer having a chance to win top payouts with every spin. Perhaps the fact that you have to unlock the bonus round before being able to win a jackpot is a major reason why this game only offers 88.1% base payback.

5 – You Must Bet More to Have a Stronger Chance of Triggering the Bonus

 
The nice thing about Mega Moolah is that every spin qualifies you for a chance at the progressive jackpots. You only have to wager one cent on all 25 lines to qualify. This isn’t much to bet on a single spin in the grand scheme of internet slots. After all, I’ve played plenty of online slots that have 50-100 lines and require you to use every one ($0.50-$1).

Another problem is that you won’t truly know exactly how high or low your chances of winning the top payout are with minimum bets. This is another stat that Microgaming keeps under wraps. The best you can do is bet as much as you feel comfortable with and simply know that your odds of winning aren’t as high as those who risk more per line.

6 – Mega Moolah’s Odds Are Murky

One overall theme I’ve covered is that Mega Moolah’s odds are shrouded in mystery. You don’t know your chances of winning the jackpot, and you also don’t know how your bet size relates to your odds. I’m not saying that Mega Moolah is the first online slots to have veiled odds of winning. In fact, few internet slots are an open book beyond their RTP.

The math I did in the second point shows that you have 1 in 1.08 billion odds hitting a jackpot with minimum bets. But the truth is that your chances are even worse when factoring in the lower odds for $0.25 wagers.

7 – Many Countries Can’t Play Mega Moolah

If you’re still interested in playing this slot after reading the first six warnings, keep in mind that you may not be able to play Mega Moolah at all. Microgaming mainly operates in prestigious licensing jurisdictions. That said, they don’t offer Mega Moolah or any other slots to countries with grey online gaming markets like the United States.

This isn’t such a bad thing when considering that Microgaming’s prestigious licensing inspires more trust. Furthermore, all Microgaming slots must undergo third-party testing to ensure fair gaming in markets like the UK. But the problem with sticking to prestigious jurisdictions is that Microgaming restricts a large number of countries and territories.

Here’s a look at the many countries/territories that are restricted from playing Mega Moolah for real money:

Microgaming still operates in a fair number of countries. But you can also see that they restrict numerous places from enjoying their slots.

Should You Still Play Mega Moolah Slot?

Everything I’ve covered so far puts Mega Moolah in a negative light. But does this mean that you should avoid this classic internet slot? Not necessarily. Mega Moolah still has a number of qualities that make it worth playing if you’re in a non-restricted country.

Obviously everybody wants to win the Mega jackpot. But the Major prize also offers a significant amount of money. The Minor jackpot is worth more than the top prize in some other online slots. It’s a bonus that you can also play for a Mini payout that’s typically worth $100 or more. Earlier I bashed Mega Moolah’s base payback of 88.1%. But this slot can theoretically offer over 100% payback when the jackpot is worth enough.

The key is to make sure that you’re able to play Mega Moolah. Microgaming restricts a lot of countries from enjoying its slots, because they operate in elite jurisdictions. But if you’re in a country/territory that can play Mega Moolah and you love big jackpots, then it’s worth giving this game a few spins.