The birth of land-based slots occurred during the prime of the penny slot machine industry, with one of the original fruit machines offering the prize of gum instead of cash to circumvent gambling laws. While you won’t find a fruit machine in your supermarket these days, the spirit of fun they evoked can still be seen in the 2p pushers in amusement arcades, and, more importantly, in the subject of today’s article; online penny slot machines.
Probably the most casino fun that you can have for just 1p, penny slot machines offer a good amount of playtime for a small budget, and some even offer some impressive payout potential too.
So, without further ado, join us as we bring you a comprehensive guide to answer the question ‘How do you play penny slot machines’.
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What Are Penny Online Slot Machines?
Penny slot machines can be classified in a few ways, as some players even refer to slots with minimum wagers of 25p or under as penny slots due to their lower ‘pocket money-style’ wager size. As a general rule of thumb, however, a slot may be classed as a penny slot so long as its minimum wager is just 1p.
For the vast majority of penny slots, this is achieved by using an unfixed payline model. An unfixed payline slot is a game where the player can pick as few or as many paylines as they’d like; from 1 to however many lines are available. This technically allows the player to wager 1p for one active line, but has the drawback that winning combinations on all non-activated lines will not pay out.
As the minimum wager is 1p per line on these slots, if a player wants to spin the reels with all lines active they’ll need to multiply that 1p bet by the number of available lines. This means if a penny slot has 20 lines, and the player wants to activate all lines then their total wager per spin would be 20p.
Because of this factor, a lot of the penny slot ‘purists’ will opt for classic retro fruit machine games with a single payline or under 10 paylines, meaning that playing with just 1 line active will have more of an impact than a video slot with 25 lines or more. With under 10 paylines a wager with all lines covered would cost 10p, allowing for 10 spins for £1, vs 5 spins for £1 for a 20p per spin slot.
Penny slots are not just reserved for classic fruit machines, however, and plenty of popular video slots can be played at under 10p per spin. These games can feature the same popular types of bonus elements and can even be linked to progressive jackpot networks.
Why Penny Online Slots Are So Popular
It’s pretty obvious why so many players love penny slot machines; lower wagers mean more spins for your budget. Nowadays we’re all looking for bang for our buck, and penny slots allow us to keep our purse strings tight while still enjoying a decent amount of spins and playtime.
The lower bankroll required for playing penny slots also has the benefit of risk minimisation. As all slot games are down to random chance, this is mostly perceived, but almost all of us will be far more comfortable wagering and therefore potentially losing 10p, then they are, say, £10. Of course, this has the concern that it could allow players to slip into unsafe gambling practices, being tempted to chase losses, and increase their budget or playtime as; ‘what’s just a few pounds more?’. However, so long as players keep to responsible gaming practices, this risk can be avoided.
Penny slots also make the perfect game for new and casual players. There is less risk, so the impact of losses made by rookie errors is lesser, and a brief session or two designed to decide if the world of online slots is for you, shouldn’t break the bank. Alongside this, penny slots are great for mobile gamers, who like to game on the go, as the low wagering requirements are suited for this more casual style of play.
Learn How to Play Penny Online Slots At Spin Genie
Playing penny slot machines is exactly like playing any other online slot machine, you just need to pick a game, enter your wager, and click spin. Below we’ve broken this down into simple steps; with a few top tips thrown in for good measure.
Pick Your Slot (Read the Game Page)
Take your time to browse the available slot machines. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the choice of titles, a good rule of thumb is to think about the kind of things you enjoy in your day-to-day life as there are lots of thematic subcategories you can use to reduce your search parameters. Popular slot categories include sports, retro fruit machines, and adventure games.
When you have a short list of games, make your final choice by checking out the game information. This will tell you useful factors such as the RTP (return to player), top win, and bonus features.
Load the Slot (Explore the In-Game Information and Paytable)
Once you’ve loaded your penny slot on your chosen device (including smartphones and tablets), before entering your wager check out the in-game information. This will provide you with the paytable information - so you know which symbols to look out for, as well as further detail on how the bonus features operate. Here you can also adjust any relevant settings. While autoplay features are no longer available in the UK you can adjust sound settings and other optional settings such as battery-saving mode if offered.
Set Your Stake (Follow Responsible Gaming Practices)
Now you’ve picked and are up-to-speed with your penny slot, it’s time to set your wager. How this looks will depend upon whether or not your chosen game has fixed or unfixed paylines. Just remember, in the case of unfixed paylines the amount you enter as your line wager is multiplied by the number of active lines.
When deciding upon your wager, remember to keep responsible gaming practices in mind. Set yourself a budget and a time limit for your session. It doesn’t matter if your total budget is £5 or £500, you need to stick to it, and not overspend. While it can be tempting to spend ‘just 50p more’, this sets a dangerous precedent within your mind.
Alongside this, set yourself a time limit for your session. With such low wagering requirements, you can get a lot of bang for your buck, meaning you can spend far longer spinning the reels than you might have intended. Therefore, end your session if your designated time limit has elapsed, even if you still have some of your bankroll remaining.
Spin the Reels (And Have Fun!)
Now you’re all set up and ready to go, just click the spin button and set the reels in motion! Don’t be afraid to switch things up and select another game during your session if you’re not clicking with the game you’re currently playing. If wins are elusive and you notice you’re becoming frustrated, step away and end your session early. Playing online slots when in a negative mindset can lead to excessive risk-taking and poor gambling practices such as chasing losses.
Spin Genie’s Top Penny Online Slot Machines this Early 2024
Age of the Gods: God of Storms
Age of the Gods is one of the most famous online casino slot series. The original game has multiple successors and spin-offs with distinct bonus features and minigames. Original Age of the Gods contains 20 fixed paylines and a £0.20 minimum bet.
The 5-reel, 25-payline Age of the Gods: God of Storms slot is one of the most popular titles with penny players and has a unique feature called Wild Wind Respins. Playable from 25p per spin, on the right of the game screen, the God of Storms blows stacked ship wilds across the reels, accumulating large multiplied wins as the boat crosses. Like other slots in the series Age of Gods: God of Storms is part of the Age of the Gods progressive jackpot network.
Legacy of Dead
The Legacy of Dead slot is a popular penny slot from developer Play’n Go. Released three years after the smash hit Book of Dead game sees the return of handsome adventurer Riche Wilde. Legacy of Dead pays up to 5,000x and has a 96.58% RTP.
The gorgeous graphics and thematic soundtrack are Play'n GO enthusiasts' dreams. The grid has 5 reels and 10 customisable lines, with bets from 1p to £100 for each spin. The bonus uses up to 9 Expanding Symbols while free spins retriggers are possible multiple times.
Rise of Merlin
Rise of Merlin was released in 2019 by developer Play’n GO, and has immersive graphics and a theme inspired by Arthurian legend. Featuring a traditional 5x3 video slot format with 10 unfixed paylines the return to Prayer is 96.58%, and the maximum win is x5,000.
Wagers for the game range from 1p per spin up to £100 per spin. The free spins round awards 8 free spins with one randomly selected expanding symbol. If the feature is retriggered, new spins will be awarded and another expanding symbol will be selected. This can happen up to 9 times, leading to a maximum of 9 expanding reels during play.
More Play for Your Penny With Penny Online Slot Machines at Spin Genie
At Spin Genie we want everyone to be able to enjoy the fun of online casino entertainment (so long as they’re of legal betting age). Penny slots offer new, casual, and small-budget players the perfect choice for an entertaining slot experience. While in the modern day, fewer slots are spinnable for a single penny - due to fixed paylines, these low-budget slots still offer wagers covering all lines of under 30p.
It is important to emphasise, however, that just because the wagering requirements are lower, you should not lower your responsible gaming standards. Set a budget and time limit for your session, and when the fun stops; stop.
So for top online slot machines, playable from just 1p, sign up and play today at Spin Genie to discover more.
