Online Slots and Pokies: 15 Popular Games and Australian Law

Among the games available at online casinos, some of the most popular are online slots, also known as video slots. In Australia, the machines these games are based on are known as pokies (poker machines, also called slot machines).

Online slots come in many varieties, and thousands of titles are available: slots that offer a chance at a very large win, slots that build up smaller wins steadily, classic titles that have stayed popular for years, and slots modelled on Japanese arcade-style slot machines.

What You Will Learn

• Slots have a return to player (RTP) of around 94–97%.
• To keep losses down, set a budget and choose games with a high RTP.
• This article also explains the law on online slots and pokies (poker machines, also called slot machines) in Australia.

This article takes about 20 minutes to read.

What Is an Online Slot?

An online slot is a slot game played at an online casino.

Unlike some land-based machines, where the player pulls a lever and stops each reel with a button, online slots need no timing at all: you press Spin and the result is shown automatically, so anyone can play.

Many providers that develop online slots hold licences from national or regional regulators, and many of their games have been tested for fairness by independent testing laboratories. However, none of these licences allows the games to be offered to people in Australia.

A growing number of online slots now offer a maximum win of 10,000x or even 100,000x the bet. Keep in mind, however, that this is only the upper limit and the probability of reaching it is extremely low.

15 Popular Online Slots at a Glance

Online Slot Rankings: Top 8 for 2026

This ranking brings together online slots that are popular with players, focusing on two current trends: a bonus buy feature and a high maximum win. Most of these games have high volatility (variance), so be careful not to raise your bet too far or buy too many bonus rounds.

No. 1: Sugar Rush 1000

Sugar Rush 1000 from Pragmatic Play is an upgraded version of the provider’s Sugar Rush, a slot that has been popular for years. It is a whimsical game set in a land of candy, and it pays when five or more matching symbols are adjacent to each other.

During free spins, a multiplier is placed on any position where symbols keep forming wins. When symbols form a win again on a position that has a multiplier, the multiplier is applied to the win.

Each time a multiplier is added, it doubles, from 2x to 4x to 8x and so on, and it can eventually reach 1,024x.

The maximum win is 25,000x the bet. Super Free Spins, which cost 500x the bet, start with a multiplier on every position. Buying the bonus round, however, does not substantially raise the RTP compared with normal play.

No. 2: Hawaiian Dream Gold

Hawaiian Dream Gold from WIN FAST is an online slot released in March 2024 as the latest title in the popular Hawaiian Dream series.

It is a breezy slot set in a Hawaiian resort, and it has the highest maximum win in the Hawaiian Dream series.

There are three bonus rounds. If 7s line up three times during the first round, Hibiscus Chance, you move up to the higher-tier Super Hibiscus Chance. In Super Hibiscus Chance, the multiplier increases every time the 7s line up, so the prizes grow in the later stages of the round.

If a golden butterfly appears in a special animation, the round moves up to Golden Hibiscus Chance, which is more likely to keep going. Each of these rounds can also be bought directly. The maximum win is 10,000x.

No. 3: Moon Princess Trinity

Moon Princess Trinity from Play’n GO is, as the name suggests, a slot built around the Princess Trinity feature from the popular Moon Princess.

In the original Moon Princess, filling the meter triggers Princess Trinity, and free spins are awarded when Love (transforms one symbol type), Star (adds wilds) and Storm (removes two symbol types) clear every symbol from the reels. In this game, filling the meter triggers free spins immediately.

The free spins consist of a single Princess Trinity round in which Love, Star and Storm appear again, so wins can keep building during the free spins. Filling the meter also lets you play Princess Trinity with a higher multiplier. Overall payouts are lower than in the original, but it is a well-balanced slot.

No. 4: San Quentin xWays

San Quentin xWays from Nolimit City is a gritty video slot set in a prison.

Buying the top-tier bonus round costs at least $400, so it is not a game for beginners, but its maximum win of 150,000x has made it a popular video slot with players chasing a very large win.

During free spins, certain symbols receive multipliers and the wild symbols build up their own multipliers, so wins tend to grow in the later spins.

The top-tier free spins feature three wilds, and what sets San Quentin apart is that wild multipliers of up to 512x combine with the multipliers on the symbols. The maximum win would be an enormous payout, but the odds of reaching it are extremely low, and in practice the free spins more often end without the wins growing much.

No. 5: Chaos Crew 2

Chaos Crew 2 from Hacksaw Gaming is the sequel to the popular Chaos Crew. The rules in the base game and in free spins are completely different: in the base game, you essentially wait until you trigger the bonus round. The bonus round can also be bought.

When a symbol lands during the bonus round, it increases or multiplies the multiplier set on its reel. Some symbols multiply the multipliers on every reel, and others keep adding multipliers until the round ends.

If no symbol lands in three spins, the bonus round ends at that point, and you win the total of the values on the reels.

The bonus round is normally played once, but if you trigger the Best of Bonus, three bonus rounds are played and you receive the prize from the one that paid the most. The maximum win is 20,000x.

No. 6: Money Train 4

Money Train 4 from Relax Gaming is the latest title in the hugely popular Money Train series. With a maximum win of 150,000x the bet, it has enormous potential, but by the same token its free spins can also end with only a small win.

During free spins, the bonus round continues until no multiplier symbols land for three spins in a row. Big wins become possible when special symbols appear during the round.

The aim is to combine special symbols such as the Collector, which collects the values of all symbols landed so far; the Payer, which adds its own value to every symbol; and the Sniper, which doubles the value of a symbol.

If persistent symbols, whose effects last until the free spins end, also work together, they can lead to a big win.

No. 7: Moon Princess 100

Moon Princess 100 from Play’n GO is the direct successor to the popular Moon Princess.

The rules are the same as in Moon Princess: three or more matching symbols in a vertical or horizontal line pay. If the princesses’ powers clear every symbol from the reels, the free spins begin.

During free spins, the multiplier increases by 1x with each win, and 2–4 free spins are added every time a certain number of princess symbols line up.

In the original Moon Princess, the multiplier and the number of free spins were capped at 20x and 20 spins, but Moon Princess 100 raises these caps to 100x and 100 spins. The maximum win is 15,000x.

No. 8: Gold Rush with Johnny Cash

Gold Rush with Johnny Cash from BGaming is a slot that follows Johnny Cash, a cactus who dreams of striking it rich in the gold rush, as he collects gold nuggets.

It is a lighthearted game, and buying a bonus round costs 40x–50x the bet, which is at the lower end among the games on this page. Buying, however, does not substantially raise the RTP compared with normal play.

This video slot has two bonus rounds: Free Spins and Gold Respin. In Free Spins, the low-paying symbols are removed and only high-paying symbols appear, so wins come more steadily. In Gold Respin, you win every time a gold nugget lands on the reels.

Filling every position on the reels with gold nuggets pays 5,000x. The maximum win of 5,820x is on the low side among the Top 8.

What Players Say About These Slots

The video slots covered above are popular with many players.

Sugar Rush 1000, which we rank first, is especially popular, and players often share their free spin wins on social media. Some players prefer the regular free spins, which are cheaper to buy, over the Super Free Spins, whose multipliers start at 2x.

San Quentin is also frequently mentioned for the excitement of its bonus rounds. Its maximum win of 150,000x is among the highest of the games on this page.

Hall of Fame: Top 5 Classic Favourites

The games below are classics that many online casinos have offered for years. Their maximum wins range from 2,000x to 21,100x, well below the 100,000x-plus ceilings of some newer games. However, some of them, such as White Rabbit, use the Megaways mechanic, and their results can swing widely.

Because these games have been played widely for years, their rules and features are well documented. As with any slot, however, the house edge applies to every spin.

No. 1: Moon Princess

Moon Princess from Play’n GO is a slot that many online casinos have offered for years.

Lining up the symbols of the three princess characters fills their meters, and filling all three meters triggers the Princess Trinity feature. If the princesses’ powers, Love (changes symbols), Star (adds wilds) and Storm (removes symbols), clear every symbol from the reels, the free spins begin.

At the start of free spins, you choose Love, Star or Storm. During free spins, the princesses activate their features frequently, so wins are easier to land, and the multiplier increases with each win. Reaching the maximum multiplier of 20x can lead to a big win.

No. 2: Rich Wilde and the Tome of Madness

Rich Wilde and the Tome of Madness from Play’n GO is a popular slot based on the Cthulhu Mythos, a fictional mythology. Its maximum win of 2,000x is the most modest of the games on this page.

In the base game, each win fills the meter, and wilds are added to help create cascading wins. When the cascades continue and the meter fills completely, the free spins begin.

If symbols form wins on all the marked positions during free spins, Cthulhu, an octopus-like wild covering four positions, appears. Cthulhu moves down the reels one row at a time, and you can win each time it moves. Summoning Cthulhu can lead to a substantial win.

No. 3: White Rabbit Megaways

White Rabbit Megaways from Big Time Gaming is a Megaways slot with a high maximum win. Its RTP of 97.24% is on the high side, but results swing widely, so keep your bet per spin low if you want your bankroll to last.

The base game has 5 reels with up to 7 symbols each, and free spins are triggered when March Hare scatter symbols land on reels 2, 3 and 4. At the start of free spins, each reel shows 5–7 symbols, and every cupcake you collect extends that reel by one position.

A reel can keep growing until it reaches the maximum of 12 positions, and up to 12 extra free spins can be added. If all five reels reach 12 positions, every spin plays with about 250,000 ways.

No. 4: Sweet Bonanza

Sweet Bonanza from Pragmatic Play is a slot with a maximum win of 21,100x.

You can buy free spins for 100x the bet, and the game also has a feature that raises your bet by 25% to double the chance of triggering free spins.

Rainbow bombs appear during free spins. If you land a win while a bomb is on the reels, the multiplier shown on the bomb is applied to the win at the end of the spin. Multipliers range from 2x up to 100x, so landing a high-multiplier bomb on a spin with a big win brings you closer to the maximum win.

No. 5: Reactoonz

Reactoonz from Play’n GO is a video slot so popular that it has led to several sequels and spin-offs. It uses a large 7×7 grid: five or more matching symbols adjacent to each other pay, and new symbols drop in from above to fill the gaps.

The meter fills according to the number of symbols removed, and each time one level fills, one of several features triggers, such as adding wilds or removing low-paying symbols. When five levels have filled, the Gargantoon feature triggers.

This feature brings a 3×3 wild symbol, so if it lands next to high-paying symbols, it can produce a big win on its own. In particular, when the strongest symbols are clustered together, Gargantoon can pay up to 1,500x.

What Players Say About the Classic Slots

Classic video slots have stayed popular with players for a long time.

Moon Princess has long been a staple. It is played by everyone from players new to online casinos to high rollers, and players often share clips of the first time they trigger and complete its free spins. Its successors, Moon Princess 100 and Moon Princess Trinity, are also very popular.

Players also frequently share large wins from White Rabbit Megaways bonus buys. With its high RTP and high maximum win, the game has been very popular since its release.

Bonus Picks: Japanese Arcade-Style Slots

Online casinos also offer many slots whose gameplay closely resembles that of Japanese arcade-style slot machines.

Oiran Dream

WIN FAST (a brand of Japan Technicals Games) is a developer well known for online slots in the Japanese arcade style, and Oiran Dream is one of its most popular games. Like those machines, it uses 3×3 reels, and landing the respin symbol three times in a row triggers the bonus round.

The bonus round is played in sets of 7 spins, and it continues if 7s line up on the seventh spin. If rainbow 7s line up at that point, Doki Doki Time is triggered, a sequence in which you tap the characters on the screen to collect wins.

When the oiran (a courtesan from old Japan, the game’s main character) appears in one of her special costumes, wins tend to be larger, and the succubus costume in particular is a rare one that leads to Doki Doki Time Ecstasy. This mode accumulates multipliers, is likely to keep going, and can pay several hundred times the bet.

True Dragon X

Manna Play is known, along with WIN FAST, for releasing many games in the Japanese arcade style, and True Dragon X is one of its most popular online slots.

In True Dragon X, lining up the R symbol in a straight line triggers a respin, and three respins in a row trigger the bonus round. During the bonus round, multipliers are awarded at random, which can lead to big wins. Lining up the silver dragon or the gold dragon three times summons a dragon.

Tapping the dragon repeatedly lets you collect a large number of multipliers. The gold dragon usually pays more than the silver one, and there is a chance to win the maximum of 7,777x. The game suits players who enjoy the presentation of Japanese arcade-style slot machines.

How to Keep Your Losses Down When Playing Online Slots

We have covered 15 well-known video slots, but slots are designed with an RTP of around 94–97%, so in theory your bankroll shrinks the longer you play. Spinning the same slot over and over will not make you win.

Set a Budget and a Time Limit Before You Play

Because the house edge applies to every spin, the most reliable way to keep losses down is to decide in advance how much you are prepared to spend and how long you will play.

Treat that amount as the cost of entertainment rather than money you expect to win back, and stop when you reach either limit, even in the middle of a session. Chasing losses by raising your bet or buying more bonus rounds usually makes them larger.

Megaways Slots: Many Ways to Win, but Wide Swings

Megaways is a slot mechanic created by Big Time Gaming.

In a typical slot, the number of symbols that land on each reel is fixed, for example three per reel, but in Megaways slots that number varies. In some games, when seven symbols land on each of the six reels, there are up to 117,649 ways to win.

With so many ways, high-paying combinations form more readily, but most Megaways slots have high volatility. Keep in mind that the mechanic does not raise the RTP; it makes your results swing more widely.

Choose Online Slots with a High RTP

RTP is the most important factor when choosing a game. Return to player (RTP) is a theoretical figure that shows how much a slot pays back over the long term relative to the amount players bet, and it converges over tens of thousands to millions of spins.

As a rough guide, an RTP of 96% or more is on the high side, around 95% is standard, and below 95% tends to mean larger losses. However, the provider may offer the same game with several RTP settings and let the casino choose which one to use. The figures on this page are also approximate, so check the actual value on the game’s information screen before you play. Choosing a game with a high RTP does not guarantee short-term results.

Online Slots and Pokies in Australia

The online slots on this page are the same kind of game that Australians know as pokies, but in Australia the law treats the online versions very differently from the pokies played in venues.

The Law on Online Slots in Australia

Online gambling is regulated at the federal level by the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which is enforced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Under this Act, it is illegal to provide online casino games such as online pokies (slots), roulette and blackjack to people in Australia, and it is also generally illegal to advertise them to Australians. The law is aimed at the businesses that provide or advertise these services. The ACMA asks Australian internet service providers to block illegal offshore gambling websites and the affiliate websites that promote them.

In Australia, pokies are played in person in clubs, hotels (pubs) and casinos, under rules set by each state and territory. The minimum return to player for pokies in clubs and pubs is 85% in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory; in Queensland clubs and pubs, machines return between 85% and 92%. This return is achieved over the life of a machine, across millions of plays over several years, not in a single session.

Online slots typically list an RTP of around 94–97%, and the games covered here list figures between 96.03% and 97.24%. In both cases, the figure is a long-term average and does not predict the result of any one visit or session.

Legal online gambling in Australia includes betting on horse racing and sport with providers licensed in an Australian state or territory, and lotteries.

Age, Safer Gambling and Getting Help

You must be 18 or over to gamble in Australia. Clubs, hotels and casinos with pokies are regulated by each state and territory. The budget and time limit advice above applies equally to pokies in a venue.

BetStop – the National Self-Exclusion Register is a free Australian Government service that lets you exclude yourself from all licensed Australian online and phone wagering providers in one step, for a period from 3 months up to a lifetime. It covers betting only and does not cover land-based venues, which have their own state and territory exclusion programs.

If gambling is causing problems for you or someone close to you, the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858 is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Gambling Help Online offers live chat and email counselling.

Summary: 15 Well-Known Online Slots Explained

Online casinos release new slots constantly, and thousands of titles exist. Note that, as explained above, these games cannot legally be offered to people in Australia.

The 15 games on this page are popular titles offered at many online casinos. Their providers publish their RTP, so they make a convenient starting point when comparing games.

Some online casinos also list exclusive slots. The same rule applies: the RTP on the information screen shows how much the game is designed to pay back over the long term.