If you want to play slots online for real money, you need to be able to get value for that money. Great casinos will not only offer you a great selection of real money slots, they'll also offer you a welcome bonus to make your money go further. After all, the more bang you have in your bankroll, the more chances you have to win. 

All our site recommendations have great deposit bonus offers and give you the opportunity to play real slots and win real money on a safe platform. We only recommend slot brands and casinos that are fully licensed in states where gambling for real money is legal. It's important to avoid illegal, offshore sites with poor licensing and leaky security.

Here is a list of criteria to consider when choosing a site.

Real Money Slot Bonuses And Promos

If you want to play real money slots, it helps to start with a boost in your bankroll! Good casinos will offer some form of top online casino bonuses or promotions for brand-new players, and then other incentives like reload bonuses for ongoing players. You’ll notice a list of recommended casinos where you can play slots for real money at the top of this page. Each casino offers a welcome bonus that you can use to play real slots and win real money. To redeem, just click through and follow the instructions. 

It’s always a good idea to shop around and see what promos catch your eye. Maybe you’re a loyal player at FanDuel Casino, but a new Caesars Palace Online Casino promo code in NJ is too good to pass up. It’s best to try out various operators because many of them have a different game selection or even exclusive games.

Best Slot Security & Encryption

It's important to be safe when you play online cash slots. Top casinos use SSL (Secure Socket Layers) encryption to protect data and players' details. Slot RNGs (Random Number Generators) should also be regularly tested to make sure they are fair.

Great Customer Support & Help

Online casinos should provide expert customer support via live chat, email and telephone wherever you are in the US. Good real money slot sites will also carry detailed Help Centers packed with resources.

Fast and Reliable Payment Options

You need to have access to solid banking methods to play slots for real money. Our top-rated slot sites let you deposit via prepaid card, bank transfer or e-wallet such as Skrill or even PayPal, which is one of the most used payment methods. Note that in the US you will not find casinos that accept Neteller, which is another popular e-wallet. There should be no fees, and cash-out times should be quick. Casinos with PayPal deposit are common, as it's a fairly mainstream payment option on the Internet.

Loyalty Programs

When you play slots online or in-person, you’re likely eligible to join a loyalty program. Most of the bigger names have rewards programs. Dynasty Rewards by DraftKings, MGM Rewards by the BetMGM Casino in Michigan, Caesars Rewards and iRush Rewards are just a few of them.

Mobile Compatibility

You can now play online slots for real money on the go. Online mobile casinos are available for most tablets and smartphones. With our picks, you can unearth the best slot apps available to US players. Some of the best online gambling sites may offer a dedicated slots app to make your mobile experience as straightforward as possible. 

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There are many different ways to categorize online cash slots: you can sort them by theme, by feature, by volatility, by software provider or any number of different methods. For the purposes of this page, though, our thoughts were "Show me the money". Basically, if you're looking for real money slots, how much do you want to spend? Slots have different bet limits, ranging from $0.01 per spin (for a single payline) to $5 per payline, and even more on some high-limit slots.

The most common categories online are penny slots and high limit slots. In-between the penny and high limit slots, you get nickel slots, quarter slots, and dollar slots, but unlike land-based casinos, it is not particularly common to see online casinos organizing their slot libraries according to these categories. Our slot game reviews cover the bet sizes available, but if you'd like to check the bet limit details for yourself, simply access the information section of the game itself, or toggle the coin size option to check the bet range. 

Online casinos obviously don't have the space constraints of land-based venues, so you have thousands of options available to you online. No matter how you choose to categorize your slots, there are plenty of online casino games available to suit any budget and playing style. 

Want to bet the smallest amount possible, while still playing for real money? Penny slots are the games to choose if you want to stretch a small budget for as long as possible. Each payline will cost you a penny per spin, so if you play a single payline, it'll take you 100 spins to use up a dollar. Of course, your wins won't be high because your jackpot size is calculated by applying a multiplier to your stake. But if you want to play for fun without risking too much money, these are the best slots to play. 

One step up from penny slots, nickel slots will cost you $0.5 a spin, per payline. If you’re playing a slot with 9 paylined, with all lines active, each spin will set you back $0.45. While you may burn through a small bankroll 5 times faster than on penny slots, your payouts will also be 5x better. Nickel slots used to be popular in land-based casinos, but are not so common nowadays. In online casinos, many penny slots can be easily converted to nickel slots simply by bumping up your coin size. 

While you may struggle to find penny and nickel slots at land-based casinos, there are still a few quarter slot machines available. Real money online slot games offer much more variation if you don’t wish to bet a dollar or more per payline. Quarter slots will cost you $0.25 a spin, but the payouts tend to be much better than nickel or penny slot games. If you’d like to keep within a smaller budget, but still have a chance at decent payouts, quarter slots are worth investigating. 

The best online casino experience is a balancing act between the money you risk and the payout you can win. For many slots players, a dollar slot machine hits the sweet spot. Naturally, if you increase your real money bets to $1 per payline, you can snag a bigger payout if you win, but you are also risking more per spin. 

At the higher end of the betting range, high limit slots let you bet $5 or more per payline - which means that for a 9-payline slot, you could bet from $45 per spin. While this undoubtedly translates to bigger potential payouts, it also means that the risk of losing a chunk of your bankroll is much bigger. 

At land-based casinos, the general consensus is that higher-denomination slots pay out more (in proportion to money staked) than penny slots, but online slots are less clear-cut. While penny slots may pay out less on average than dollar slots at land-based casinos, online slots have higher payout percentages than their land-based counterparts, with no obvious gap between denominations. When playing online, the payout gap is between progressive and non-progressive slots, not penny and dollar slots. Progressive slots online tend to have lower RTP, but some online penny slots could have a better RTP than high-limit online slots. The bottom line? Choosing your real money slot type online comes down to your preference and the size of your bankroll. 

The Return to Player (RTP), sometimes referred to as "payout" or "payback", is the percentage from all wagers a slot machine will statistically pay back to players in winnings over time. Theoretically, the higher the RTP of a slot, the more it pays out, but there's no guarantee that you will benefit on any given day. 

With thousands of the best online slots to choose from, it is not always easy to develop a winning strategy. Because luck plays a major part in slot games, there is no magic formula to ensure real money wins. However, understanding a few basic terms can sure help increase your chances:

Hit Frequency

The hit frequency, casually known as "hit rate", is how often the slot game reels will stop on a winning combination. Most of today's slot machines allow players to bet on multiple lines during each spin, which could result in several winning combinations at the same hit frequency.

Real Money Slots Volatility

While hit frequency deals with the average percentage of winning spins from the total number of spins over the long run, volatility refers to how much and how often a slot machine will pay across shorter time spans. High volatility means that the slot may go for long periods of time without producing any wins (but with winning spins offering larger payouts), whilst low volatility slots produce more frequent wins which are usually smaller.

Bonus Features

Real money slots feature unique symbol combinations that will trigger special bonus rounds and features such as free spins, added multipliers and other rewards. These not only make the gameplay more exciting but also increase your chances of winning.

So which is the best online slot to win real money? There is no one correct answer to this question and it all comes down to individual preferences. Some players try to reduce risk by choosing low variance games, while others go for high volatility games that offer bigger payouts. There are players that choose a slot by its hit rate while others are more interested in the bonus features and so on.

Whichever slot you choose, it is important to manage your bankroll and avoid chasing losses. Select games based on your style of play and personal interests. This will lead to a safer playing experience which is more enjoyable than focusing solely on winning money.

Playing the best free slot games can be a fun way to try out various brands, but your bets will not count towards a win on real money slots. There are sweepstakes casino options that allow you to play and potentially win real-world prizes, but they are not the same as real money slots, where your payout for a win is directly related to your wager (depending on the stakes multiplier).

To play real money slots, you need to deposit real money. In the US however, many casinos offer attractive bonuses for registering and depositing so you can discover slots whilst still keeping your chances of winning.

It's easy to get started playing online slots for real money. You will need to open a casino account first, and you will have to verify your ID before accessing games. The whole registration process is fairly straightforward and secure. Here's our step-by-step guide.

Verify Your Account

You can only play for real money at american casinos if you are over 21, are physically in a state where online casino games are legal, and have verified your account. Verification usually involves uploading a personal document such as a passport scan or driver's license.

Make a Deposit

Once you have verified your account, you can make a deposit. Visit the cashier and select a valid online casino payment method. Many US debit and credit card transactions are still being blocked by financial institutions, so have a backup ready. We recommend a prepaid card which you can get from the casino, or an e-wallet such as PayPal.

Select Your Favorite Slots

Real money slot sites in the US feature hundreds of games. Not all casinos have the same selection of titles, so we recommend opening several accounts. That way, you have the best access to even more games.

Most top online US casinos even have a Favorites function where you can add games to your personal preferred list.

Choose Your Slot Game Stakes

You will have to select your stakes to play slots for real money. Adjust your coin size or hit the “Max Bet” button to select the highest stake possible.

Select Your Slot Paylines

Once you have chosen your stakes, you have to choose your paylines. Many slots have fixed paylines. In some titles, however, you select how many win lines you want to bet on.

Trigger Bonus Features and Slot Jackpots

This is easier said than done. Triggering bonus features is an element of luck, as is winning jackpots – but that is the end goal for any real money slot player. Bonus features like free spins, or bonus rounds are usually triggered by a specific combination of symbols on the reels. The paytable of the slots you wish to play at casinos with free spins will explain how to trigger the bonus features. 

Cash in Your Winnings

When you play slots and win real money, everything you win will be added to your bankroll. (That is, unless you are playing with a casino bonus. The online casino bonuses usually have wagering requirements attached, and winnings are only moved to your withdrawable cash balance once you have fulfilled the wagering requirements.) To cash in your winnings, navigate to the deposit/withdrawal section of the casino lobby. From there, you can select a valid cash-out method such as an e-wallet or Wire Transfer to claim your winnings.

There is a growing number of software providers offering more online slot games in the US. Players can enjoy real money slots that are safe, licensed and regulated. Here are some of the biggest and best developers that gamblers should be looking for, whether it's for progressive slots, Las Vegas-style classic slots or dynamic 3D games.

NetEnt is a Scandinavian software developer offering some of the best real money slots in the world. Its Divine Fortune slot is one of the most popular progressive slots in the United States.

Bally is a legendary US developer that provides slots to land-based and online casinos. Bally's top titles include the Quick Hit Platinum range.

WMS (Williams Interactive) spreads dozens of top slots across multiple US online casinos. The developer is known for unique slot games such as Raging Rhino and Bruce Lee.

IGT is the brains behind some of the best branded slots and progressive jackpot slots in the world. Top releases include Cleopatra MegaJackpots and Pixies of the Forest.

BTG pioneered the Megaways slot layout that gives gamblers more than 100,000 paylines.

RTG has been offering video slots to US players for more than 20 years. You can find hundreds of RTG real money slots online and on mobile.

Combining our passion for slots and technical expertise, we created a detailed review process to assure that our experts bring you an objective analysis of all leading American casinos that offer slots for real money. Our rigorous approach to writing each online casino review includes signing up, claiming the best slot bonuses, playing real money slots, reviewing Terms & Conditions and contacting the customer support team. We also analyze the user interface on desktop and mobile and look at the banking section and the variety of payment methods offered.

Did we mention already that we are passionate about slots? That's probably why the part we love most about our job is getting to play all the slot games and carefully analyze and write about each online slot's software provider, theme, RTP, graphics, volatility, special symbols, bonus rounds and more. We constantly post and update our site with new reviews, game releases and more important information you need to know when you play slots online for real money or free. So if you want to make the most of your online gambling experience, please bookmark this page and check it regularly.