Online slots are becoming more and more popular with our players here at Moon Bingo and the likes of slingo bingo are bringing the wonderful world of slots to a completely new bingo generation, with the likes of Slingo Reveal Online and Slingo Riches proving huge hits. Join the trend, check our Slot Terminology guide for an edge as you get into slot gaming.

For all new players wanting to enjoy online slots for the very first time, it can often be daunting with all the buttons, modes, bonuses, and options. But in actual fact, online slots couldn’t be easier to get to know, and picking up the lingo takes no time at all. To help you on your tracks, we’ve put together this guide to online slot terminology and one of the most in-depth glossaries around.  

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1,024 Ways: You’ll see this on many slots and it simply reflects the number of ways available to win. 1,024 ways will be clearly sign-posted and is one of the varieties of slots that have the largest number of ways to win.

234 Ways: This is similar to 234 ways to win and again represents the number of ways in which you can win by landing matching symbols on an online slot. 

3D Video Slots: 3D video slots are slots which use 3D visuals within them and are among the most graphically pleasing slots of any online casino game. They will often have special bonus games within them that use extra-special graphics within them.

3 Reel: This is the number of reels that are featured on a slot. There will usually be a minimum of three reels on any online slot.

5 Reel: This is the most commonly found type of slot and will usually have five reels of spinning columns with three symbols landing on each reel. 

6 Reel: These will often be found on the slots that offer more ways to win. They will also regularly have additional features.

A:

Action: Action is a term used to describe the total amount that a player has bet over a certain session. You will most frequently find this term when reading about wagering or rollover requirements when it comes to slot promotions.

Active Pay line: Pay lines are ways to win and those that are active are essentially the pay lines that are currently in play. A number of slots will allow you to adjust the number of pay lines you wish to play on a slot.

All Ways: Traditionally slots will pay from left to right but All Ways is a type of slot that will pay from both left to right and right to left for landing matching symbols along pay lines.

Auto Spin: Auto spin, or sometimes referred to as auto play is a feature found on the vast majority of slots that allow you to set a certain number of spins to play automatically. There are options to cancel and set certain limitations with this feature.

B:

Basic Slots: This is a term for three-reel slots that only have a single pay line. It’s the most basic of slots and there will be no special features or bonuses.

Bet: As with online bingo, casino games, scratch cards, or any other game, a bet is the amount you are wagering per spin. 

Bonus Feature: Bonus features, or bonus games, can be found in many slots these days and are usually the likes of free spins and multipliers. You can trigger these games by landing a particular number of wild or scatter symbols.

C:

Cascading Wilds: Cascading slots are those that don’t spin but rather symbols drop down as others are removed from the slot. Cascading wilds convert other symbols in the slot into further wilds, which can boost wins quite significantly. 

Coins: Coins are used in slot machines to place a bet and are ultimately a form of slot currency, with the amount of money you have in a slot at any one time being the total number of coins you currently have.

Coin Size: Coins can be different in size and it varies from slot to slot. In some cases a coin could be worth 10p, in others it could be worth £1. 

Collect: This is a feature found more in physical slots that allows you to redeem the total amount of money you currently have in a slot machine.

Columns: This is essentially another term used for reels.

E:

Expanding Wilds: This is a type of feature found in slots that allows wilds to grow out from the space they land on, thus expanding. More often than not expanding wilds will fill an entire reel and boost the chance of landing matching symbols.

F:

Fixed Jackpot: This is a type of jackpot that is fixed and won’t change if a player wins. It’s the fixed maximum amount a player can win on a slot. 

Free Play: This is a type of slot that doesn’t cost anything to spin the reels. These slots will also not pay out any money. There are many advantages of free play vs real money play, and often people will play free play to practice strategies or get to know a new game.

Free Spins: This is a bonus feature that can be triggered in online slots that will offer players free spins without the need to pay per spin. Free spins is also a type of bonus that can be offered, most frequently as a welcome bonus for new players.

M:

Max Bet: This is the maximum amount a player can bet on a single spin.

Min Bet: This is the minimum amount a player can bet on a single spin.

Mobile Slots: You can play plenty of online slots through your mobile these days with this generally the term to describe them. We have tons of great online slots on our mobile bingo app.

Multi-Line: A term used to describe a slot that has a number of pay lines, with each line you activate increasing your bet.

Multiplier: This is a feature that can be triggered by landing wild symbols and will multiply your payout by a set amount. For example, you may be able to multiply your win by 3x.

P:

Pay line: This is a winning pattern in which you must land matching symbols on in order to win.

Pay Table: Each symbol and number of matching symbols within a pay line will pay out a different amount. Each combination and amount you can win will be noted within a pay table.

Progressive Jackpot: This is a type of jackpot that is usually connected to a series of slots that grows with each wager made on a slot. In order to win the progressive jackpot, which can often be hundreds of thousands of pounds, you have to land a specific combination or set of circumstances. The progressive jackpot will grow until the jackpot is won.

R:

Random Number Generator (RNG): This is a type of software that powers online slots to ensure that each spin is completely random and every spin has the same chance of winning as the next.

Reels: Reels are the columns found on online slots.

Return To Player (RTP): This is a percentage that a slot machine will pay out to players over the slot’s lifetime. For example, if a slot had an RTP of 96%, a slot would pay out 96% of the total amount put in. 

Rows: This is the number of rows that are on a slot.

S:

Scatter: This is a type of symbol that if you trigger a certain amount will unlock a free spins or bonus round.

Spin: This is the name for a single round on a slot machine.

Symbols: These are the images that are found on online slots. Symbols will vary in how much they are worth, with the full set of payouts found in the pay table.

V:

Variance: Also known as volatility, this is a term used to describe a slot’s consistency. Low volatility slots are more likely to pay out little and often, whereas high volatility will pay out less frequently but higher sums on average.

W:

Wild: This is a type of symbol that will substitute for any other symbols and boost the chance of winning.

Win Both Ways: This is a term described to use slots that pay from both left to right and right to left.