Is Mega Moolah progressive slot a higher or lower variance game?

For many years, the unwritten rule of thumb for progressive jackpot slot games was that they had to be higher variance games. The mere fact that a slot game required the wager to cover not only all the standard payouts that a slot would offer, but also a percentage of each wager to be added to the progressive jackpot fund, made it seem that slot games had to be higher variance.

Part of this belief stems from the way that higher and lower variance slots tend to pay their players. In general (and it is a very general statement), lower variance slots tend to pay out their prizes in greater numbers, but also in smaller amounts. So, if a lower variance slot paid out £100,000 in prize money in a given day, that could be made up of around 50,000 different winners, with the majority winning small amounts and just a rare few winning larger amounts.

Higher variance slots operate differently, they have fewer lower value wins, but tend to have higher value bigger money wins, so although your chances of hitting a prize are lower, the chances are you could win slightly more on that win than you would a lower variance slot. So if a higher variance slot paid out £100,000 in prize money on a given day, it may be that 10,000 players earned a prize, but each individual prize was worth more on average and maybe one or two players landed significant wins that take up a large chunk of that £100,000 prize award amount.

Given that progressive jackpot slots offer some of the largest online prizes available anywhere in the world today, it seemed impossible for there to be an online slot game that was a progressive, but which also played like a lower variance slot. It didn't seem that the two could be compatible.

Therefore, when games like Mega Moolah were released, the default opinion of many reviewers was that the game was a higher variance slot. However is that really the case now that we have an extensive history of how the slot plays for trillions of spins?

The case for Higher Variance

There is a lot of evidence for Mega Moolah being a higher variance slot. Lots of reviews state that the slot is a higher variance game initially (although interestingly, that has started to change of late, with many stating it is now a more medium variance slot). We have also seen that the higher variance model of a slot fits in more with how a progressive jackpot slot tends to pay out.

We have also seen a RTP rating of Mega Moolah of around 89% (although this does omit one significant thing, which we will discuss later), which would definitely put this game in the higher variance category.

Microgaming's stance on the slot though is ambivalent. It is hard to find any conclusive evidence from the company stating that the slot is higher variance or lower. Maybe Microgaming have decided to keep that information to themselves and let the players decide.

And this brings us down to the main point for higher variance, do people think because Mega Moolah fits the profile for a higher variance slot, it should therefore be one? I think there is a lot of weight in this claim because it is easy to see a slot how we are told it should be, rather than how it actually is.

Which brings us rather neatly onto the case for Mega Moolah being a lower or perhaps medium variance slot instead.

The case for Lower/Medium Variance

For me, the case for Lower or Medium variance gaming on the Mega Moolah slot is down to one key thing and that is game-play. To back this up, I have compiled a video of some typical sessions I have had on the Mega Moolah slot. I have to qualify that these sessions are typical for me based on many years of playing the game. I have had sessions where I have won more, and ones where I have won less.

However, what is clearly evident in these videos is that the notion that Mega Moolah is a higher variance slot, which would tend to eat through a bankroll quite quickly, is clearly not the case. Indeed, I reckon that in all the sessions I have had on the slot over the years, I am close to about breaking even when playing the game.

That is a bold statement, but it is certainly the truth. Even a relatively small deposit at a casino, say £30, maybe with a 100% deposit bonus added on top of that as you can get at many casinos, will be enough for you to enjoy way more than the £60 worth of spins that the money would ordinarily get you. Indeed, I would not be surprised if my £60 worth of spins, when added to winnings, would not get me at least double that amount.

That doesn't really happen with higher variance slot games. Those games tend to chew through bankrolls very quickly and decisively, unless you hit lucky on a much larger win. Mega Moolah tends to be far more forgiving than a higher variance slot should.

Of course, I have had sessions where I have finished down on what I have spent, but that is true of any slot game, even lower variance slots. However, I am willing to bet that I have had more fruitful and positive sessions on Mega Moolah, earning a profit, than I have on other slot games, especially when playing at or near minimum bet levels.

For me, the game-play is the key to Mega Moolah's variance and while the labels may state higher variance, to me, this slot does not play that way. I genuinely believe that this is a lower to mid variance slot, perhaps tipping more towards medium variance the higher your bet amount is when you play the game.

This all brings us back to the 89% RTP rating often quoted on websites. That figure is taken using only data from the base game. However, when you factor in the amount of money that is also won on the slot through the progressive jackpot elements (and remember by this, we are not only talking about those big Mega jackpot triggers, but the hundreds and thousands of Mini and Minor jackpots that are won every year, as well as the many Major jackpot triggers) and that figure shoots up into the mid 90s, which is prime lower-to-mid variance slot territory.

In truth, what the actual variance of the Mega Moolah slot doesn't really matter, in so far as so long as you enjoy the game and what it has to offer, as obviously many slots players do, then you are going to play it regardless. Sure that big Mega progressive jackpot prize is a big enticement, but there is a lot more to Mega Moolah than that with 75,000 coins available as the top prize in the base game and that increases to 225,000 in free spins. They are jackpots not to be sniffed at by any player, even higher rollers.

So perhaps the issue with Mega Moolah's variance isn't what it is, or is not, but whether players enjoy how the game is set up and as you can see after many years of hugely successful gaming, Mega Moolah has hit on the right formula and shows no sign of slowing down.