Pokies are the most popular casino games on Earth, both online and offline. All online casinos dedicate a huge chunk of the gaming libraries to them, giving online pokie players like you practically endless options.
If you’re looking for the best online slots out there, you’ve come to the right place. This post will cover our top recommendations, along with other relevant information, so you can consistently have a great gaming experience with online pokies.
From our thorough examination of Australian online pokies, we have found these to be the best of the best:
Centred around Zeus, the god of lightning, Gates of Olympus is one of the most popular online casino games on the market. It is now part of a series of games. Today, there’s a Gates of Olympus 1000 title that you can try out as an alternative. But what made the original such a success? All of the multipliers are accumulated throughout the bonus round, which means your wins can get exponentially higher over time.
If you’re looking for an old-school online pokie, consider Indian Dreaming your dream come true! Admittedly, it doesn’t have the same buzz it had when it first came out. However, the game still holds up well. With a high RTP of 98.99%, medium volatility, and win-generating features, this Native American-themed online slots game is well worth trying.
If you’re looking for a wide betting range with a high RTP, then 1429 Uncharted Seas is for you. It also takes a different approach to sea-themed online slot titles by letting you become a pirate on your own ship, seeking great treasures. There are a lot of interesting things about this game, but our favourite is the expanding wilds.
If you’re looking for a mobile-first pokie that delves into a familiar story, 3 Genie Wishes is something that may appeal to you. In this game, the three wishes are actually real. Once you find the magic lamp, you can unlock any of them: a cash payout, Raining Wilds Free Spins, or Sticky Wilds Free Spins. From the visuals to the features, Pragmatic Play has wonderfully executed the theme, making it one of the best online pokies out there.
If Aztec culture fascinates you, then this online slot game will keep the magic alive for you! It is the upgraded version of its predecessor, Aztec Deluxe, made better with more vivid graphics and amazing features. Our favourite is the gamble round, where you can increase your win amount further by guessing the suit or colour of the card.
The tale may be as old as time, and the fun that it brings is very much alive and well! Beyond the obvious reference used for the pokie theme, there are still so many things to love about it. When you get to the free spins round, you get to choose from three features: nudged reel, synced reel, or random wilds. All of these help you secure higher payouts in different ways.
Released in 2015, Event Horizon is one of our favourites because it pays regardless of where the connected symbols appear on the reels. This means you have a higher chance of hitting at least one of the paylines. It’s also very unique because, even though it has five reels, it follows a classic slot theme.
Imagine Vegas in the ’60s, where legendary stars put on shows. We may be three scores away from the Golden Age of Las Vegas already, but these beautiful yesteryears are kept alive on Betty Bonkers. And for this game, consider Betty your personal guide. Win on the bonkers like to unlock extra wilds, multipliers, or even a random jackpot, among other potential rewards.
Find wins even at the deepest depths of the ocean with 1000 Pearls. With 243 ways to win and the ability to choose your bonus, it’s no wonder this game is still such a hit! Meet your aquatic friends in this underwater adventure, each of which will help you collect a base game jackpot of up to 300,000 coins.
How do you feel about the chance to win 100,000 times your bet amount? Hop on this Money Train, and you’ll have the chance to make this your reality. Just remember to read up on the rules before playing! Features like the Necromancer Collector-Payer do different things to help you get closer to the maximum win.
Smart Pokies is an online gambling information site that’s dedicated to helping you learn everything about pokies. By providing accurate and up-to-date information and unbiased reviews, we hope to empower pokie players like you to find the best-fit titles and online casinos.
Objectivity is at the heart of our evaluation process, ensuring that our recommendations are applicable to all our readers. To ensure that our biases don’t get in the way of delivering you the best online pokies today, prospective pokies for our list were individually assessed based on each criterion, and then their scores were added up and ranked so we could see the top options.
The RTP represents the theoretical return for every dollar that you bet. For example, a 95% RTP means that you’ll theoretically get 95 cents out of every dollar back. So, the higher the RTP, the better!
While the magic of the spinning and winning possibilities is alive today, it is highly preferred that an online pokie will have bonus features to make things even more exciting. Apart from their presence, we also looked at the value it adds to the gaming experience and your winning possibilities.
Higher potential wins are attractive to us. They are usually defined based on your bet amount, such as 5,000x. The ways by which a player can hit the maximum win are also considered.
Everyone loves slapping using their phones! It’s just so much more convenient than taking out your laptop. That’s why it’s very important for us that the pokie game works beautifully on mobile as well. For this factor, titles that are specifically created for mobile devices scored higher.
There are providers that are known for consistently releasing quality titles. So, if the pokie in question is from one of those, then they get plus points. We’ve also included the top providers on the market today, which you’ll see a little bit later in this article.
Since we’re talking about Australian pokies, there are two types of currencies that we are interested in: fiat AUD and cryptocurrencies. The currencies that you can use for betting depend on the online casino that you select. So, even though the specific title supports crypto betting, you may not have access to it.
To enjoy pokies, you need to join an online pokies casino. And depending on your selection, you may be able to apply certain bonuses, which you can use to cushion yourself from losses or to get a chance to grab real money wins without spending anything. When you join an online pokies casino, you may be able to get these incentives:
Also known as the welcome bonus or welcome package, these are provided to new players who have just joined the platform. They usually come with a deposit bonus and free spins, but the casino operator has total freedom to structure these promotions however they want.
With free spins, you can play a specific title or select one from a list for free. The assigned value for the free spin is usually the minimum bet for the online pokie. Many operators also dictate the maximum amount that you can win using free spins, which is specified in the terms of the promotion.
No-deposit bonuses are highly desirable because there’s no need to make a deposit to be able to claim a win. What will the reward be? For online casinos, you’ll usually get free spins. Instead of depositing cash, you just need to do something simple like verifying your account or signing in. With this bonus type, you can play with zero financial investment from your end.
These are promotions that you can claim regularly. For example, a free spin offer that can be claimed every Monday can be considered a weekly bonus. The same logic applies to the daily and monthly versions. There’s no restriction on the reward that you can get here. Free spins, cashback, reloads, and everything else can be up for grabs.
Players who have reached a certain VIP level may unlock more promotions. In other cases, you’ll get the same perks but with a bigger potential reward. For example, a regular player gets a 1% cashback. After reaching a certain VIP level, you may get 2%.
Today, many online gambling platforms allow users to play for free or for real money. Which should you go with? We’ve briefly covered the pros and cons of each option in the table below:
| Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|
| Playing Online Pokies in the Demo Mode |
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| Playing Online Pokies for Real Money |
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With any form of gambling, your goal is to minimise your losses and maximise your wins. Pokies are games of chance, so there’s no guaranteed way to score a payday every time. However, you can improve your odds when you play online slots by following these tips:
Discipline is very important when you play online pokies, not only for securing wins but also for preventing gambling addiction. So, make sure to set conditions on when you’ll stop playing based on your wins, losses, and session length. There should also be a maximum amount that you can bet.
The basic rule for any online pokie is the same: slap and let the reels do their magic. But because most titles nowadays have specific features that are not available in the basic version, then you should go over the rules. For example, how do you get to the bonus round when playing real money pokies? Knowing things like this will allow you to identify any glitches in the game as well.
What do the special symbols do? They are important in understanding what’s going on in the game. If the pokie that you’re playing has a mini-game like a gamble round, you need to know how to play it or how to opt-out. This can be the difference between winning big or losing it all.
The online casino that you choose will largely determine the quality of your experience. As a pokie player, these are things that you may consider for the selection process: Selection of online pokies, categorisations of pokie titles, withdrawal time
This way, you can focus on creating a strategy instead of whether you’ll actually be able to get your win.
The higher the RTP, the higher your average returns should be. However, remember that we’re just talking about theoretical returns. Although it increases your odds of keeping more of your original budget, it’s not a guarantee.
There are many ways to further subcategorise pokie titles, the most common of which we will talk about in the next section. But no matter what you choose, you should know why you went with it. Let’s say you went with a pokie title with a progressive jackpot. You should know whether this decision is aligned with your goals and risk appetite.
The more paylines there are, the easier it is for you to hit them when you slap. So, before you start playing, look up how many paylines the game has. If this feature is important to you, consider Megaways pokies that provide you with as many as 117,649 ways to win.
Below are the types of online pokies that you can play. As you’ll notice, the categorisations are based on the features or any salient characteristics of the pokie. The typologies are also not mutually exclusive. It is possible for an online pokie to both be a five-reel and Megaways, for example.
3-reel pokies are online slots that feature just three reels on the layout. For such titles, the purpose is usually to mimic the appeal of old-school slot machines. These usually have fewer paylines and limited features. Many of these titles have a fruit theme, but this isn’t the case a hundred per cent of the time.
Today, five reels for online pokies appear to be the standard. So, expect that a lot of the titles that you’ll encounter today will be of this type. Compared to their three-reel counterparts, these usually have more features. However, for a pokie to be classified as a five-reel, the only requirement is that it has five reels.
This type has seven reels. From what we have observed, it usually has more paylines if it uses that method to determine wins. Tumbles are also very common for 7-reel titles.
3D pokies take everything to the next level visually. By providing 3D graphics and animation, they create a more enriching experience that helps the user better connect to the theme. However, they consume more bandwidth, so they may not be a great option if you’re using mobile data.
With video pokies, you get more than basic animation. There are also videos that make things more interesting visually. Today, this is considered the norm because game studios need to work extra hard to grab your attention.
When you play pokies with the Megaways mechanic, you get as many as 117,649 ways to win. The paylines change with every spin because the number of symbols that are on each reel changes as well.
Gambling addiction is a real problem that affects bettors of all kinds. More than the possibility of losing a lot of money, it can also deteriorate your relationship with the people around you. That’s why it’s important to set hard limits on how much you’re going to spend and how long you’re going to play.
Many online casinos help you stay in control by providing features that help you enforce these limits on your own. Self-exclusion is also possible in most cases. Regardless of the responsible gambling features supported by your selected online casino, please remember that it is your responsibility to yourself to keep your activities in check.
We provide reviews, recommendations, and up-to-date information that help you decide on what and where you play. Our team constantly adds more stuff to the platform to provide even more value to you.
Please refer to our top 10 list for recommendations. Any of those could turn out to be the best for you!
Despite the strict policies for operators, there are no legal repercussions if you play online pokies in the country.
Bank transfers, e-wallets, and prepaid cards are all popular in Australia.
Yes. It all depends on the online casino operator if it’s something that they want to offer.
The same ones that you’ll find everywhere else in the world - welcome bonuses, free spins, VIP perks, and more.
Given that so many Australians have issues with gambling, it is important to choose an online casino that supports at least one responsible gambling feature. There’s also no shame in seeking help if you need it.