Canada’s Best Online Casinos for Penny Slots

Penny Slots Explained

When you play slot games, you’re betting on whether a winning combination of symbols will appear on the reels across a recognized payline. Traditional slots might have around five paylines, while video slots can have hundreds of thousands or even millions. 

The more paylines in play, the more ways there are to win with each spin of the reels; at the same time, an increased number of paylines means the game costs more for players to spin. Imagine a slot that has three active paylines with a $1 stake on each — that’s $3 per spin. 

Penny slots are named as such because the minimum stake per payline is only 1¢. If you’re new to penny slots, you might be thinking this means you can play for 1¢ per spin, but that’s not always the case. 

It all comes down to the number of paylines in place. Penny slot machines might have hundreds of paylines on their reels and a minimum or fixed number that are active. Let’s say that number is 50 — suddenly, you’re betting $0.50 per spin, since every payline requires a 1¢ wager behind it. It’s easy to get caught out because of the name, especially if you’re new to slots. 

So, does this mean penny slots are a scam? No — but players should always read the rules of any slot before they start spinning. Keeping track of your budget is an essential component of responsible gambling, and the smaller stakes games can give a false sense of how much money is being spent. 

Penny Slot RTP and Variance

Before playing penny slots online, you’ll need to understand return to player (RTP) percentages and variance. These two components of any online slot give players an indication of payout rates, and are useful for identifying slots with the best returns. 

RTP

A slot’s RTP percentage is an indicator of how much money the game will pay out on average over an extended period of time. In theory, a 95% RTP slot will pay out $95 to players for every $100 they wager on the game, but in reality, RTP percentages can deviate massively from their advertised rates. 

Casino players should always avoid taking RTP rates at face value, since these figures are calculated over millions of games. Aggregating these numbers from huge data sets means it’s unlikely that players will be able to see the impact of RTP over one playing session, but it can be used to weed out machines that return less on average. 

Penny slots in land-based casinos were known for having lower RTPs than higher-stakes machines. But with online penny slots, they’re often on par ‒ look for slots that have RTPs of at least 95%. 

Activating the maximum number of paylines will improve your chances of a hit on a given spin. Check any betting requirements for the larger prizes, as some jackpots can only be won when players wager the maximum amount.

Variance

Variance — also known as volatility — gives a more complete picture when it comes to a machine’s payouts. You can think of variance as the frequency and size of hits, and it’s this feature of slots that gives variation on RTP rates. Highly volatile slots pay out larger amounts less often, whereas low-variance slots pay out smaller amounts more often. 

Penny slots can be high, medium or low variance. Information about a slot’s variance is usually found on the casino’s site next to the game, but if not, you can make an educated guess based on the paytable. Games with higher payouts tend to be of high variance, especially if there’s a jackpot; similarly, a higher number of small payouts might indicate a less volatile machine. 

Variance is useful for finding the best machine for your playing style. Lower variance might be preferred for shorter sessions with a smaller budget, as you’re more likely to find a hit before you spend all your bankroll.

Penny Slot Casino Bonuses

Making use of casino bonuses is a great way to try out new slot games and learn how they work. You’ll see a few different bonus types in our list of online casinos with penny slots, and we’ll explain some of the most common below. 

You should always read the terms and conditions of the bonus before you commit to it. There may be wagering requirements you need to meet — this is where a player must stake the value of the bonus a certain number of times — before any resulting winnings become withdrawable. Check for maximum win limits too, as you won’t be able to withdraw or use any winnings above the threshold.  

Free Spins

Free spins are often given to new players as part of a welcome bonus. They might require a deposit to be made before being awarded, but you can also find free spins as part of a no deposit bonus. Players can use free spins on eligible slot games on the casino’s site. 

Matched Deposits

A matched deposit bonus is where the casino literally matches your deposit up to a certain amount. Let’s say the bonus is a 100% matched deposit up to $100 — when you deposit $50, you’ll receive $50 in bonus funds, likewise with $100. Players are free to deposit more than $100 but the bonus will be capped at this amount. 

These bonus funds are segregated from your account’s real money balance and can be used to play eligible casino games. They’re often subject to wagering requirements before they can be withdrawn, and players will need to watch out for payment exclusions too, as your deposit must be made with a valid payment method. 

No Wagering Bonus

A no wagering bonus is a bonus free from wagering requirements. These are appealing because players can immediately withdraw any resulting funds if you’re lucky enough to win. 

In the case of penny slots, you might come across a free spins bonus with no wagering requirements.

Top Penny Slots to Try

It’s easy to become overwhelmed with choice when looking for penny slots to try. Here are a few of our favourites to get you started ‒ look for the free play mode to get familiar with the game before you start betting with real money.

Double Tigers

Wazdan’s Double Tigers is an orient-themed 3×3 penny slot. There are eight paylines in play at all times and each spin costs one 1¢ stake. Double Tigers is a very simple penny slot: there are only two symbols — the fire tiger and water tiger — and no bonus rounds or wilds. That said, the beautiful graphics do make this an engaging slot to spin. 

Something unique to Wazdan’s titles is the Volatility Levels feature, which lets players select between low, standard, and high volatilities. Double Tigers’ RTP is 96.43% and the maximum win of 40x your stake is quite low compared to other slots.

Divine Fortune

Divine Fortune is a 5×3 penny slot with an RTP of 96.59%. Released by NetEnt in 2017, it’s a medium volatility slot with fixed paylines. There are 20 in total, making the minimum bet $0.20 per spin. 

Divine Fortune has three jackpots up for grabs: the minor pays 400x the stake, the major pays 2,000x, and the mega jackpot is progressive, meaning that a portion of each spin’s stake is added to the prize until it’s won. Bear in mind that your chances of winning the mega jackpot increase with higher stakes.

This slot has an abundance of bonus features too, including several special wild mechanics and free spins rounds. We’d recommend playing for free first to get to grips with how they all work. 

Cleopatra

One of the older games on the list, IGT released Cleopatra back in 2004. There are five reels, three rows, and 20 fixed paylines here, so the minimum bet per spin is $0.20. This Egyptian-themed penny slot has a medium volatility and an RTP of 95.02%. Despite its aging graphics, common features like wilds and free spins rounds are still present and players can win up to 10,000x their stake.

Pixies of the Forest

IGT’s fantasy-themed Pixies of the Forest is a 5×3 slot with medium variance. The paylines are fixed at 99 and the minimum bet is $0.33. The RTP is a little lower at 93-94.9%, but the exciting tumbling reels mechanic can result in consecutive wins from the same spin.