Best New York Social Casinos for Slot Games
So as we said, social casinos are completely legal in New York. In terms of the actual playing experience, the slots games are virtually identical to what you'd find at a real-money online casino. They look the same and they play the same, but the big difference is what you're technically playing with and for.
You can play any of the slots or other games for free, so social casinos don't actually qualify as gambling. However, you can win real money prizes through sweepstakes entries and site-specific currencies and coins, which you can purchase for pre-established exchange rates. Add it all up and you get a great option for fans of slots games, particularly while there are still some obstacles in the way of legal online casinos.
SOCIAL CASINO | # of slot games | Average RTP%
Luckyland Social Casino – Best Exclusive Slots Selection
Luckyland is one of the more popular social casinos in New York. Their extremely slots-focused selection of games features exclusive, in-house produced titles with top-notch reputations and the reviews to back them up. Some popular titles with impressive graphics and fun play options include Snow Queen in 3D, Atlantis, Mardi Gras Money, Dragon's Den, Galactic Beast and Lucky Duck. You can play any of the machines for free using Gold Coins, but you can also play with and accumulate Sweeps Coins to redeem for cash and prizes.
A mobile casino app and desktop version of Luckyland lets New Yorkers play online casino games on the go or from the comfort of home. Both the mobile and browser experience are smooth and responsive, with an easy-to-navigate layout and menus. While the selection of other games beyond slots is a bit limited, players get a welcome bonus of free Sweeps Coins, along with lots of contests, promotions and giveaways on social media.
WinStar Social Casino – Most Interesting Games
For fun geographical and cultural themes, WinStar is one of the more idiosyncratic New York social casinos. Broken up into distinct themes based on Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia, the presentation and graphics have a lot of appeal and variety. However, unlike Luckyland, WinStar Social Casino has a completely free-to-play economy, meaning that while you never have to put any money down, you also can't win any real cash prizes.
Still, if you're just looking for some lightweight, stress-free entertainment with slots, video poker games, table games and more, you could do a lot worse than WinStar. You can actually log in using Facebook, you never have to provide any banking or financial information and the overall commitment level required is very low. So although WinStar may not be what some folks are looking for, it is a good, super-casual alternative to retail NY casinos or unregulated offshore casinos (more on that further down the page).
Chumba Social Casino - Best Overall Experience
Chumba Social Casino comes from the same developer and team behind Luckyland, so it's no surprise that there are a number of similarities. The same dual-currency system is in place, with Gold Coins being used for free, casual play and Sweeps Coins being for redeeming cash and other prizes. There's a lot of overlap with the slot machines available, though Chumba does have more to choose from, including video poker games, roulette and blackjack.
Though Chumba doesn't have an app at the moment, the responsive browser experience works well on nearly any type of phone, and with any type of browser. Just like Luckyland, the site is extremely easy to navigate, while the games are very fast and responsive. With a great variety of games and the ability to play for fun or for real prizes, Chumba is a great way to scratch the casino games itch. It's likely to remain one of the most popular New York online casinos until real-money gambling gets the green light.
What Will Be the Best Online New York Casinos for Slot Games?
We're glad you asked. And while it's impossible to know for sure, we can look into our crystal ball and make some pretty good guesses. After all, most online casinos (and land-based casinos, for that matter) offer very similar offers to players in different locations. When the New York legislature moves to legalize online casinos, all of the big-name commercial casinos will want to be involved, in part to take advantage of the massive population. Based on what's available to players at online casinos in other states, here's a quick list some of the best features at the best online casinos when real-money online casinos launch in New York.
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BetMGM New York Casino – Best Slot Selection With the Empire City Casino in Yonkers and a mobile sports betting app already up and running, MGM has a strong foothold in New York. (In a bit of New York online casino news, there have been rumblings of an additional MGM casino and resort coming to the NYC area in the near future.) And the BetMGM Casino is consistently rated as one of the best online casino sites out there. The table games, poker room and live dealer games play a role in that, but a big factor in that popularity is the wide selection of slots to choose from, including many different themes, play options and prize structures. You can find hundreds of different digital slot machines, accessible from the browser experience or the mobile app. Top developers like NetENT, International Game Technology (IGT) and Playtech all have games featured at the BetMGM Online Casino. From a retro-themed Space Invaders game to the swashbuckling style of Adventures of Doubloon Island, there really is something for every type of gambler. There are also exclusive games like Majestic Lions or MGM Grand Millions. Whether you enjoy simple, straightforward slots or progressive jackpots paired with a colorful, visually impressive presentation, you can probably find what you're looking for when BetMGM NY casino goes live. -
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Caesars New York Casino - Best Online Slots Promotions At Caesars Online Casino NY, players can expect to take over 500 machines for a spin, with options ranging from old-fashioned three-reel slots to 3D games with detailed graphics, impressive animations and even secret mini-games for you to discover. But beyond the high volume and high quality of the digital slot machines, one of the best things about Caesars is the special offers and promotions. There are a few different welcome bonus offers across different states, but they're all fairly easy to claim, and many of them are particularly valuable for slot players. Some currently available new player packages include a 100% deposit match (up to $2,000), $500 in bonus slot play, bonus spins and even a $10 no-deposit bonus for residents of some states. Obviously, several of those offers are angled towards slots aficionados, and slots do make up the majority of the casino games on-site and in the app. The fun's not just for newbies, though. Caesars has some of the best online casino bonuses for existing players, including a handful of daily bonuses and events. Every day you log in, you're likely to find a different promo you can take advantage of, and it's a great way to try out new games and stretch your online gaming budget. As you might expect, Caesars also offers plenty of table games and runs a separate sports betting platform. -
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FanDuel New York Casino – Best for Mobile Slots Games For years now, FanDuel has been a leader in online sports betting. Bettors have pretty consistently put their daily fantasy sports and online sports book at or near the top of the rankings. They've always put an emphasis on creating a seamless, fast and easy experience for mobile users – so it makes that the FanDuel Online Casino NY will provide some of the best mobile slots in the market. Though there are fewer overall options for slot players (around 200 games), the casino app makes them look and play great on a smaller phone or tablet screen. The navigation and menus are optimized for mobile devices, and it's easy to find the games you want, load them up and play exactly the lines and amounts you want. All the themes, graphics and special animations look almost as good as they would on a high-definition monitor. There's certainly no added difficulty or performance when you go from a browser to the app. So you can play on the go, and play with confidence that crashes and bugs are extremely rare.
The Most Likely NY Online Casino Bonuses for Slots
Specific promotions all have different dollar values, qualifying requirements and timelines (among other variables), but typically, they all fall into a few general categories. We've touched on welcome bonus deals already, but the perks don't stop there. Existing players should see a fairly steady stream of bonus cash, free spins and other special offers coming their way.
Most of these bonuses can be used with slots, table games or any other casino games in a given NY casino apps, but there are some that are tied to one type of game. Fortunately for slot players, there are more slot-specific promos than any kind. All that said, here's a rundown of some of the more common bonus offers online gambling sites offer. We expect that when New York online casinos are legalized, Empire State residents will have access to all of them in some shape or form.
Welcome Bonus Offers for New York Online Casinos
Like the name says on the tin, these bonuses are meant to welcome new players to online gambling sites and apps with a little extra "thank you," just for signing up. Almost all online casinos offer some kind of welcome bonus, and it's a virtual lock that any major New York online casinos will, too. New player promos will often give players bonus cash, which cannot be withdrawn, but can typically be used to play any online casino games on the platform.
When your total bets reach a certain threshold (usually a multiple of the bonus amount), the bonus money turns is converted into part of your real cash balance. This is known as the "playthrough requirement," and will vary from as low as 1x to 30x the bonus amount. Many welcome bonuses will actually fall into one of the offer categories below, so read on for more details.
Deposit Match Bonus for NY Online Casinos
Deposit match bonuses are one of the more common types of promos, and they're frequently available for both new players and existing players alike. A deposit match is given to players as a percentage of their next deposit, with 50% and 100% being seen most commonly. However, in our experience, some welcome offers will go as high as 200% (twice your deposit in bonus cash) and some existing player offers will go as low as 25%.
No matter what deposit match you get, it's still a chance to scoop up some extra money for your bankroll without changing what games you play or how much you bet on them. Deposit matches will almost always have some kind of playthrough requirement associated with them, as described in the section above. However, the playthrough multiple is usually pretty reasonable, and if you deposit a bit less, you'll have a smaller overall bonus amount to play through. Often, you'll also be able to convert smaller portions of the bonus cash as you hit checkpoints along the way to claiming the full amount.
For example, if you get a $100 deposit bonus, you might be able to claim $25 for every quarter of the total playthrough requirement you reach. As always, be sure to read the terms and conditions for any offer you opt into, as all the details should be spelled out clearly there. And if you have any questions, you can reach out to the customer service team at the online gambling site in question.
Bonus Spin Offers for NY Online Casinos
Want to enjoy a little stress-free time with some of your favorite machines? Or maybe give some popular new games a try? Bonus spin bonuses are a great way to do either, giving you a bonus spin of a reel on a slot machine without having to put any money down. And of course, the best part is you get to keep the winnings.
Online casinos will often offer these types of promos for a specific set of machines, or even one particular game. They're a great way to experience the theme, options and play style of a machine you haven't tried before, while also getting the chance to boost your bankroll a bit. You never know – you might just find a new favorite game. Just remember that each bonus spin can be redeemed for a spin of a single reel, though you can typically use more than one if you want to play multiple lines on a machine. These NY casino bonuses are some of the most popular when it comes to slots.
What to Expect Playing Slots at Online Casinos in New York
If and when there are legal online casinos in New York, there will most likely be everything from low-minimum slots all the way on up to high roller machines. And the New York State Gaming Commission will be there to make sure each and every game plays and settles bets of all sizes fairly and accurately.
There will also be a huge variety of options and styles for the slot machines you can play, particularly at the biggest and best online casinos. Some games will have different numbers of reels and lines, while others may feature progressive jackpots that go up by the second. You'll see different minimum bets per line and different payout structures, too. First, let's cover the basics of what you can expect when you click or tap into a virtual machine, then go over some of the ways you can customize how you want to play.
Range of Bets and Bet Types
There are lots of different types of bets you can make when you're playing slot games at online casinos. You won't find the classic penny slots on every online gambling platform, but you will usually be able to find machines that let you play any reel or line for as little as five cents. And while online casino machines do have maximum bets per line, they are generally pretty high. Plus, you can obviously play at a pace that feels comfortable, whether that's rapid-fire or leisurely. So in the end, you can essentially play for whatever stakes you'd like.
High Paying Slots and Jackpot Games
Beyond the wide betting options, there are also jackpot games, where every time someone spins a reel, it adds to a jackpot There are also jackpot games, where every time someone spins a reel, it adds to a big jackpot that the game will eventually pay out to a lucky gambler. There are many different types and sizes for these progressive prize pools, and some digital slots will actually have both a jackpot and a non-jackpot version available. As you'd expect, you usually have slightly lower payouts for jackpot games, with a very small portion of each bet going toward the big prize.
Fair Gaming Practices
When online casino gambling in New York eventually goes live, it will be regulated and monitored by the New York State Gaming Commission. And whether you prefer table games, live dealer games, slots or other casino games, this goes a long way toward ensuring that all games are programmed or played fairly and according to the stated rules.
Casinos in New York are not allowed to make false claims about what percentage of bets are returned to patrons, how quickly payouts will be processed or any aspect of a game's rules. What does this all mean for you? When you can finally log on to New York online casinos, you should feel confident that you're getting a fair shake.
Types of Slots at NY Online Casinos
Just like their physical counterparts, online slot machines come in all different shapes and sizes. Here's a quick overview and description of the most popular types of machines gamblers in New York will have access to.
Three-Reel Slots
When you think of classic, old-fashioned slot machines, you're probably thinking of the basic, three-reel variety. These games are limited to three vertical rows, but can have up to five pay lines. They generally have pared-down graphics and straightforward gameplay, without mini-games, multiple game windows or over-the-top animations. Still, there's a reason they're a staple of both retail and online casino gaming – they're fun! Many three-reel machines will have a retro style and feel that's very appealing to some folks, and you can expect to find plenty of these at New York online casinos.
Video Slots
While every slot machine you can find in an online casino is technically a video slot, there is a certain style of machine that calls back to when computerized games started to take over in the late nineties and early aughts. When digital screens first replaced mechanical reels, the games had a certain CGI, computerized feel to them, along with video clips and sound effects.
The freedom computer graphics gave to game developers led to an explosion of fun and interesting themes, and video slots very quickly became the most popular option in casinos in New York and around the world. All that said, many slot games in online casinos emulate that turn-of-the-century look and feel, and the enormous variety of designs and visual themes really does echo that new age of video slots.
Multi-Payline Slots
Multi-payline slots, also known as multi-line slots, often let you play up to thirty pay lines at a time...vertical, horizontal, forwards, backwards, diagonal and many other paths through the symbols onscreen. (It honestly can get a little difficult to tell whether or not you've won anything at a glance if you play every line at a time!) The player gets to choose how many of these paylines they'd like to play, and how much they'd like to bet on each of them per spin. Players going for jackpots will usually play as many lines as they can at all times, while more casual gamblers tend to stick to five paylines or less.
Progressive Jackpots
We touched on these types of machines above, but in general, the more people play progressive jackpot games, the higher and higher the jackpot gets. When someone hits the jackpot, it resets to a predetermined amount and follows the same pattern as before, increasing as people play. Progressive jackpots are popular for video poker games as well, and online casinos in New York are sure to have a good deal of options for gamblers looking to hit a big win.
How to Play Slots Online
The slot machines at online casino sites in New York will have the same rules and play options as those at physical casinos in New York. You'll be able to choose your machine, bet amount, how many paylines you want to bet on and how fast or slow you play. That said, many of the same basic strategies apply when you gamble online or in person.
If you're going for a faster, bigger payout, you probably want to look for games with bonus mini-games and bonus symbols, which give you a better chance of hitting a big score in a short amount of time. If you're aiming for a longer, more leisurely play session, you probably want to choose a small bet amount and play five paylines or less. In the end, all slot machines will give players back less money than they put in, so a lot of it comes down to what you're looking for out of your gambling budget.
Return-to-Player (RTP) Rate for NY Online Casino Slots
The return-to-player rate for a slot machine is the percentage of money taken in as bets that the game pays out to players as wins. While this is always going to be lower than 100%, some machines do feature RTPs well above 90%, even creeping as high as 97% or 98% in some cases. The RTP for a slot machine is supposed to be listed in the info section for a game, and if you don't find it there, you can also look up the game on the developer's website or on one of many third-party sites that keep track of that information.
Clearly, the higher the RTP for a game, the better a player is going to do in the long run. Choosing an option with the highest possible RTP will help stretch your gaming budget and give you more for your entertainment dollar. It can be helpful to know all the odds before you put your money down, but as we mentioned in the section above, that may not be the most important factor in the decision of what game to play.
Volatility
Online casino games all have a certain level of volatility, which means the degree to which winnings or losses fluctuate over time. A high-volatility game can see you go way up or way down in a very short period of time, while a low-volatility (more stable) game will see a player experience smaller wins and losses, with fewer of the big swings back and forth.
If you're a less frequent gambler looking for some quick action and a chance to win a significant payout, you'll probably want to try your hand at a high-volatility game and try to get out when you're on the winning side of things. If you're a regular player who simply enjoys playing, you may want a game with lower volatility, which can give you a more laid-back overall experience.
Newest Online Casino Slot Machines
With so many different themes and game styles vying for your gambling dollar, it won't surprise you to learn that new online casino games are being developed constantly. Here are a few recently released slots that got our attention:
Titanic – Developer: Bally
This game lets you experience some of the excitement and adventure of the classic 1997 movie. It features lots of multipliers and bonuses, to go along with famous scenes from the film.
Pokemon Run – Developer: NetEnt
This bright, colorful and fun game will make fans of the Pokemon franchise feel right at home. Can you collect all the winning bets while you go for the progressive jackpot?
Ocean Magic – Developer: IGT
With 50 paylines and plenty of ways to win, this absorbing ocean voyage will pull you in with sharp, detailed graphics and a relaxing, ocean theme.
Responsible Gambling
Responsible gambling is important no matter what online casino platform you decide to go with. As we said in the RTP section above, online casinos are in the business to make a profit, and the overall payout for a machine is never going to be 100% of the bets put into it. So it's important that you establish a budget that factors in what you're comfortable losing and how much you value the entertainment you get out of playing.
Online casinos have tools in place that can help you set limits on how much you can deposit, play or lose in a given period of time. And they'll all give you easy access to responsible gambling education and the contact information for in-state and national resources dedicated to helping anyone suffering from a gambling problem.
Offshore Online Casinos – Why They Should Be Off the Table
On the surface, offshore casinos may seem like a perfectly reasonable way to play casino games and gamble online. Unfortunately, these sites and apps are completely unregulated and unmonitored by any government or organization dedicated to protecting consumers.
There are many stories of difficulty finding the status of transactions, trouble getting any sort of customer support and even casinos just shutting down unexpectedly. Plus, there's no minimum level of security or privacy that needs to be reached. So it's true that using offshore casinos may work out just fine for some people, but there is a lot of risk involved, and we strongly recommend against it.
New York Online Slots
Author
Tom Ober is a professional writer living in New Hampshire. An avid Boston sports fan, he's rooted with his heart (and wallet) for the local teams for many years. When he's not stationed in front of a game on the TV, he's probably playing Gin Rummy or a video game that's roughly 30-40 years old.