Everyone who’s ever played in an online casino knows that slots are the most popular game you’ll come across.
Online slots come in different shapes and sizes, and more importantly, they don’t require any skills. Unlike blackjack, slots are pretty great for beginners. The thing is that they can be confusing for new players, especially due to all the technical terms they use.
Every new player has wondered what slot volatility is at a given time. If you check our guide out, you’ll see slot games classified as low, medium, or highly volatile games. But what does volatility mean in slot machines? Why the difference between slots? Are highly volatile slots more profitable?
For starters, we can tell you that it’s an inseparable element of virtual slot machines. We’ll answer all slot machine volatility-related questions in this guide, plus give you our recommendations for the best medium variance slots.
Top 15 Medium Variance Slots to Play
🎰 Slot | 🧑💻 Provider | 💯 RTP | 🎰 Play at Online Casino |
---|---|---|---|
Starmania | NextGen Gaming | 97.87% | Borgata |
Golden Tour | Playtech | 97.71% | Borgata |
Guns N’ Roses | NetEnt | 96.98% | Golden Nugget |
Viking Reign | Ainsworth | 96.62% | BetMGM |
Berry Burst | NetEnt | 96.56% | DraftKings |
Amazon Gold | Ainsworth | 96.54% | BetMGM |
Empress of the Nile | High 5 Games | 96.50% | Golden Nugget |
Jingle Spin | NetEnt | 96.48% | BetMGM |
Piggy Riches | NetEnt | 96.40% | FanDuel |
Legend of the Pharaohs | Barcrest | 96.10% | Caesars |
Divine Fortune Megaways | NetEnt | 96.09% | Golden Nugget |
Gordon Ramsay: Hell’s Kitchen | NetEnt | 96.07% | BetMGM |
Adorned Peacook | Konami | 96.05% | DraftKings |
Bonanza Megaways | Big Time Gaming | 96.00% | Golden Nugget |
Triple Cash Wheel | Bally | 96.00% | BetMGM |
The Best Medium Volatility Slots Online in 2023 Reviewed
If you know what medium variance slots are and you’re looking for the best options, this section of this guide is for you! When looking for the best online slot machines, apart from the RTP percentage, you should also check the variance, min/max bet limits, and maximum payout. Here are our 5 favorite medium volatility casino slot games.
🥇#1 Guns N’Roses
- 💯RTP: 96.98%
- 🧑💻Provider: NetEnt
- 🔟Reels: 5
- 🔢Paylines: 20
- 🤠Theme: Branded – Music slot
- ⭐Best Feature: Expanding Wilds
If you love rock music, you’ve surely heard Guns N’Roses or may even be a diehard fan. Once considered the biggest rock band on the planet, Guns N’Roses have become a big part of pop culture. They’ve infiltrated various media and the slot industry as well. The most perfect example of it is NetEnt’s hit simply titled Guns N’Roses.
The 2016 online slot is part of NetEnt’s music series of slots. It’s also the most popular one and the most fun to play. It features all of the band’s members rocking their hearts out, as well as the 5 most popular songs released by GNR, Paradise City included.
The action kicks off with a slew of special features, including expanding wilds, a special Appetite for Destruction wild, solo multipliers, and whatnot. The Crowd Pleaser bonus game is a fantastic addition that will make GNR fans happy.
This medium volatility slots game pays well over 1,000x your stake. Its variance ranges from low to medium, being more focused on the latter. With a bit of luck, you’ll be hitting the biggest wins across 20 paylines while singing the band’s hits, be it Paradise City or Sweet Child of Mine.
🥈#2 Starmania
- 💯RTP: 97.87%
- 🧑💻Provider: NextGen Gaming
- 🔟Reels: 5
- 🔢Paylines: 10
- 🤠Theme: Space
- ⭐Best Feature: High RTP
Starmania lets you travel through the Milky Way by spinning the reels at NextGen Gaming’s wonderfully designed medium volatility slot game. The pay-both-ways slot boasts multi-colored planets on the reels over a dark background, while there are lovely tunes that draw you into the game. If you find the sounds too distracting, you can use the mute button – we have to say we take no such measures.
While amassing outstanding winnings, you may activate unique features such as a Gamble function that can double or even triple your win and the free game feature. To activate the free game feature, you must land three or more bonus scatters. If you’re lucky enough to do so, you’ll be given 10 bonus spins.
The highlight, though, is the high RTP of 97.87%. For comparison, the average slot RTP across the iGaming industry is 96%. Plus, the maximum payout is 1,000 times your stake.
🥉#3 Divine Fortune Megaways
- 💯RTP: 96.09%
- 🧑💻Provider: NetEnt
- 🔟Reels: 6
- 🔢Paylines: up to 117,649
- 🤠Theme: Ancient Greece
- ⭐Best Feature: High maximum payout
Divine Fortune Megways is a medium volatility slot game inspired by Ancient Greece and has a Megaways concept with up to 117,649 ways to win. Ride your soaring horse to unlock a variety of bonuses, including expanding and falling wilds, free spins, and re-spins.
When you land on the wild symbol, the falling wilds feature activates, resulting in falling wilds lowering one place down, prompting another spin. A Wild on Wild feature is triggered anytime a wild symbol occurs in a spot occupied by a falling wild, leaving the entire reel stacked with wild symbols.
If you land four or more scatters, you will be awarded up to 20 free spins. The good news is that the maximum payout is 50,000 times your stake, which is especially handy if you’re a high roller. You can bet a min of $0.10 and a maximum of $100 per spin. We couldn’t finish this mini-review without appreciating the high-quality visuals and the divine sounds.
🎖️#4 Gordon Ramsay: Hell’s Kitchen
- 💯RTP: 96.07%
- 🧑💻Provider: NetEnt
- 🔟Reels: 5
- 🔢Paylines: 20
- 🤠Theme: Branded – Gordon Ramsay
- ⭐Best Feature: Special Wild
In this medium volatility slot, you will meet the ferocious Gordon Ramsay as he delivers his culinary creations. Your task will be to impress him, and you will have numerous bonus features on the menu to do so.
Ramsay’s wild round will be triggered at random, with 5 to 7 wild symbols appearing anywhere on the reels. When three or four scatter symbols show on the reels, the Team Challenge Free Spins feature is triggered, with 10 free spins rewarded for 3 scatters and 15 free spins granted for 4 scatters. Because there are 2 play zones, you must select the Blue or Red team before the free spins mode begins.
Gordon’s Bonus Game feature will be activated once only the Team Challenge Free Spins mode finishes, and your team wins or if the tournament ends in a draw. With this game, the maximum payout is set at 1,000x your wager.
🏅#5 Golden Tour
- 💯RTP: 97.71%
- 🧑💻Provider: Playtech
- 🔟Reels: 5
- 🔢Paylines: 5
- 🤠Theme: Golf
- ⭐Best Feature: High RTP
Golden Tour is one of the best medium volatility slots in Playtech’s repertoire based on the legendary PGA golf tournament. While it is a simple video slot, there are several things to enjoy, such as its aesthetics and visuals. You can also try to take advantage of the high RTP, going to 97.71%, and the one exceptional Golden Tour extra feature.
The feature is triggered by landing three or more scatters of the same symbol. The scatter symbols include a duck, a gopher, and a catfish. Collecting three same-symbol scatters is required to activate the feature.
Once triggered, you can select your preferred golf club – Iron, Putter, or Driver and then you can take your shot.
Depending on how many scatter symbols you landed, the multiplier will differ. It’s good to know that you can win a maximum of 2,000x your bet. We’d like for the graphics to be a bit more polished, but we’ll take the high RTP over sound graphics, that’s for sure.
What Is Slot Volatility?
Slot variance or volatility is a factor that determines how often an online slot pays. There are three main categories for the slot’s payout frequency:
- Low variance slots
- Medium variance slots
- High variance slots
A high variance slot gives the operator a higher edge. You are less likely to win, but if luck is on your side, once that win lands, you are likely to win big. On the other hand, low-variance slots pay much more often. However, there’s a catch – they pay significantly smaller sums of cash.
That’s where medium volatile slots slide in. These casino slot games pay with varied frequency and offer varied rewards, which makes them fan favorites.
Some of the best games in the iGaming industry are medium volatility slots, coming with strings of excellent bonus features that will make them worth your while. Instead of playing high volatility slots, you can now check out the best medium variance slot machines available at top US casinos.
Online Slots With Medium Variance Explained
The easiest way to describe medium slot volatility is a middle ground between low and high variance. These slots pay varied wins, so expect a bit of small and some big-time hits as well. Of course, that mostly depends on your luck, but that’s how medium volatility slots have been designed.
These slot games are great for new players and pros. Of course, beginners with a smaller bankroll will almost always opt for low-volatile slots just to get a feel for the games. High rollers will naturally flock to higher-paying online slots. They might also occasionally go for medium slot machine volatility, as extremely volatile slots can be stressful.
The great thing about the best medium variance slots is that they come with tons of features and solid wins. Why spend your money on extremely volatile slots and go for dozens of spins without a win? Why win small sums on low variance slots? Go for medium volatility slots – they strike a perfect balance between easy and impossible wins.
Most online casinos have a mix of high, low, and medium variance slots. If you are looking to play at one of the best US online casinos for slots, then have a look at these best BetMGM slot games.
Are Medium Variance Slots Better Than High Payout Slots?
If you ask us and most slot players, yes, they are. We already mentioned our reasoning. These slots offer better wins than low volatility slot machines and allow you to hit scores more often than highly volatile slots.
You can even find high RTP medium variance slots that are a true blessing for newcomers and high rollers too. These slot games can provide stunning wins, considering you get lucky, and are pretty fun to play as well.
Another great reason why you should go for medium volatility slots is the fact that you can score sweet deals online. Online casino sites give great free spin packages to new players, and those might be available on medium volatility slots. In that case, you get to have fun with almost no risk and hopefully win a nice sum of cash on a slot with medium variance.
Our Top 3 Favourite Medium Volatility Slots
Some of the industry’s slots with the highest RTP are either low in terms of volatility or on the medium side. There are some high variances, too, but in general, the higher the RTP goes, the lower the variance is. No slot developer is eager to offer frequent big wins on a slot that pays 99% of the time.
With that being said, you can find numerous high RTP medium variance slots. Carnival Queen by Thunderkick, for example, has an RTP of 96.10% with medium variance. NetEnt’s Koi Princess clocks in at 96%. While those numbers are not record-breaking, they are still higher than the average for medium-volatility slot games.
Here are just a few of the most medium volatility slots with a high RTP:
- 🎰Carnival Queen by Thunderkick: A Mardi Gras and carnival-themed slot by Thunderkick, Carnival Queen dazzles with its 96.10% RTP and medium variance. The slot has 4,096 paylines and can pay a maximum line win of 22,700x your bet, much higher than other medium variance slots. It’s a very fun slot to play overall – get a few spins in, and you’ll be dancing yourself.
- 🎰Koi Princess by NetEnt: If you’re into manga and the Japanese subculture associated with it, Koi Princess is a great slot for you. Its base game RTP is 96%, but the bonus bet option has an RTP of 96.23%. Of course, it’s of medium variance, too, offering wins up to 1,000x your stake across 20 paylines. It’s a visually impressive slot you won’t forget soon after playing.
- 🎰Reel Rush by NetEnt: With a base game RTP of 96.96%, medium variance, and 3,125 paylines, Reel Rush is one of NetEnt’s most impressive slots from a technical perspective. It’s also a fun slot to play, mixing classic symbols and gameplay with a lot of modern features. Line the fruits up on the reels, and you can win up to 3,840x your stake in this medium volatility slots game.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Medium Volatility Slots
Every type of slot volatility has its pros and cons. Let’s see what medium volatility slots bring to the table for you as a player.
✅Pros:
- Medium volatile slots offer a much better risk vs. reward ratio
- More frequent payouts than high-variance slots
- Bigger prizes than low-variance slots
- Many progressive jackpots valued over a million USD have medium variance
- Beginner-friendly, allowing proper bankroll management
❌Cons:
- Dry spells can occur from time to time
- Most medium volatile slots don’t have high maximum payouts
Are Medium Volatility Slots Worth It?
Medium volatility slots are worth it if you’re looking forward to a medium probability of winning on every spin you take. While you’re at it, we suggest you look at the RTP percentage and go for slots that have over 96% return to player percentage.
The best medium variance slots have 2 main competitors – low and high variance games. For low variance slots. you get rewards more often, but they’re smaller. Highly volatile slots are a great chance for high rollers to score the big bucks, but you must be ready for dry spells.
Our recommendation is to set a budget and spin medium variance online slots, so you can get the most out of these games.
FAQs
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Medium volatility slots offer a mid-range risk vs. reward ratio. They pay more frequently than high variance slots and offer higher rewards than low volatile slot machines.
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The highest-paying slots in the industry have low or medium volatility. For example, Playtech’s Ugga Bugga has an RTP of 99.07% and low variance. Barcrest’s Ooh Aah Dracula is of medium variance and has an RTP of 99%. You can find both among the best slots on the DraftKings app.
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Yes, they do. One notable example is NetEnt’s Arabian Nights. While it’s not the biggest progressive jackpot in the industry, it can reach whopping values of several million coins. On the other hand, the Ted slot features medium variance and a top win of 50,000x the stake.
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If you ask most players, they are. Medium variance slots have a much better risk vs. reward ratio – we can say that they offer the best bang for your buck.