Last updated: 03 June 2026
Welcome to our Casino Beacon 'Did You Know?' collection! Discover fun, eye-opening facts about online casinos, slot games, bonuses, and gambling worldwide. Use these nuggets to impress your friends, boost your player knowledge, and maybe - even win smarter. Follow our links to discover more about each category and hopefully, boost your returns.
Did You Know?
The largest online slot jackpot ever recorded was over €19 million on
Microgaming's Mega Moolah progressive jackpot slot, hit on a mere 25p (€0.25) spin. Sadly no longer available to USA players, players in accepted countries can try to hit a similarly huge Mega Moolah jackpot at casinos such as
Yukon Gold and
Luxury.
Players in the USA and other countries can still win enormous amounts at casinos such as
SlotsRoom where popular progressive slots such as Megasaur and Aztec's Millions payout prizes up to millions of dollars.
Studies and casino data show that a higher proportion of female online casino players prefer
Online Slots games and
Casual Games (ie. bingo, crash games and scratch cards) compared to men, who are more likely to play
Table Games or bet on sports.
Live dealer casino games use state-of-the-art HD video with real human hosts streamed to your device - often with native-speaking dealers for global players. It's the most realistic casino experience you'll ever have, without leaving home. If you're new to live dealer casinos and want to grasp the basics, see our
Best Live Dealer Casino Sites guide for 2026.
The world's very first online casino -
Everygame - launched in 1996 - less than ten years after the first lottery software! Everygame is still going strong and remains one of the world's most popular online casinos.
Join Everygame Casino and start with a 125% bonus up to $1000 to see why this long-lasting casino is still rated as one of the world's best venues.
Video poker was invented way back in 1970 but the game almost fizzled out and was famously turned down by Bally, before International Game Technology (IGT) saw its true potential. Now, video poker is one of the world's most popular casino games and can be found in basic and advanced forms at any good online casino. Read more about video poker's rise in popularity on our
History of Video Poker page. If you're looking to improve your video poker skills and you want a quick-fix solution to improving your profit, take a look at our
Video Poker Strategy Chart.
Most casinos now accept cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, for both deposits and withdrawals. It's often the easiest and fastest way to deposit funds and withdraw your winnings. Learn more at our
Crypto Casinos Explained guide or if you're already familiar with Bitcoin but want some great suggestions for your next crypto-friendly online casino, head over to our
Best Bitcoin Casinos 2026 article.
Women typically prefer
Low Volatility Slots with longer play sessions, entertainment value, engaging graphics, and features like bonus rounds. Men are more likely to chase
High Volatility Games for big, rare payouts.
Blackjack got its modern name from a special early casino promotion in the United States. Some gambling houses paid a bonus if a player hit the ace of spades together with a black jack (either the jack of clubs or jack of spades). Read more about the
History Of Blackjack.
Responsible gambling tools - like deposit limits, time-outs, and self-exclusion - are available at all reputable online casinos (
see advice). Setting deposit limits is an excellent way to take control of your gambling and avoid risking more than you can comfortably afford to lose. Many of the internet's biggest online casino winners use these tools to keep on track.
Mobile dominates online casino play. Over 70% of online slot spins now happen on mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets - not on desktops or laptops. This huge shift means casinos and game providers design slots and table games with touch screens and smaller screens in mind first. For the best on-the-go options, see our
Mobile No Deposit Casino guide.
Not all games contribute equally to wagering requirements. For tips on clearing bonus wagering faster, see our
How to Clear Bonus Wagering guide. Almost always, slots play will contribute 100% towards your bonus wagering requirement. Frequently, play on keno and scratch card games will also contribute the maximum amount.
Free spin bonuses are usually locked to specific games - always check which slots qualify before you play! This is particularly the case with
Free Spin Slot Spins where only permitted slots can be played. If you prefer to spread your no deposit bonus over various slots, you will be better suited with a cash bonus that allows play on multiple games.
The word casino originally meant a small house or villa in Italian - not a gambling hall. Over time, the term became associated with places for social gatherings, music, dancing, and eventually gaming.
A slot's
volatility is just as important as its RTP. Two games can both have a 96% RTP, but a
high volatility slot may pay less often and save more of its return for rare big wins, while a
low volatility slot usually lands smaller wins more regularly.
The origins of roulette stretch back to 1655-1670 when Blaise Pascal was trying to invent a perpetual motion device. Later in the 1790s, Paris gambling houses introduced the combined spinning-wheel and betting table system we now call roulette. It wasn't until the late 1800s that roulette Crosses the Atlantic and reached American gambling halls. These days, roulette is enormously popular at land-based and online casinos, with
Live Dealer Roulette and related game shows taking the game to a new level of sophistication and excitement. You can read more about roulette's background and development on our
History Of Roulette page.
The Liberty Bell, created by Charles Fey in the late 1890s, is widely credited as the first true slot machine and helped shape the basic design that later evolved into modern slots.
Almost all online casinos enforce a maximum cashout amount, by transaction or via a weekly/monthly limit - but there are exceptions! A select few casinos such as
Grande Vegas Casino have a policy of NO MAX CASHOUTS meaning you'll get all your winnings in one payment. Even better, Grande Vegas Casino accept players in ALL countries and welcome Casino Beacon visitors with an exclusive
$25 free bonus with no deposit required!
Join Grande Vegas to get started. See more casinos with no max cashout or very high withdrawal limits in our
No Max Cashout Casinos guide.
Online slots have better RTPs than land-based casinos. The average payout rate (RTP) for online slots is much higher than for slot machines in most brick-and-mortar casinos. Many popular online slots pay back 96-98% over the long run, while land-based slots usually return just 88-92%. That means you get more play per deposit at online casinos! For the best chance of a winning slots session, see our
Highest RTP Slots 2026 guide.
Many slot games now include a
Bonus Buy feature that lets players pay extra to jump straight into a bonus round. These can be exciting, but they also raise the cost per spin dramatically - learn more in our
Bonus Buy Slots guide.
Wagering requirements are not the only bonus rule that matters. Terms like
maximum bet,
game restrictions, and
bonus expiry dates can make a huge difference to whether a bonus is really worth claiming. See our
Understanding Wagering Requirements guide.