Microgaming Pays Out More Than A$148 Million in Jackpots in Six Months
The creators of the first genuine online casino, Microgaming, reported it has paid out more than €89 millon (AUD$147 million) in pokies jackpots and progressive jackpots during the first six months of the current year.
Microgaming launched its first online casino in 1994 and has since grown to become one of the industry leaders in casino and gaming software. Headquartered in the Isle of Man, Microgaming also owns major brands such as Carmen Media Group, Fortune Lounge Group, 32Red, and the Palace Group.
A Huge Library of Games
With more than 600 games, including pokies, blackjack, roulette, and video poker, Microgaming has one of the biggest libraries of any of the major casino software developers. Judging by the figures it released recently, Microgaming can also lay claim to designing some of the most profitable jackpot pokies on the market.
Jackpot pokies are one of the most popular games in any online casino due to the fact they can and do award some astronomical sums of money when the jackpot is triggered. Microgaming has revealed that between January and the end of June 2019, its pokies paid out 1,150,559 progressive jackpots worth a combined €89,879,343 (AUD$148,935,705). Before you reach for your calculator, let us tell you this equates to 6,391 progressive jackpots every day, or 266 pokies jackpots being hit every hour for six months!
Life-Changing Amounts Won
Not all of those progressive jackpots were for life-changing money as the sum awarded depends on the current jackpot size and the stakes the winner was playing at the time the jackpot was triggered.
That said, 380 players of Microgaming-powered pokies won €10,000 (AUD$16,573) or more, while eight lucky punters scooped seven or eight-figure jackpots during the first 180 days of 2019.
The biggest progressive jackpot of the first six months happened at the Zodiac Casino where a player was enjoying the Mega Moolah pokie. This highly popular, five-reel, 25 payline pokies machine paid out an incredible €13,328,028.16 (AUD$22,091,136.43) to its winner and did so in a lump sum as per Microgaming’s terms and conditions.
Another player secured an €11,546,388.15 (AUD$19,141,039.64) payout during March followed by a jackpot of €2,201,120.31 (AUD$3,648,909.99) only a couple of days later.
As the first half of the year march closer, Microgaming pokies showed no signs of slowing down when it came to awarding massive prizes. There was one for €5,430,849.65 (AUD$9,003,174.86) on May 3rd, one worth €5,673,973.78 (AUD$9,406,222.11) on May 23rd, and a €3,034,204.84 (AUD$5,030,055.79) on June 17th.
Almost A$1.82 Billion Awarded
John Coleman, Chief Executive Officer of Microgaming said, “2019 is gearing up to be a great year for Microgaming’s progressive jackpot network, with total lifetime payouts fast approaching the €1.1 billion (AUD$1.82 billion) mark.” Coleman added, “Congratulations to all winning players on the network, which remains the largest in the industry and feature the record-breaking Mega Moolah progressive pokies machine. We look forward to hosting more life-changing wins in the second half of the year.”
Biggest Microgaming Jackpots
Last September, the record was broken for the largest pokies payout in history when a Grand Mondial Casino customer hit the €18,915,872.81 (AUD$31,367,337.92) jackpot on the Mega Moolah progressive jackpot pokies machine.
The previous largest Microgaming payout weighed in at an impressive €17,879,645.12 (AUD$29,645,777.20). Jon Heywood of the United Kingdom won this colossal prize during 2015, again on the Mega Moolah machine, at the Betway online casino. What made Heywood’s win more impressive is he did it with an AUD$0.45 spin!
As many as 74 Microgaming customers have become millionaires since records began and if the figures of the first half of 2019 are to be repeated for the second part of the year, there could be many more players set to have their bank balance increased by seven or eight figures.
