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Best Penny Slots to Play Online in the US

If you are on a tight budget, then you can make the most of your bankroll by playing penny slots. These games are highly exciting, with the promise of rich winnings, and you can easily spread smaller bankrolls out over long gaming sessions.

Penny slots remain a very popular type of classic slot in any land-based casino in the US. They are cheap to play, simple to understand, and can still produce very rewarding wins.

With hundreds of different online slots to choose from, can you replicate some of the gameplay, features, and attraction that penny slots have at an online casino? The simple answer to this is Yes, but with a few important notes regarding the generally fixed or non-adjustable paylines on modern online slots, which we will cover later in detail.

As more big-name slot developers such as Play’n GO and Novomatic/Greentube begin to add their slot titles, such as Book of Dead to the US-licensed casinos, the ability to truly play penny slots will be coming very soon!

Best Penny Slot Machines to Play at the Casino

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Get a headstart on finding out some of the best penny slots available in the US from our in-house slot expert, who has carefully crafted a stunning selection of the best penny slots.

The penny slot games not only have excellent bonus features and are fun to play but are more than capable of some massive wins, even on the lowest of stakes!

Top 3 Penny Slots

  1. Dead or Alive II – NetEnt
  2. Piggy Riches – NetEnt
  3. Break Da Bank Again Respin Slot – Microgaming

#1 Dead or Alive II – NetEnt

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The Dead or Alive II slot is the stunning sequel to the top-rated Dead or Alive slot from NetEnt. If you are looking to play free penny slots online, then this should be the first game you try.

The highlights of DOA2 are the Sticky Wilds available in the bonus spins, the ability to create complete Sticky Wild Lines for the duration of the bonus round, and with this version, the ability to make them 3x Multipliers too!

Landing a sticky wild symbol on every reel awards a bonus re-trigger with 5 extra spins and a few extra chances of landing even more sticky wilds or the “holy grail” wild line!

Even the base game can payout huge wins with a 5 Scatter bonus trigger awarding 2500x the bet, which, even at the minimum stake of $0.09 (1c per line) is an impressive $225 win before the bonus round has even started!

Bonus Spins

Dead or Alive 2 improves on the original by using the same cowboy and western gunslinger theme but adding even more volatility and MAX win potential thanks to its 3 unique bonus rounds and the introduction of Sticky Multiplier Wilds at 2x and 3x!

Choose from the Old Saloon, High Noon Saloon, and Train Heist bonus spins rounds.

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TIP – For Penny slot fans seeking out the biggest wins head straight for the High Noon Saloon bonus round in DOA2 as this is where not only the Sticky Wilds are in play but also the 3x multipliers! Be aware this is the MAX Volatility bonus round option!

The max win possible on this slot is capped at a staggering 111,111.1x stake which even at the minimum bet of $0.09 is a staggering win just shy of $10,000! Pretty decent for a penny slot!

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Technical Data

  • Paylines- 9 Fixed
  • Minimum Bet – $0.09
  • Maximum Bet – $18
  • Variance/Volatility – Very High
  • Bonus Spins – Yes (3 options)
  • Multipliers -Yes
  • Re-Trigger Bonus Round – Yes +5 Extra Spins
  • Max Win – 111,111.1x stake

Slot Special Features

  • Bonus Spins
  • Sticky Wilds
  • Multipliers
  • Multiplier Wilds
  • Extra Spins

RTP (Return To Player) 96.82%

#2 Piggy Riches – NetEnt

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If you are looking for a little less volatile penny slot, the Piggy Riches slot from NetEnt fits the bill perfectly. Released back in 2010, this is a classic 15 payline slot machine, with a very high hit rate of 34.11%, meaning you can expect regular and frequent wins in this superb medium variance penny slot.

The top-paying 5-of-a-kind symbols pay an impressive 2000 coins win, which can be increased further thanks to the Gentle Pig Wild symbol that acts as a Wild symbol and as a 3x Multiplier boosting the max payline win to 6000 coins.

Bonus Spins

Things get even spicier when you trigger the bonus spins round, where 3 Gift Box picking options are available, allowing you to select a Multiplier Value and starting number of bonus spins.

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TIP – The RTP of the Piggy Riches slot is in a range (95.80%-96.38%), the optimal strategy for getting the highest RTP is to always select the gift box with the highest Multiplier value in it on the bonus spins selection screen.

Triggering the bonus round with additional scatters boosts not only the starting bonus spins (Maximum of 28) but the multiplier values on offer, with a maximum 6x Multiplier being possible.

This Bonus Spins Multiplier value is also applied to all wins, meaning that the 6000 coin win in the base game we talked about earlier can be boosted to a squeal inducing 36000 coins or 360,000 coins win (max coins spin)!

If you enjoy playing this cartoon pig-themed penny slot, it’s also worth seeking out the Piggy Riches Megaways slot, which combines this classic slot with the unique Megaways feature.

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Technical Data

  • Paylines- 15 Fixed
  • Minimum Bet – $0.15
  • Maximum Bet – $75
  • Variance/Volatility – Medium
  • Bonus Spins – Yes (Pickable 3 options)
  • Multipliers -Yes
  • Re-Trigger Bonus Round – Yes and Extra Spins +1 for each Scatter Symbol landed in the bonus round.
  • Max Win – 360,000 coins

Slot Special Features

  • Bonus Spins
  • Multipliers up to 6x
  • Multiplier Wilds 3x
  • Extra Spins

RTP (Return To Player) 95.80%-96.38%

#3 Break Da Bank Again Respin Slot – Microgaming

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Break Da Bank Again Respin will be a familiar series of slots for seasoned slot players, originating as a classic 3 reel penny slot. This popular bank vault heist series has seen many iterations, including Break Da Bank, Break Da Bank Again, and the most recent Break Da Bank Megaways with modern pay line functionality, including a unique hidden “Hot Mode.”

At the core, this Penny slot is a standard 9 payline machine. The standout features are the extremely high-paying symbols coupled with a wild symbol that also acts as a 5x Multiplier.

The slot was deemed a very high variance machine in its release era. By today’s trend of insanely volatile machines, players see it as more of a medium to high variance slot.

Bonus Spins

The biggest wins on this slot are awarded during the bonus round, with the addition of a 5x multiplier applied to any winning combinations.

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TIP – The Respin feature on this slot allows you to respin any of the 5 reels for a specific cost, this clever feature can be used to respin the reels for a bonus trigger by landing 3 Scatter Symbols, but be mindful to note the varying stake based cost to respin the reel each time!

The 5x wild multiplier is also active during this bonus feature, and wins featuring this symbol get multiplied by a 25x (5×5), which for a premium 5 of a kind win results in massive wins!

You earn an extra bonus spin for each scatter landed during the bonus round and a full bonus re-trigger for 3 scatters, extending the bonus round feature and bonus spins indefinitely.

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Technical Data

  • Paylines- 9 Fixed
  • Minimum Bet – $0.09
  • Maximum Bet – $45
  • Variance/Volatility – Very High
  • Bonus Spins – Yes
  • Multipliers -Yes, up to 25x (5x Wilds Multiplied by 5x in Bonus Spins)
  • Re-Trigger Bonus Round – Yes, Extra Spins +1 for each Scatter Symbol landed in the bonus round.
  • Max Win – 4000 x stake

Slot Special Features

  • Bonus Spins
  • Multipliers up to 25x
  • Multiplier Wilds 5x
  • Extra Spins
  • Hyperspins

RTP (Return To Player) 96.58%

Additional 1-Cent Slots Worth Considering

  1. White Orchid (IGT)
  2. Rainbow Riches (Barcrest)
  3. Halloween Luck (Skywind Group)
  4. Light Racers (The Games Company)
  5. Legacy of Dead (Play’n GO)

Legacy of Dead

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Play’n GO‘s Legacy of Dead is one of the thrilling ancient-Egypt-themed slot games that allows you to bet 0.01 (1¢) per spin and comes with features that can be rewarding. You can achieve this by setting the coin value to 0.01, then activating one payline and selecting 1 under Coins.

The maximum you can win on a single spin is 5,000x your stake. So that means when trekking through ancient tombs, you can get up to $50 with the one-cent minimum bet.

Legacy of Dead is a cult classic game that features five reels and three rows. The Return to Player percentage of this high volatility slot is set at 96.58%. If you’ve played the Book of Dead slot, then you know what to expect here.

Watch out for the Egyptian Burial Chamber symbol, as it acts as the scatter and wild. As a wild, it replaces all the symbols on the paytable to help increase your wins per spin.

The Bonus Spins feature on this penny slot machine is undoubtedly the game’s crowning glory, which you can trigger by landing three Egyptian Burial Chamber symbols. You’ll then receive ten bonus spins right out of the gate.

As the game triggers, you’ll see an ancient scroll unrolling, revealing the paytable symbol that will be the special expanding symbol. Landing one of these symbols during the Bonus Spins round will make it expand to cover the whole reel, which will boost your winnings further. Re-triggering this feature will activate up to nine special expanding symbols.

Light Racers

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Light Racers is an adrenaline-pumping video slot that allows you to play with one cent per spin when you activate a single payline. With an RTP of 96.01% paired with medium volatility, the maximum you can win on this slot with one spin is 2,000x your total bet. That means you will get $20 when you wager the minimum bet of 1¢ per spin.

Inspired by the science fiction action film Tron: Legacy, Light Racers runs on The Games Company slot software. The slot is played on a 5×3 grid layout and has thrilling gameplay.

Keep an eye on the Sphere symbols, as they represent the scatters. Landing at least three of them on your reels activates the Light Racers Bonus Spins round, where you will get between 8 and 25 bonus spins.

There is also an additional random multiplier during all bonus spins with a value of 2 to 10x. If you land three or more scatter symbols on your screen during this feature, you’ll get the same number of bonus spins you received when you triggered the Bonus Spins feature.

Keep in mind that you can only playBonus Spins with the same number of lines and bet per line as the triggering spin.

The Light Racer Logo acts as the wild and appears on reels 1-4; it substitutes all the game symbols apart from the Sphere symbols.

Ready to jump into the futuristic racing car and hit the space road? Before investing real money, you can familiarize yourself with the game by playing the demo version at reputable online casino apps.

Halloween Luck

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Halloween Luck is one of the best online slots from Skywind Group that allow you to bet 1¢ per spin. With a Return to Player of 94.5%, this spooky Halloween-themed slot gives you a chance to win up to 500x your stake with a minimum one-cent per spin bet, which means the maximum you can win in this eerie adventure is $5.

Set in a creepy animated cemetery with candles placed on the ground, this online slot machine features one reel with three paid symbols and four special ones. The main symbols pay up to 350x your bet, while the wild symbol substitutes all paid values.

But beware of the pumpkin because it resets all symbols you have accumulated while playing the game. Don’t be terror-stricken when you stop the casts and see the ghost on your screen; it is friendly like Casper, and it awards you three bonus spins when it appears. The potion can give you an extra life when you catch the sinister pumpkin.

The Witch is your sidekick and has wild powers; she will highlight one level on each tower when she appears on your screen. You’ll get direct wins if one of the towers is full.

Halloween Luck is similar to the crash game, with the only difference being bonus features. The excellent graphics, great sound effects, and fast-paced gameplay make this title one of the most popular penny slots in the online gambling industry.

Traditional gamblers may be confused when giving this penny slot game for the first time. So you might want to try the game in demo mode at an online casino that allows players to try penny slots for free. This will help you understand the rules while developing your slots strategy without spending your money.

Rainbow Riches

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Powered by Barcrest Games software, Rainbow Riches is another contender for the best 1-cent slot. It’s one of the top slots inspired by the luck of the Irish and rainbow legend. To spin the reels of this slot with a total bet of one cent, you’ll have to activate a single line and set the bet per line to 0.01.

Because the maximum win at this slot game is capped at 500x your total bet, you can win $5 when playing with 1¢ per spin. You’ll hit this jackpot when five wild leprechauns appear on your screen.

If you want to up the ante, set the max bet per spin to $500 by activating 20 lines and adjusting the bet per line to 25.

The game comes with three Rainbow Riches Bonus rounds that grant players different multiplier sizes, with the highest value being 500x the stake. Let’s look at these bonus features:

  • Road to Riches: Landing three leprechauns on the board will activate this bonus feature. You’ll have to spin a wheel to start this feature and decide the number of steps you’ll take up the golden path, with each step awarding a prize.
  • Pots of Gold: You’ll activate this feature when you land three pots of gold on the second, third, or fourth reel. Once you trigger this bonus round, Bronze, Silver, and Gold pots will start spinning around your screen. An arrow will then point to the pot you win, which has a multiplier amount that your total bet will be multiplied by.
  • Wishing Well: Collecting at least three Wishing Wells triggers this feature. Pick one of the Wishing Well symbols to find out the multiplier amount your bet will be multiplied by.

Rainbow Riches features a classic 5×3 setup and 95% RTP.

White Orchid

white orchid slot

IGT’s White Orchid is one of the best penny slot machines with a nature theme and a feminine touch. This is an easy pick because it offers a great bonus game and high payouts compared to many slots that allow 1¢ per spin.

The maximum you can win when playing with one cent per spin is 5,000x your stake, meaning the main prize is $50. For the best odds, you might want to ramp up your bet and wager on multiple paylines; you can choose to play with 40 active paylines plus 1024 ways.

Remember that activating the 1024 ways feature will double the maximum amount you can wager per spin but gives your bets 25x more overall value. But with the minimum bet, you can still have an exhilarating experience since this low to medium variance slot offers loads of opportunities that can result in some pretty decent-sized wins.

The most stunning feature of this game is its unique interface. With a 5×4 grid layout and an RTP of 95.03%, the maximum ways capability makes landing a win a breeze. Earning on the same game symbols multiple ways is even a piece of cake, especially with White Orchid symbols, which act as the game’s wilds.

Landing three or more White Orchid symbols anywhere on the third reel will trigger the Bonus Spins round, increasing your earning potential. Two White Orchids will grant you 10 bonus spins; getting three of these symbols will award you 15 bonus spins, while four will reward you with 20 bonus spins.

The best part is that you can retrigger extra bonus spins by landing at least two White Orchids on reel 3; you can retrigger up to 130 bonus spins.

Penny Slot Machine Summary

Our 3 handpicked penny slot machines should give you a taste of some excellent slot action with a superb mix of gameplay, multipliers, volatility, and max winning potential.

However, the best penny slot game will always depend on personal choice. Seek out a slot with a theme and unique features you enjoy playing. Then, verify that the slot is high variance making it capable of actually hitting the type of big wins we as players all seek.

Don’t ever assume that big wins will be easy to get. The higher the variance, the bigger the risk and the bigger the potential rewards.

However, playing penny slots with a larger bankroll and small stake size is a great way to approach these volatile online slot machines.

For the absolute biggest wins based on stake size, you could consider online slots with Progressive Jackpots such as Divine Fortune (NetEnt).

While these jackpot slots can provide life-changing wins, the negative in general play is that the regular RTP (Return to Player) is much lower.

A contribution towards the Progressive Jackpot values is funded by all players on each spin (check the game rules), so unless you are hitting any of these Jackpots, it will be noticeable over your long-term play.

For general play, it’s best to stick with non-jackpot slots to extend your playtime, or at least make sure you are fully aware of the implications on your RTP when playing them!

Play the Best Penny Slots in the US at Licensed Online Casinos

Armed with our best penny slot recommendations, it’s time to find a trustworthy online casino where you can play them!

We only recommend the best selection of online casinos available to play penny slots in the US at fully licensed US casinos!

Furthermore, we have verified that all of these penny slots are available to play in each casino’s dedicated slot sections, along with hundreds of other great penny games.

Registration at all of these casinos is quick and easy. You can be spinning the reels in just a few minutes.

Where to Play Penny Slots Online

1 BetMGM

2 Borgata Casino.com

While many casinos are available to players in the US, most aren’t legal, licensed, or even regulated. That is why we strongly recommend you to only play at the approved casinos only, such as the ones listed above. They are all completely reliable and available in the states where online casino gaming is legal.

Sweeps Casinos with 1 Cent Slots

Some online casinos allow you to play free penny slots in demo mode without registering an account even if you are not located in a legal state. If you are outside the legal states, you can sign up with reputable sweepstakes casinos because they are legal in all US states apart from Washington.

Sweepstakes casinos offer a generous welcome bonus that awards you bonus Gold Coins (GC) and sometimes bonus Sweeps Coins (SC). You can use these coins to play free casino games, including table games and progressive jackpot slots, and win cash prizes.

What are Penny Slots?

By definition, penny slots should be playable for just 1 cent per payline, more so you should also be able to play the slot on a single payline, therefore only costing you 1c per spin.

On a classic Penny slot, you would insert 1c into the machine, pull the lever/ press the spin button, and hope to see a winning combination of matching symbols land on the reels making them a simple and inexpensive slot to play.

Online slots are constantly evolving, introducing unique payline systems such as Win Ways, Megaways, Cluster Pays, and numerous other payline variants that can add hundreds or even thousands of different paylines to a slot.

If these paylines are fixed (meaning you cannot change the currently active number), a slot with 100 paylines even playing at just 1c per payline will make your overall stake actually $1 (100 x 1c).

Thankfully, there is still a fantastic selection of 3 and 5 reel slots at online casinos with a much lower number of fixed paylines. These games can somewhat replicate the Penny slot machine experience while introducing exciting new features only found in online versions.

These 5 reel slots generally have a minimum fixed number of paylines that must be played per spin and is not configurable. Instead of costing the minimum 1c stake, which you may be familiar with at land-based casinos, the minimum bet per spin could be 5c (5 paylines), 10c, 20c, 30c, and even more depending on the payline system used on the machine.

While the 1c coin size denomination is widely on offer at online casinos, manually selecting the number of active paylines on modern-day slots is quite rare to find, focusing more on the total bet or total stake size instead.

You could trawl through an online casino lobby in search of Penny slots and be lucky to find one or two slots with configurable paylines, but the reality is these machines probably won’t be the sort of slots that offer you the chance of some biggest wins either.

How to Win at Penny Slots

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Lets’s not pretend there is some magical method or hack for consistently winning at penny slots. If there was, I would be busy making millions in the casino using it!

However, several factors to consider, along with improving your overall knowledge of Penny slots, will increase your understanding and chances of choosing the best machines to play on. Penny Slots are random, but making more informed choices about the types of penny slots you decide to play will be crucial in helping you win more frequently on them.

If you are looking to win big on penny slots, there are some key features to look out for that apply to all online slots in general, regardless of paylines or bet size!

  • The overall volatility of the machine. Is it highly volatile?
  • The variance of the machine (High, Low, or Medium Variance)
  • The Paytable (High Paying Symbols values, Premium symbols, and max coin win values)
  • The Max Win potential (Is it a limited or capped amount)
  • The Bonus Round and Bonus Spins features (Can the Bonus Round be Re-Triggered?)
  • The overall RTP (Return to Player)
  • Slot Special Features – Features such as Bonus Spins, Sticky Wilds, Stacked Wilds, Added Wilds, Extra Spins, Wild Reels, and Multipliers.
  • Bonus Tip – The “Book of Dead” type slots with expanding symbols will still expand even when played on a single payline.

If you are genuinely looking to win big on penny slots, then all of these factors are crucial in selecting the type of slot machine capable of producing genuine Big Wins.

When we talk about big wins, we aren’t looking at a 50x stake or 100x stake as a big win; more like a 500x stake and into the 1000x stake and higher territory win with our best penny slot recommendations.

There is very little point in choosing a Penny slot with the best RTP if it’s also well known to be extremely low variance, as it simply hasn’t been designed to produce that big win!

If, however, the penny slot is highly volatile and has high variance, the wins can still be huge! With a wise selection, the ability to win big is there, especially at online casinos, but your choice of penny slot is critical!

Do not worry if you are not familiar with the penny slot terms listed above and how they can impact your gameplay. We have handpicked a fantastic selection of penny slots capable of producing these big wins and providing you with some exciting gameplay along the way.

Furthermore, all of these penny slot games have been checked and verified to be available and playable at our recommended real money casino apps and sites at the minimum 1c bet level per pay line.

Penny Slots FAQ

Are penny slots worth playing?

Playing Penny slots is a fantastic idea, given the low cost of spinning the reels. However, online variants may have a higher price to spin depending on the active paylines. You can still win massive amounts of money with careful slot selection, even on the minimum bet.

Which penny slot pays out the most?

Dead or Alive II is undoubtedly up there in the ranks of one of the most volatile slots around, with a maximum win of 111,111.1x stake. While bigger wins on other penny slots are possible, you may have to look at Progressive Jackpot slots to beat this amount.

What is the best online penny slot?

It will always be down to personal preference of what you enjoy playing. We think Dead or Alive II is the best penny slot as it offers high variance, high volatility, sticky wilds, multipliers, bonus spins, and extra spins. You may find it too volatile and enjoy more medium variance slots or slightly different features.

Can you win big on penny slots?

Yes, provided you choose to play penny slots that are high variance and high volatility, check out our list of suggested slots in this article and the key features to look for when selecting a penny slot.

Can I win real money on penny slots online in the US?

You most certainly can, as long as you are within state lines where US online casinos are legal. This currently includes states such as Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. If you fall outside of these states, then Sweeps casinos are another great option, with casinos like Pulsz and Fortune Coins well worth exploring.

Where can I play free penny slots?

Free Penny slots can be played online at all licensed US casinos once you have created an account. Once logged in, you can access the “Free Play” or “Demo Mode” options of these games, where you can test out the penny slots for free without using your own money.