Four jackpot words, four different products. Who pays into the prize you are chasing, and why that decides its size and its odds.
The four words get used as if they were the same word. They describe four different products with four different answers to one question: who is paying into the prize you are chasing.
A top prize that does not move. It is part of the game's own pay table, funded by the game's own return, and it pays the same figure whether you are the first player of the day or the ten thousandth.
Most slots have one of these and never call it a jackpot. A game with a 10,000x ceiling has a fixed jackpot of 10,000x.
A progressive held by one casino, fed only by players at that casino. The pool grows slower because fewer people feed it, and the prize is smaller for the same reason.
Nevada calls this an in house progressive and regulates it directly. Regulation 5.110 requires the amount to be conspicuously displayed at or near the machines, and requires the licensee to keep a log recording the base amount when the progressive was first exposed for play and the current amount at stated intervals.
One pool shared across every casino running the game, usually operated by the game supplier rather than by any single casino. Thousands of players in dozens of casinos feed the same prize, which is why network jackpots reach seven and eight figures and local ones rarely do.
The trade is that your individual contribution is a smaller share of a much larger pool, so the odds against you personally winning it are correspondingly longer.
Not a fourth category. It is the property that makes a jackpot grow, and both local and network jackpots are progressive. Fixed jackpots are not.
So the useful question is not whether a jackpot is progressive. It is whether it is local or networked, because that is what decides the size of the prize and the length of the odds.
Most modern jackpot games run several pools at once, commonly four, with names like Mini, Minor, Major and Grand. Each is fed by its own slice of the contribution and each has its own seed and its own trigger.
This matters because the advertised figure is almost always the Grand. The one you are realistically going to hit is the Mini, and the Mini is frequently worth less than a decent base game win on the same stake.
For the mechanism behind all four, see how a progressive jackpot actually works. For the price of a jackpot, see what the odds on a jackpot really are. The glossary entry for jackpot has the short definition.
UK Gambling Commission RTS 9. https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/standards/remote-gambling-and-software-technical-standards/rts-9-progressive-jackpot-systems
Nevada Gaming Commission Regulation 5, section 5.110. https://www.gaming.nv.gov/siteassets/content/regs/gaming-statutes--regulations/regulation-5-as-of-04-26.pdf
| Type | Who feeds it | Typical size | Grows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed | Nobody, it is in the pay table | Stated multiplier | No |
| Local | Players at one casino | Four to five figures | Yes |
| Pooled or network | Players across all casinos running the game | Six to eight figures | Yes |
| Tiered | Same as local or network, split across levels | Mini to Grand | Yes, per level |
On a British licensed site, yes. RTS 9 requires the jackpot rules to be available before you commit to gamble, and the rules should say how the jackpot is funded. Elsewhere it is usually in the game info screen, and sometimes it is not stated at all.
The prize is smaller and fewer people are competing for it, and on most local jackpots the trigger odds are shorter to match. Easier to win, far less to win.
It is tiered. Each number is a separate pool with its own trigger. The big one is the one in the advertising and the small one is the one that actually pays.
Regulatory statements are sourced to UKGC RTS 9 and Nevada Regulation 5.110. Typical sizes and tier descriptions are general guidance. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.