How Fair Go Lobby Jackpots work
Most pokies pay only from their own reels. A lobby jackpot is a separate prize that sits above the games: you opt in, pay a small fixed amount on each spin, and that spin gets a shot at the jackpot as well as its normal result. Fair Go's listing confirms the two facts that matter most: Opt-in side jackpot at $0.01 per spin.
Everything else is missing from the promotions page: how often the jackpot drops, how many prize levels there are, which games carry it and whether the cent counts towards anything else. The lobby shows the live jackpot figures. We don't reproduce them, because they move constantly and we can't check them.
What one cent a spin adds up to
| Spins in a session | Side-bet cost |
|---|---|
| 100 | $1 |
| 500 | $5 |
| 1,000 | $10 |
| 5,000 | $50 |
The cost scales with the number of spins, not the size of your bets. A slow, low-stakes session can pay more for the jackpot than a short high-stakes one.
The side bet as a share of your stake
| Your spin | Opt-in adds | Spin's average cost |
|---|---|---|
| $0.10 | 10% | 0.4c |
| $0.20 | 5% | 0.8c |
| $0.50 | 2% | 2c |
| $1 | 1% | 4c |
| $2 | 0.5% | 8c |
Look at the top rows. On a 10c or 20c spin, the jackpot cent is a bigger outlay than the pokie's own average cost per spin at our cautious 96% return to player. Part of what you pay may come back as jackpot wins, but Fair Go doesn't publish the side bet's return, so you can't price it. At higher stakes the cent fades into the background.
Lobby Jackpots while you're wagering a bonus
Two questions the listing doesn't answer matter a lot if you're playing through a bonus:
- Does the cent count towards wagering? If not, every opted-in spin costs a cent that doesn't move your playthrough along.
- Does it count towards the max bet? Fair Go caps bets at $10 while you're wagering. A spin at the full $10 plus the jackpot cent comes to $10.01. Whether Fair Go adds the two together isn't stated, and finding out the hard way could cost you the bonus winnings.
The simple fix is to keep your spin a step below the cap, or switch the jackpot off until the wagering is done. Our max bet rule guide covers the other ways a bet can creep over the limit, and the wagering requirements guide explains the playthrough itself.
When to opt in, and when to skip it
- Opt in if you play at stakes where a cent is a small add-on and you'd enjoy a shot at a bigger prize.
- Skip it on very low stakes, where the cent can outweigh the spin's own average cost.
- Skip it while wagering a bonus, unless support has confirmed how it's counted.
- Budget for it. 1,000 spins means $10 on the jackpot alone. Our responsible gambling page has tools for setting a budget that sticks.
- Ignore the size of the number. A big figure in the lobby doesn't make a hit on your next spin any more likely.
Lobby jackpots and progressive pokies
Some Fair Go pokies carry jackpots of their own, built into the game. Fair Go lists Aztec's Millions with a progressive that grows with every spin, and Cash Bandits 3 with a progressive jackpot of its own. Those come with the game. The lobby jackpot is a separate opt-in that you choose to add, and it's the only one with a price tag you can switch off. If a free shot at a prize appeals more than a paid one, the Bubbling Pot of Fortune freeroll costs nothing to enter.
