Paul Trevor

The Fibonacci sequence is believed to have existed in Indian maths in roughly 200 BC and was then introduced to Western Europe early in the 13th Century by Leonardo of Pisa, also known as Fibonacci who was an Italian Mathematician.&nbsp;

Whilst the system is associated with numbers, it is also linked to occurrences in nature such as the growth of a sunflower or a Nautilus shells.

This is because of the logarithmic spiral growth pattern.

The Fibonacci betting system is known as a negative progression system because it’s based on bets that have lost. Each time you lose a bet, you increase the stakes on the next bet.&nbsp;

In terms of betting, this system was mainly used for games such as <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-play-roulette">Roulette</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-play-roulette"> </a>and <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-play-blackjack">Blackjack</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-play-blackjack"> </a>but is widely used in <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide">sports betting</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide"> </a>these days.

This article will explain the pros and cons of the Fibonacci betting system and the mechanics behind the system.

Okay, let’s get started by explaining how the sequence works.&nbsp; The sequence of numbers grows as each new number is the sum of the two numbers before it.

This example shows you the first seven sequence combinations of the system:

If you were unlucky enough to suffer seven losses on the bounce, you would continue with the same sequence which would be 13 + 21 = 34 and so on until you hit that elusive winner.&nbsp;

Having a losing streak like this is extremely rare but you can never say never.&nbsp; Let’s expand the sequence numbers just in case!

These numbers relate to <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/unit-betting-system">Unit bets</a>.&nbsp; When using Unit bets, you will have a predetermined bet amount that equals one unit.&nbsp; For example, A £1 bet is one unit.

Here’s the rule of thumb when betting using the Fibonacci system:

If you decide to use the Fibonacci betting system, it’s important that you follow the set sequences.&nbsp; This keeps your bets structured and removes any emotional betting.

Okay, you now know how the Fibonacci sequence works so let’s have a look at it in practice.

As mentioned, the Fibonacci betting system is based on unit stakes.&nbsp; For our first example, let’s say you have a chosen a unit stake of £1 to keep it simple and the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-read-betting-odds">betting odds</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-read-betting-odds"> </a>are evens:

So, you can see from this example that 10 bets have been placed with 7 losses and 3 wins.&nbsp; This provides a profit of £8 because we need to also include our returned stakes with winning bets.&nbsp; Hopefully, this helps you to understand how the sequence works in practice.

Just to make sure, we’ll now do a similar example but ramp the Unit bet up to £5.

We have followed the same win and loss pattern in this example, but the profit is obviously higher because we have used a £5 unit bet instead of £1.

Historically, the Fibonacci betting system was mainly used in <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-casinos">Casino games</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-casinos"> </a>but as the betting industry has grown, this system is now used as a <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/types-of-bets">type of bet</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/types-of-bets"> </a>in <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide">sports betting</a>.<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide"> </a>

Let’s have a look at how you might use the Fibonacci betting system in different games and sports.

<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-play-roulette">Roulette</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-play-roulette"> </a>is considered to be the perfect game for the Fibonacci betting system.&nbsp; This is because the system is based on placing bets on even money odds and Roulette is as close as it gets.&nbsp;

There are 18 red numbers and 18 black numbers.&nbsp; The only reason it’s not a total 50% split is because there is one segment which is zero. This gives the house a slight edge over bettors.

Whether you bet on odd/even, red/black or 1-18/19-36, in theory the Fibonacci system is structured, so you don’t lose out.&nbsp; Please note, the Fibonacci system IS NOT suited to betting on specific numbers or columns.

Ready to get started?&nbsp; Place a 1 unit bet on a selection such as black.&nbsp; If the ball lands on black you win and you start the Fibonacci sequence again and place another unit bet on your selection.&nbsp;

However, if the bet landed on red or zero, move up the sequence by one so place another 1 unit bet on black.&nbsp; If that bet loses, move another sequence up and place 2 units on black and so on as per the Fibonacci betting sequence.

The logic behind the Fibonacci roulette system is that you keep increasing the units until you win and recoup your previous losses.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Obviously, it can be a little daunting if you hit a losing streak but such is the structure of the Fibonacci betting system, you should recoup any losses or at least minimise them.

<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-play-blackjack">Blackjack</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-play-blackjack"> </a>is an extremely popular game across the globe due to its simplicity and excitement.&nbsp; A Little like Roulette, the house edge in Blackjack is very low. The <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-does-rtp-mean-in-gambling">RTP</a> (return to player)<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-does-rtp-mean-in-gambling"> </a>on the classic Blackjack game is 99.41% so it’s close enough to the 50/50 bettors are looking for when using the Fibonacci betting system.

Before you use the Fibonacci strategy in Blackjack, make sure you fully understand how to play the game.&nbsp; As with any <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/types-of-bets">type of bets</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/types-of-bets"> </a>you apply the Fibonacci betting system to, you must decide on the size of your bankroll and allocate a relative <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/unit-betting-system">betting unit</a> to use.

It’s irrelevant how you win at Blackjack, be it a split hand or a successful double down, you count it as a win and stay on the Fibonacci sequence pattern.&nbsp;

Applying the Fibonacci betting system to <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide">sports bets</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide"> </a>is a little trickier than Blackjack or Roulette due to the available odds.&nbsp; As you know, in an ideal world, you are looking for even money odds.&nbsp; To get regular even money odds in sports isn’t unheard of but you may need to bide your time for them to appear in different sports betting markets.

It’s not very often you’ll find even odds on one team to beat another, but you may find some that are very close.&nbsp; If you are more comfortable with the basic <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/do-football-bets-include-extra-time">football bets</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/do-football-bets-include-extra-time"> </a>then you’re likely to look for win only bets.&nbsp; However, as mentioned, you might struggle to find suitable odds on this market.

By all means don’t give up on looking but you should also consider other football betting markets.&nbsp; These might include both teams to score, <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/first-goalscorer-bets">first goal scorer</a>,<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/first-goalscorer-bets"> </a>the number of corners or anytime goal scorer.

You don’t need to place the same type of bet each time, you can mix them up if you prefer to or if the odds permit it.&nbsp; The point is, you are looking for evens odds markets or as close as you can get.

You do get a lot of low odds favourites when it comes to <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/types-of-horse-bets">horse racing bets</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/types-of-horse-bets"> </a>but a bit like football, they aren’t always available.&nbsp;

There’s an incredible amount of bets you can place on horses but the majority aren’t going to be suited to the Fibonacci betting system as the odds tend to increase as you work your way up from <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-a-single-bet">Single bets</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-a-single-bet"> </a>to Multiple bets such the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-a-yankee-bet">Yankee bet</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-a-yankee-bet"> </a>and <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-a-lucky-15-bet">Lucky 15 bet</a>.<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-a-lucky-15-bet"> </a>

In reality, you’re only likely to find even odds on low odds win only markets and possibly the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-does-an-each-way-bet-work">Each Way bets</a>.&nbsp;

Every type of betting strategy has advantages and disadvantages so let’s explore the ups and downs of the Fibonacci betting system:

Mitigated Risk:&nbsp; The system lets you win the losses back.&nbsp; Even if you hit a losing streak, by sticking to the Fibonacci sequence, you will eventually recover those losses.&nbsp; You just need to make sure you have a large enough bankroll to weather the storm when losses occur.

Relatively Cautious: This strategy isn’t considered to be particularly aggressive so it suits the more cautious bettors and it’s unlikely to clear out your bankroll.

Consistent Profits: Following the sequence usually returns consistent profits as you start at the beginning each time you win.&nbsp; The profits aren’t huge but they are usually regular.

Structured Betting: Thanks to the Fibonacci sequence, you have a structured betting strategy that helps you keep control of your bankroll.&nbsp; It also removes emotional betting and stops you from placing random amounts on bets.

Straight Forward: The Fibonacci sequence is quite simple to follow once you get the hang of it.&nbsp; It’s always recommended that you keep a copy of the sequence to hand.

Costly Mistakes:&nbsp; The Fibonacci betting system is a little trickier than the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-the-dalembert-system">D’Alembert betting</a><a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-the-dalembert-system"> </a>strategy so any errors could be expensive, although how expensive would depend on the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/unit-betting-system">Unit bet</a> size. It’s important you stay focused and follow the correct sequence.

Daunting Losses: If you go on a long losing streak, it can get a little scary about your losses. For example, if you had a higher unit stake of £10, a straight loss of 9 bets would see you needing to place £550 on your tenth bet.&nbsp; Runs like this are extremely rare when you are betting on a 50/50 market but you should always be prepared and set your unit stake according to your bankroll.

Low Profits: Due to the nature of the Fibonacci betting system, you’re unlikely to make huge profits.&nbsp; This is mainly down to reducing your unit bets after each win.&nbsp; The idea being that this system is based on risk mitigation on losses instead of banking big returns.

House Edge:&nbsp; It’s hard work to beat a house edge with gambling and in truth, there isn’t a system that takes the house edge away otherwise there would be no bookies and casinos. However, occasionally you will be able to beat the bookies to odds drops and find <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-value-betting">value bets</a>.&nbsp; Always keep an eye out for promotions and bonuses as these can help remove the house edge and steer things in your favour.

Bankroll: The Fibonacci betting system is not fire proof as aren’t similar progression betting systems like D’Alembert or the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/does-martingale-strategy-work">Martingale system</a>.<a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/does-martingale-strategy-work"> </a>Indeed, it’s possible to lose your entire bankroll if you had an extremely bad losing run.

Fibonacci Betting v Other Similar Betting Systems

There are other negative progression betting systems similar to the Fibonacci betting system.&nbsp; Let’s compare them:

If you think the Fibonacci betting system might work for you and fancy giving it a try, it’s worth considering the following:

Protect Your Bankroll:

Pick the Correct Odds:

Is the Fibonacci Betting system legal?

The Fibonacci system is 100% legal.&nbsp; Using it has no impact on the outcome of a game and doesn’t involve card counting.&nbsp; It’s just a betting strategy to manage your funds in a structured way.

Does the Fibonacci system work?

Yes, it works in terms of managing your bankroll effectively.&nbsp; It doesn’t guarantee winning bets though and sometimes, there might be long losing streaks.

Is it a safe system to use?

The Fibonacci system is a safe system. Because it uses a moderately cautious approach, your profits are more likely to be smaller.

Can I use the Fibonacci Betting System on football?

The Fibonacci betting sequence can be used in any <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide">sports game</a>. However, it’s not as easy to find the correct bets in sport compared to using the system for casino games.&nbsp; Remember, you’re looking for bets that have a 50% winning probability.

The Fibonacci betting system offers a maths based approach that also provides a structured betting strategy.&nbsp; The system isn’t too complicated and provides you with control over your bankroll.

What Is The Fibonacci Betting System And How Does It Work?

Stephanie Sorrell

Yes, hedge betting is completely legal in the UK. It may come as a surprise to some people, as hedge betting can, in the right circumstances, guarantee you a profit from <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-guide">sports betting</a>, but there’s nothing at all legally questionable about placing hedge bets.

If you’ve contemplated trying out hedge betting but been put off by concerns about its legitimacy, you can rest assured that it’s a perfectly legal strategy.

But are there any circumstances in which hedge betting isn’t legal?

Is it ever in breach of bookie terms?

And does it have any effect on your tax position?

In this article, we’ll answer any questions you might have about the legality and legitimacy of hedge betting, so that you never have to worry about whether you might be doing anything wrong.

Hedge betting is the practice of betting on more than one outcome on an event, either to mitigate losses or to guarantee profits. Because <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-read-betting-odds">odds</a> will always change over time, it can sometimes be possible to bet on two or more outcomes at different times and lock in a guaranteed profit no matter the outcome.

It’s important to make clear that there’s no way to guarantee in advance that hedging a bet will allow for a guaranteed profit, as the odds have to work in your favour, which you cannot be certain of when you place your initial bet.

However, even if you can’t guarantee yourself a profit, you may still be able to minimise any potential loss.

As an example, we’ll imagine a Premier League <a href="https://outplayed.com/football-betting-guide">football</a> final.

Early in the season, you might have placed a bet of £100 on Chelsea to come out the eventual winners.

At the time, Chelsea were a definite long shot, and so the odds were at 25/1 (26 in decimal odds), meaning you’d stand to make a return of £2600 if they did indeed go on to win. By the time Chelsea make it through to the final, you’d be feeling quite excited - but also very nervous.

What if, after all their unexpected success, they fall just short of the title?

In that situation, you’d be in a fantastic position to hedge your bet. If Chelsea play Manchester City in the final, and Manchester City are the favourites, the odds are extremely likely to fall in such a way as to allow you to profit from a hedge bet.

If Manchester City are at odds of 1/2 (1.5 in decimal odds) to come out the winners, you could hedge your original bet by placing £1000 on Manchester City to win.

If Chelsea went on to win, you’d still make a profit of £1500 (£2600 minus your original stake on Chelsea and your £1000 stake on Manchester City), and if Manchester City won, you’d have a profit of £400 (£1500 minus your £1000 stake and your £100 stake on Chelsea).

Of course, this tactic relies on placing a bet and having subsequent events go in your favour.

If, in our above example, Chelsea had failed to make it through to the final (and making it to the final is very unlikely for most teams), we’d never have been in a position to hedge the bet at all; it would simply have been lost.

For this reason, hedge betting is normally just one tactic among many used by experienced bettors, and certainly not something you can rely on in the normal course of events.

Hedge betting can be a useful tool for horse racing bettors as well. If, for example, you’d placed an accumulator bet on four horses to win their respective races, and the first three all went on to win, you could be in a good position to hedge your bet.

You might decide to place a hedge bet on the favourite, or even on every single runner, depending on the odds, to ensure that, no matter the outcome, you come out in profit.

Hedge betting isn’t treated any differently from any other type of sports betting, from a legal perspective - so yes, it’s definitely legal in the UK.

From the government’s point of view, it doesn’t really make any difference what kind of betting you engage in - so long as the bet you’re placing is legitimate (i.e. you’re not engaged in any kind of illicit activity, such as match-fixing), it doesn’t matter if it’s a hedge bet or not, it’s definitely legal.

It’s worth noting that betting generally is not legal in all countries, so if you’re an international bettor you’ll need to check on your local laws. In the USA, for example, gambling isn’t permitted in many states - so naturally, if gambling isn’t legal, hedge betting wouldn’t be legal in those states either.

Hedge betting is a principle that has crossed from the gambling to the financial world, and there is scope for confusion as a result. In finance, hedging follows similar principles - you’re offsetting the risk of potential losses by placing money on an opposing position.

The finance world is subject to far more stringent rules than those imposed on casual sports bettors, so in some circumstances it’s quite possible that a financial hedge might not be legal. However, so long as you’re not actually mixing up hedge funds with sports betting when placing a stake, this isn’t something you’re likely to need to worry about.

Another possible source of confusion is the fact that any professional sportsperson is subject to strict regulations regarding any betting activity. <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/why-are-footballers-not-allowed-to-bet">Footballers cannot bet on football</a>, tennis players cannot bet on tennis, and so on. This is due to the possibility of taking advantage of insider knowledge, and also the risk of a player attempting to throw a match to win their bet.

It would therefore be against the rules for a professional athlete to place a hedge bet on their sport - but only because it would be a breach of their professional obligations for them to place any bet on their sport.

Does Hedge Betting Affect Your Tax Position?

Many people are aware that sports betting winnings (along with all other gambling winnings) are <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/do-you-pay-tax-on-sports-betting">tax free in the UK</a>, but it’s common to assume there must be exceptions in certain circumstances. If you’re making a living from gambling, surely you must have to pay tax? What about if you’re making a <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">profit through Matched Betting</a>? Or through hedge betting?

In all these cases, the answer is no: you don’t have to pay any tax on your winnings, even if you’ve put yourself in a position where you can’t lose. The government has been very clear that strategic betting that results in predictable profits is still subject to the same tax rules as casual, riskier betting:

‘The fact that a taxpayer has a system by which they place their bets, or that they are sufficiently successful to earn a living by gambling does not make their activities a trade.’

Source: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/business-income-manual/bim22017">HMRC Business Income Manual</a>

So all in all, there’s definitely no need to worry - you don’t have to pay any tax on profits made through hedge betting.

Is Hedge Betting A Breach Of Bookmaker Terms?

Hedge betting may be legal, but that doesn’t mean a bookie will approve of it. Bookie terms do vary, but many include clauses that prohibit customers from taking any actions to mitigate or eliminate risk.

Even bookies that don’t explicitly prohibit hedge betting will often restrict or ban customers who win too consistently - and if you’ve hedged a bet to guarantee a profit, that does mean you’re guaranteed a win.

For this reason, we recommend that you avoid placing a hedge bet with the bookie you placed your original bet with, regardless of whether the bookie in question prohibits hedging in its terms.

Especially if you’re also <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">Matched Betting</a>, it’s important to <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/top-tips-to-avoid-being-gubbed">avoid drawing attention to yourself</a> through your betting activity. Spreading any hedge bets around between several bookies should mean that you aren’t winning too consistently with any one bookie, which is likely to extend the life of your accounts.

As we have (hopefully) established clearly by now, hedge betting is completely legal in the UK. However, that doesn’t mean that bookmakers will approve of hedging activity, so if you decide to get into hedge betting, you should be careful to spread your bets between different accounts to avoid drawing attention to yourself.

An alternative, more reliable way to guarantee profits through sports betting (so long as you do it right) is Matched Betting. To find out more, take a look at our <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">complete guide to Matched Betting</a>, or alternatively <a href="https://outplayed.com/user/register#1">check out our free trial</a> to get immediate access to over £850 worth of profit from bookie offers.

Is Hedge Betting Legal?

Simon Thatcher

The worldwide gambling industry is huge, and growing all the time. In the year ending March 2023, gambling firms in Great Britain achieved a record-breaking annual revenue of <a href="https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/publication/industry-statistics-february-2024-correction#feedbackstatsresearch">£15.1 billion</a>.

Of this, £3.2 billion came from losses on <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-play-slots">online slots games</a>.

These profits are achieved because casinos give themselves an edge over their customers by using online slots and games that take in more money from losing wagers than they pay out in winnings.

All slots and table games have a Return To Player (RTP), which is the percentage of all money wagered on them that's paid out in winnings, on average, over millions of spins.

Online slots typically have an RTP of around 95%, although this varies a fair amount.

For every £100 wagered on a 95% RTP slot, you'll get back £95 on average. This average £5 loss per £100 wagered goes to the casino.

With the advantage clearly with the casinos, to the tune of billions of pounds every year, are there any ways to come out on top and profit from online slots?

The good news is that there are a couple of ways. Of these, by far the most reliable is to take the edge back over the casino by only doing casino offers that have long-term value, which are known as positive <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/what-is-expected-value">expected value</a> (+EV) offers.

You can learn how to make profits into the thousands of pounds from these casino offers <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/why-you-need-to-do-casino-offers">here</a>.

The other way to end up in profit from playing slots is very simple -&nbsp;get lucky and win a jackpot! Of course, the chances of landing a jackpot are extremely small, and it's very important to gamble responsibly and well within your means or, better still, stick to only doing +EV casino offers.&nbsp;

In this article we'll take a look at some of the biggest online casino wins in the UK, and how progressive jackpot slots work.

So let's hang up the lucky horseshoe, grab our four-leaf clover, cross our fingers, generally abuse every good luck cliche going, and see how a handful of very lucky gamblers managed to skyrocket their wealth into the millions with a single spin of an online slot.

Now, where did I put my lucky pants?

Before moving on to the lucky winners, it's worth looking at the type of online slot they all used to win their 7-figure plus payouts - progressive jackpot slots.

All online slots have a maximum payout, which is either a jackpot or a payline with the highest multiplier. For slots that aren't progressive jackpot slots, this is normally a fixed amount, worked out by multiplying your stake by the maximum multiplier of the slot (for example a 3000x multiplier would pay out 3000 times your stake, giving £6,000 from a £2 spin).

Bloodsuckers, which is a low variance slot, has a maximum multiplier of a relatively modest 1014.6 times your stake (a 1014.6x multiplier). This would return £2029.20 from a £2 spin.

At the other end of the spectrum is the extremely high variance Tombstone RIP slot, with an incredible maximum multiplier of 300,000x.

Although you're incredibly unlikely to hit this multiplier, if you did you'd be treated to a £300,000 payout from just a £1 stake. Here's a screenshot from a maximum win on a&nbsp;€1.10 total stake on the slot:

Progressive jackpot slots work a little differently to regular slots, by taking a portion of your stake and adding this to a jackpot fund. The screenshot below shows Mega Moolah, which is an example of a progressive jackpot slot.

Not taking into account the jackpots, Mega Moolah has a very low RTP of 88.12%. On top of this, there's an additional jackpot contribution of 5.30% of your stake, meaning that for every £100 staked, £5.30 is added to the jackpot fund.

This fund is shared between the four jackpots - Mini (red), Minor (orange), Major (yellow), and Mega (white). In the screenshot, the value of the Mega Jackpot at the top left is £3,620,256.83 at the time. Funded by the 5.3% jackpot contributions, this jackpot builds up until a lucky player eventually wins it.

Online progressive jackpot payouts can be triggered in several ways:

Mega Moolah has a randomly triggered bonus round that can happen after any spin, independent of the payline you've landed on. If you hit the bonus round, you're presented with the following screen:

The bonus round features a prize wheel with red, orange, yellow, and white zones for the four different possible jackpots. To win the Mega Jackpot, the wheel needs to stop with the pointer over the white zone with the image of the paw, as shown below:

Here's a screenshot of Mega Moolah's demo or free play mode, showing what would happen if you won the Mega jackpot:

Online progressive jackpot slots tend to be networked slots - a range of slots across multiple casinos, played by thousands of players all contributing to a single jackpot fund. This is how the enormous jackpots are achieved.

The screenshot below shows different Mega Moohah slots at a particular casino, all of which share the same jackpot fund:

When a player of any of these slots across all of the casinos that host them wins one of the jackpots, the jackpot amount drops to a minimum amount. The Mega Moolah Mega jackpot resets to £1,000,000 after being won, for example.

This minimum amount is known as the seed amount, and it's guaranteed and provided by the casino or slot provider. After being re-seeded at this minimum amount, the jackpot starts to grow again, funded by players' jackpot contributions as before.

Another popular provider of networked progressive jackpots is Jackpot King. With these slots, the jackpot is triggered by hitting a specific winning payline - a line of Jackpot King symbols.

This can be triggered randomly on any spin and at any stake size. You can see what this looks like on the Luck O' The Irish Fortune Play slot below:

After entering the bonus round, the player then needs to activate the Wheel King to have a chance of winning the jackpot.

To hit the biggest jackpot, known as Jackpot King, the Wheel King needs to land on the 'Jackpot King' symbol. You can see what this looks like in the screenshot below, which shows a reconstruction of an actual £4.6 million UK jackpot win:

If you're lucky enough to ultimately hit the Jackpot King, you'll be greeted by a screen informing you that you've just become several million pounds richer than you were a few seconds ago.

It's worth pointing out that, even if you've made it through to one of these jackpot bonus rounds, you're still very unlikely to come away with a huge profit.

To temper your expectations a little, here's a screenshot of one of my own Jackpot King bonus rounds, which I hit whilst wagering for an <a href="https://outplayed.com">Outplayed</a> casino offer. Although I suppose winning £1 from a 10p spin isn't terrible, it did mean I needed to abandon all thoughts of buying that bright yellow Lamborghini that had come to mind when I entered the Jackpot King bonus round!

When selecting the big winners for this list, care was taken to make sure that there was a reliable source for the win.

There's a lot of conflicting information about big casino winners on the internet, with some overseas players being incorrectly listed as UK players, and some wins that are mentioned in a couple of places but aren't easily verified. As such, this won't necessarily be a definitive list of the biggest UK winners to date.&nbsp;

All of the wins came from hitting a jackpot on a progressive jackpot slot, as these are by far the biggest payouts available from slots, at least without using ridiculously high stakes on regular slots.&nbsp;

Speaking of ridiculously high stakes, it was decided to exclude any wins from online casino streamers showing their wins on video-sharing sites for a couple of reasons.

First, it's well-known that many of these streamers (probably most of them) are playing with money given to them by the casino. This allows the streamers to wager vast amounts on slots, often for many hours a day, whilst not risking their own money. It also means that when they inevitably hit some huge wins, these winnings aren't theirs to keep, although they will often take a cut of the winnings.

These 'fake balance' online streamers are basically just an advert for the casinos, luring impressionable people into gambling with them.&nbsp;

The second reason is that even if the streamers are using their own money, they will often be using unrealistic and irresponsible stake sizes (some overseas streamers use $600 or even $10,000 stakes for each spin in some cases!) This obviously isn't something to be encouraged, and using such high stakes wouldn't be sustainable even for millionaires, if they were using their own money.&nbsp;

Before the maximum <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-2-maximum-stake-for-under-25s-playing-online-slots">stake limits </a>of £5 for those aged 25+ and £2 for gamblers aged 18-24 were introduced in September 2024, UK streamers could also have used these very high stakes.

Even streamers using £5 spins will be wagering millions of pounds on slots and gambling for hours a day to achieve the big wins that are such good adverts for the casinos. However, doing £5 spins for hours on end will result in enormous long-term losses, due to the casino's edge, and it can also lead to serious gambling problems.&nbsp;

Online streamers make their money from affiliate schemes with the casino (basically, a share of the losses of people who sign up to casinos through their affiliate link), advertising revenue, Patreon payments from their followers, and a cut of their winnings from their live-streamed gambling. Without these sources of income, they wouldn't be able to maintain their gambling and would have losses of millions of pounds.&nbsp;

For these reasons, all of the big wins listed here came from recreational gamblers who just happened to get lucky, rather than professional streamers.&nbsp;

8. Michael Clark - £5,400,000 - January 2023

Michael Clark, from Newcastle, had an incredible start to 2023 when he achieved the biggest-ever payout in Betfred's 57-year history, winning £5.4 million from a £1.40 spin on King Kong Cashpots Jackpot King.

He said that when he won the jackpot, he wasn't paying too much attention because he thought he'd won £5,000, but then checked his phone and realised there were "way too many numbers for £5,000" and that it looked "more like a mobile number".

Former mental health worker Michael, who decided to take a break from his work after his win, said he planned to spend some of his winnings on a more expensive engagement ring for his fiancee Sherelle, a no-expense-spared wedding at St. James' Park, a honeymoon in the Caribbean and season tickets for Newcastle United. He also said he was going to get a new stairlift installed for his grandmother.

"This proves nice guys can win. Michael is the most worthy of winners. It is brilliant news for this smashing couple," said Betfred founder and owner Fred Done, who opened his first betting shop in Ordsall, Salford, in 1967.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aahJd3gLQZg&amp;ab_channel=Betfred">Michael Clark's Betfred interview&nbsp;</a>

<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11622503/Father-three-wins-biggest-payout-Betfreds-history-scoops-5-4million-1-40-spin.html">Daily Mail article</a>&nbsp;

7. Anonymous - £5,400,000 - October 2013

A man from Aberdeenshire, who chose to remain anonymous, won an impressive £5,400,000 from a 20p wager on Hall of Gods at BetVictor. The father of one said that the first person he told was his wife who, understandably, was as surprised as him.

He said he would take some time out to decide what to do with his newfound wealth, but intended to donate some to charity, since he believed it was right to give something back to help others who don’t have the same luck in life.

At the time, it was BetVictor's biggest-ever payout, and it came just six months after another huge jackpot win of £4.5 million on the Mega Fortune slot.

Below, you can see a sequence of screenshots showing a simulation of a Mega Jackpot win on Hall of Gods by a lucky Estonian lady on Wednesday 8th January 2020.

6. Anonymous - £5,543,986.99 - 24th May 2019

There's not much information about this 2019 winner, other than that they were playing with British pounds, so probably from the UK, and they were playing on the Mega Moolah.

<a href="https://www.megamoolah.com/news/mega-moolah-58-million-jackpot-won-9-december-2012-57">The win posted on the Mega Moolah website.</a>

5. John Orchard - £5,883,044 - 9th December 2012

John Orchard, a Jobcentre worker from Long Sutton in Lincolnshire, walked away with a payout of nearly £5.9 million when playing the Dark Knight slot and hitting the Mega Moolah Mega Jackpot. He'd only been a member of Butlers Bingo for a few days when he got lucky with a 30p spin. At the time, it was the biggest UK win, easily beating the previous record of £1.2 million, won by Soraya Lowell, from Scotland.

60-year-old John celebrated his winnings by taking his family to Center Parcs for the weekend, trading in his Renault Clio for a £40,000 Jaguar XF, and retired five years early from the Jobcentre. He planned to use some of his winnings to visit his great-granddaughter in Canada with his wife, and to be able to upgrade their 25th wedding anniversary celebrations the following year.

Here's a screenshot of the Dark Knight slot, which is no longer linked to the Mega Moolah jackpot network.

Biggest UK Online Casino Wins

Hedge betting, or hedging as it’s often known, has been around for a very long time - around 350 years! It’s even become part of the way we speak - ‘hedging your bets’ can be used in almost any situation now, with its connection to real betting half forgotten by many.

But, as with a lot of <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/sports-betting-terminology-101">sports betting terminology</a>, many of us will have heard of hedge betting without ever really understanding how it works.

In this article, we’ll lay out exactly what hedge betting is, how it works, and how you can take advantage of it - as well as other alternatives to ensure a profit from sports betting.

By the time you reach the end, you’ll be a hedging expert!

At its most basic, hedge betting is the practice of betting on more than one outcome on an event, either to mitigate losses or to guarantee profits.

Hedge betting usually relies on odds changing over time, which makes it possible to place a bet on two or more outcomes of an event, and to come out in profit regardless.

Depending on the odds, it can be possible to place a bet on two (or more) opposing outcomes, with the result that you ensure a profit no matter the outcome - a bit like <a href="https://outplayed.com/what-is-matched-betting">Matched Betting</a>.

And even if the <a href="https://outplayed.com/blog/how-to-read-betting-odds">odds</a> don’t allow you to guarantee a profit, they might reduce your potential loss to an acceptable level, if you suspect your bet is unlikely to go on to win.

It does take some expert knowledge and a level of skill to put yourself in a position to successfully hedge a bet - this technique is most commonly used by professional gamblers, who understand the markets extremely well.

Furthermore, it won’t always be possible to guarantee a profit on a certain event, so you shouldn’t make the assumption that you’ll find an opportunity to hedge a bet later on.

To illustrate the principle, we’ll take <a href="https://outplayed.com/football-betting-guide">football</a> as an example - specifically, the Premier League.

The odds that Chelsea win the Premier League near the start of the season might be 25/1 (26 in decimal odds), so if you were to bet £100 early on, you’d stand to make a return of £2600 if they did indeed go on to win.

If Chelsea ended up having a great season and made it to the final, you’d be feeling pretty excited - but also distinctly anxious about their chances. What if they let you down at the last hurdle?

They might face Manchester City in the final as the underdogs, with Manchester City at odds of 1/2 (1.5 in decimal odds) to come out the winners.

To hedge your bet, you could place a bet of £1000 on Manchester City.

If Chelsea went on to win, you’d still make a profit of £1500 (£2600 minus your original stake on Chelsea and your £1000 stake on Manchester City), and if Man City won, you’d still have a profit of £400 (£1500 minus your £1000 stake and your £100 stake on Chelsea).

Hedging isn’t restricted to team sports; bettors will also sometimes place hedge bets on <a href="https://outplayed.com/horse-racing-betting">horse racing</a>. For example, imagine you’d placed a pre-race bet of £20 on a relative long shot at 20/1 (decimal odds of 21).

By the middle of the race, your pick is neck and neck with the favourite to win, with the rest of the pack a good way behind. By placing an in-race hedge bet of £100 on the favourite at odds of 1/1 (decimal odds of 2), you could guarantee a profit so long as one of those two horses did indeed win - which would be looking extremely likely at that point.

If your original long shot came in as the winner, you’d have made a total of £300 in profit (£420 minus your original stake and your hedge stake), or if the favourite was victorious, you’d have £80 of profit (£200 minus your stakes).

Of course, unless you put money on all the remaining horses, you couldn’t completely guarantee a profit - and in most cases you’d be unlikely to come out in profit by hedging all the other competitors - but you would be able to put yourself in a position where you’d be extremely likely to come out in profit either way.

As a general rule, hedging a bet is worthwhile if it improves your position - and this is usually only going to be the case if your original bet has been placed in advance of an event, allowing time for the odds to change. You’d certainly be unwise to place large numbers of bets in advance in the hope that circumstances result in a hedging opportunity, though - it’s often just as likely that the odds will work against you, and that the most you’ll be able to do is to mitigate your losses.

That said, it’s worth keeping an eye out for hedging opportunities. Sometimes, a competitor that seems like a long shot can rapidly become a favourite for a particular event - so if you’d placed a bet when the odds on them were higher, you might well have a chance to bet on their opponents as well, and to come out with a profit either way.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Hedge Betting

Hedging is also a tactic used in finance. It’s not quite so straightforward a strategy as in sports betting, but it works on the same principle: that of offsetting the risk of potential losses by placing money on an opposing position.

In finance, it works as a form of insurance (and, indeed, can literally be in the form of insurance), so that if one investment in a portfolio performs worse than expected, another opposing investment will balance that out.

Hedge funds, which many of us will have heard of without fully understanding, began with the specific intention of hedging specific investments by shorting other similar assets (i.e. investing in such a way as to profit if the market value of that asset fell). Nowadays, however, they use a variety of investment strategies (although these are still likely to include hedging).

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