LeoJackpot has just passed the milestone €50 million! It’s been built spin by spin by players across our LeoVegas Group brands and markets, and it’s one of the biggest moments in our jackpot’s history. We’re incredibly proud of this. To mark it, we sat down with Theunis Jonck, our Head of Jackpot. After 30 years of verifying and paying out jackpots, from hand pay slips in land-based casinos to record wins online, there’s no one better to tell the story. How does a jackpot get this big? Who decides when it drops? And what happens behind the scenes when it does?
LeoJackpot just passed €50 million. What does a number like that mean to you and the team?
“It’s a milestone we’re proud of, but what really excites us is what it stands for. We didn’t fund the €50 million. Players who chose to take part built it, one spin at a time, across our LeoVegas Group brands. Somewhere out there is a player who’s going to have an incredible moment, and that’s what the team thinks about every day. A jackpot this size also comes with responsibility. It has to run perfectly: the tech, the payments, the player care. And it has to stay what it should be: entertainment, played within limits. We’ve been preparing for this win for a long time, so when it lands, we’re ready.”
How does a jackpot grow to this size? Can you explain the mechanics in simple terms?
“LeoJackpot is a companion product. It sits alongside the games you already enjoy and is completely optional. When you play a LeoJackpot-enabled game, you can switch it on and add a small extra bet to your spin. That gives you another chance to win, on top of whatever the game itself pays. Every jackpot-enabled spin contributes to all four prize pots, and those pots are shared across our LeoVegas Group brands and markets. With thousands of players contributing to the same pots at once, they grow quickly.
The four tiers range from smaller, more frequent prizes up to the Mega. Each tier has a secret, encrypted win point that’s locked in before the pot starts growing. Nobody can see it or change it, not even us. When a pot reaches its win point, it drops, and the player whose spin triggers it wins. The Mega is designed to be rare, and that’s how it reaches amounts like €50 million.”
What’s the most memorable win you’ve been part of?
“Honestly, it’s hard to pick just one. Over the past 30 years, I’ve verified and paid out a lot of jackpots, both in land-based casinos and online. The biggest was €38.4 million, and you never forget being part of something that size. But some of the smaller wins stay with you just as much.
I remember a land-based win where we’d just paid the player with a hand pay slip, a casino cheque they had to cash in, and three coins later the machine paid out again. The look on their face was priceless. And online, I’ve seen players deposit £10 on their very first day and win £150,000.
What stays with you is never really the amount. It’s the player’s excitement and disbelief. A jackpot doesn’t have to be €50 million to change someone’s day. And with Safer Gambling Week and European Safer Gambling Week coming up, it’s a good reminder that those moments are special because they’re rare. Jackpots are there for the thrill, and the best way to enjoy them is to play for fun and within your means.”
How do you make sure the jackpot is fair and that every player has a real chance to win?
“Fairness is built in from the start, not added later. Each tier’s win point is randomly generated and encrypted before the pot starts growing, so nobody can influence it, us included. The system is independently tested and certified, and it operates under the oversight of some of the strictest gambling regulators in the world, including the UK Gambling Commission, the Swedish Gambling Authority and the Malta Gaming Authority. Every jackpot-enabled spin can be the winning one, whether it’s a player’s first spin of the day or their hundredth. Because LeoJackpot is optional, players are always in control of whether they take part. We encourage people to play for fun and within their means. The jackpot is a bonus, never a plan.”
If the jackpot drops tomorrow, what’s next for LeoJackpot?
“First, we celebrate the winner!
Then the Mega resets to its starting amount and starts growing again straight away. Beyond that, we’re always looking at how to make LeoJackpot more exciting, including how often players get to share in a win and how we bring the experience to new markets. I can’t give away too much yet, but the €50 million moment is a beginning, not an end.”
