Perhaps the best thing about slots today is that there's more variety than ever before. Players have a seemingly endless number of games at their fingertips, whether playing at brick and mortar or online casinos. But along with this variety has also come a large discrepancy in paytables. More specifically, many players are finding it hard to hit jackpots at the same rate they used to.

So do modern slots offer fewer jackpots today? Or is this just another myth that's been perpetuated? Let's discuss this matter and come to a resolution on if slots are really paying out less jackpots.

Changing with the Times

Back in the 1980's and before, the majority of slot machines were run by physical reels, gears and mechanical levers. These games were very limited with both the options they could offer and how much they were capable of paying out. And most of the jackpots in these machines were worth 1,000 coins or less.

But in the 1990's, many games became video slots and were run through computer programs. Seeing as how computers were being used instead of reels and gears, manufacturers had far more options with what they could do. This meant that they could raise the value of jackpots quite easily through simple programming. And this is a big reason why you see a larger number of six and seven-figure jackpots offered today.

The Cost of Winning Big

While it's great that players can try for progressive jackpots worth $1 million or more these days, there's a price to pay. And this price comes in the form of fewer jackpots being hit.

In order to make jackpots reach dizzying heights, casinos ensure that the chances of unlocking the top prize are very small. And so many of the big progressive games rarely pay out jackpots. So in a way, modern slots games do offer fewer top prizes than ever before.

However, this isn't to say you can't still find slots that offer a reasonable opportunity to win a jackpot. There are quite a few "classic slots" at both land-based and online casinos which gives players an improved opportunity to win the top prize. Sure this payout may be worth 1,000 coins, but it's still a nice payout nonetheless. So as you can see, there are certainly some games out there which offer jackpots on a frequent basis.