What Dragon Link and Lightning Link share
More than most people think. Aristocrat credits Dragon Link to "HRG studios, the creators of Lightning Link", describes the Hold & Spin feature as the one "made popular in Lightning Link", and said at launch that Dragon Link was "a perfect partner to Aristocrat's global phenomenon Lightning Link… designed to coexist with Lightning Link".
In practice that means the same shape of game: orbs that lock in place, respins that reset, jackpots above the reels and a linked top prize. If you know one, you can sit down at the other.
What's different
Aristocrat's description of Dragon Link points to its design choice: "all Dragon Link titles maintain the same denomination options and use the same common trigger symbol… the uniqueness in each game comes from the different Free Game features." Dragon Link is built as one family — the same orb in every title, the same jackpots — with ten sets of free games on top.
| Dragon Link | Lightning Link | |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | HRG, Aristocrat | HRG, Aristocrat |
| Feature | Hold & Spin, one orb symbol across all titles | Hold & Spin, where it was made popular |
| Standalone sibling | Dragon Cash | Lightning Cash |
| Titles | 10, from 2017 to 2020 | The older series |
| Return to player | Not published | Not published |
| Online for real money | Not yet (announced 17 September 2026) | US and Canada since July 2026 |
| Free app | Lightning Link Casino, Mighty Fu Casino | Lightning Link Casino |
Where you'll find both
Venues that name their games often list the two side by side. Thuringowa RSL in Townsville has "9 Dragon Links and 10 Lightning Links" among 50 machines; Redbank Plains Tavern has 5 Lightning Link and 15 Dragon Link machines among 45; Hotel Darwin's ten machines include "the new Dragon Link and Lightning Link machines". More venues are on Dragon Link in Australia.
Where Phoenix Link fits
Phoenix Link is Aristocrat's next link product. Its Australian catalogue entry, dated August 2026, calls it "the next evolution in Premium Link jackpots, building on the worldwide success of Dragon Link", and it runs on Aristocrat's The Baron Portrait cabinet rather than MarsX. People ask whether Phoenix Link or Dragon Link is better; with no published returns for either, the honest answer is that they differ in games and cabinet, and the machine in front of you tells you its jackpots.
Dragon Cash vs Dragon Link
Every Dragon Link title also comes as Dragon Cash, the "standalone progressive range" that Aristocrat modelled on Lightning Cash. The practical difference is the Grand: on Dragon Link it's shared by a bank of machines; on Dragon Cash the machine keeps its own. The top screen tells you which one you're playing. How the jackpots work is on the jackpots page.
My verdict
Choose between them by the games, not by rumours of which pays more — nobody publishes that. If you like Lightning Link's feature but want a tighter family where every title plays the same way, Dragon Link is the one; the ten titles are compared on the games page.
