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Slot Machine Symbols Explained at Betnero

Slot symbols come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. One of the most intricate parts of any slot, alongside its paylines and prizes, are its symbols. In this slot machine symbols guide, we’re going to touch on them, discuss the different types of symbols you can find in slot games, and explain how each of them works. We’ll also clue you in on some of the top slots you can play at Betnero UK that feature these symbols. If you’re new to slots and want to learn about symbols, here’s what you need to know:

Types of Slot Symbols

Most of you will be aware that if you line up identical slot symbols across the reels (on paylines in many cases), you’ll win prizes. There’s a lot more to them than that, though. Let’s explore each of the main options and explain what they offer:

1 – Standard Symbols

Standard symbols form the basis for every slot. Old-school one-armed bandits, classic slots, and fruit machines may feature icons such as fruit, bars, and bells. In some video slots, they may opt for high playing card symbols (10s through Aces). In some titles, they may be more thematic, featuring images related to the theme of the slot. Good examples of this include finding gemstones in NetEnt’s Starburst slot and fruit imagery in the Fruit Shop slot. These online slot symbols generally offer UK players cash prizes when they line up three or more on paylines or on adjacent reels. That is their primary purpose. Next, let’s look at special slot symbols.

2 – Wild Symbols

The bread and butter of most video slots, wild symbols will always substitute for all standard paying symbols. Think of these as jokers in a deck of cards – they’ll count for what you need to help land winning combos. Wilds can also come in various shapes and styles, including expanding wilds (that cover whole reels), sticky wilds (that remain for several spins), and stacked wilds (that can vary in size). Gonzo’s Quest Megaways is a great example of how wild symbols in slots can alter a game in other ways. In that release, they activate a cascading reel feature.

3 – Scatter Symbols

Scatter symbols boost UK players’ chances of landing features and thus winnings. They get their name because they count no matter where they land – they aren’t bound to paylines and are scattered across the reels. The principal feature of these symbols is to trigger slot bonus rounds, such as bonus spin features. One of the most famous games that utilises scatters is Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead.

4 – Bonus Symbols

Bonus symbols work in a similar way to scatters. While they aren’t tied to paylines, either, they often need to appear on specific reels to trigger bonus mechanics, such as money wheels or wheels of fortune (made popular in Games Global’s Mega Moolah progressive jackpot slot), multipliers, click and win mechanics, or a thematic bonus round. It isn’t uncommon to see those symbols required on the first and fifth reels or the first, third and fifth reels, for instance.

5 – Multiplier Symbols

Multiplier symbols are another of those special slot symbols that do what its name suggests. They will often have a multiplier slapped on them and visible to the player (2x means double your money, 5x means five times the amount, for instance). They can rise to 10x, 20, right up to 500x or higher in reality. It all depends on the game you play. They can appear in base games (usually on an extra reel) but are more commonly found in bonus rounds, as is the case in the Buffalo King Megaways slot at Betnero UK.

6 – Special Innovations

It isn’t uncommon to find special innovations woven into slots, too. For instance, cascading symbols disappear when they feature in a win, and new icons are allowed to drop down to replace them, as you’ll see in Reactoonz. Other games may contain colossal symbols. These cover many reel spots (2×2 up to 5×5, sometimes larger in size), accounting for significantly larger payouts. Gonzo’s Quest Megaways is a great example of colossal symbols in action.

Top Slots at Betnero Featuring Unique Symbols

As you’ve seen, there are definitely different types of online slot symbols for UK players to explore, and each impacts your game in a unique way. Next, let’s showcase five key slots and explore these features in more detail.

#1 Big Bass Splash

Pragmatic Play’s Big Bass Splash allows you to trigger spins when you land fishing rod scatters on the reels. During that spin bonus, fishermen will appear as wild symbols. When they pop up, they allow you to collect fish prizes, each of which has its own cash prizes.

#2 Temple Tumble Megaways

Relax Gaming’s Temple Tumble Megaways, as its name suggests, is a Megaways game. This means that you should expect to see up to 46,656 ways to win. It also means that you’ll get cascading symbols and exploding blocks.

#3 Fate of Fortune

Developed by ELK Studios, Fate of Fortune is played over a 5-3-1-3-5-reel slot. Highly volatile, it has a top prize worth 10,000x, and it uses mystery symbols and wild multipliers to boost your wins. Mystery symbols are similar to wilds, although instead of acting in place of any symbol, all instances of them transform into one specific symbol.

#4 Chocolates

Big Time Gaming’s Chocolates is unique in that it contains a 4×4 structure, which features an incredible 65,536 ways to win. Highly volatile, this tasty game gives you the chance to open wild boxes, and these can increase the default 256 ways to win in the game. Golden Ticket wilds can also add multipliers worth up to 216x.

#5 Fire in the Hole xBomb

No Limit City’s Fire in the Hole xBomb slot debuted in 2021 and is notable for featuring exploding (xBomb) symbols. When triggered, these will annihilate all manner of adjacent symbols. This naturally frees up the reels for new symbols to drop down.

Slot Symbol Payouts and Combinations

By now, you should have a good idea of what types of symbols there are in slots and how they work. Next, we need to touch on three key elements to slot symbols. Here is what you need to know:

High-Value VS Low-Value Symbols

  • Firstly, every slot game will likely have two types of paying symbols. These are all standard symbols, but the prizes they can pay will either be high-value or low-value.
  • Low-value symbols will often be shown as fruit or high playing card symbols (10s through Aces).
  • The better-paying symbols will typically be thematic, featuring imagery associated with the slot’s theme. You can find out what each symbol pays by checking the paytable.

FAQs About Slot Machine Symbols

What are slot machine symbols?

Conventional slot machine symbols are images that appear on the reels of a slot. They may be thematic in nature or represent fruits, playing cards or anything else. Some are designed to pay out winnings (standard symbols), and others will trigger bonus rounds, multipliers, jackpots or other features.

What is the key difference between wild and scatter symbols?

Wild symbols substitute for another that you may need to win on a payline. Scatter symbols often trigger bonus rounds. You’ll typically find both symbols in a run-of-the-mill video slot. However, scatter wilds offer you the best of both types of symbols.

How do bonus symbols work?

Bonus symbols are often required to appear on specific reels. When they do, they will trigger a bonus mechanic or some kind. This may be a wheel of fortune, extra reels/paylines, an instant win mini-game, a click-and-win feature or another bonus.

Are there slots without paylines but innovative symbols?

Absolutely. Some slots feature no paylines at all. Any game that features a Cluster Pays format, for instance, dishes out wins when you group together “clusters” of symbols rather than them having to appear on paylines. Germinator and tumbling reel games may work in a similar way, with icons solely required to appear adjacent to one another to pay out a prize.

Paylines in Paylines Slots: The Full Guide

Paylines may not make the world go round, but they certainly ensure that slots cough up the prizes. These integral slot features are your pathway to success across the reels of your favourite online slots. What are slot paylines, though? If you want to learn how paylines work and how they can impact your favourite games, you’ve come to the right place. Allow Betnero UK to explain.

What Are Paylines in Online Slots?

If you’ve played slots before, you’ll know well enough what to expect here. If not, then allow us to explain. Slot paylines are a series of “ways to win” or “lines” that straddle the reels of the slot, upon which you can hope to land slot payouts. Here’s how it works:

  • Definition of Paylines: Imagine a line (or rather, a series of lines) that travels in all sorts of shapes, zig-zagging across the reels. It is upon these lines that you’ll need to land identical symbols to win prizes. The more identical symbols you can land on those paylines (and there may be any number of them), the bigger your prize.

Types of Paylines

Slot payouts require identical symbols to appear on paylines unless we’re talking about scatter symbols. There are several paylines in slot games, and how they work can vary. Here’s a quick look at three of the more common types you’ll find:

  • Fixed Paylines: These paylines get their name because you cannot change them. If there are twenty-five lines, you must play with them all.
  • Adjustable Paylines: Adjustable paylines allow you to choose how many of the lines you want to have active on each spin. The smallest numbers may be one line, five, ten, or so on. It may be possible to play with up to 100 of these.
  • Multi-Directional Paylines: Normally, symbols need to land on paylines from the leftmost slot reel to the rightmost to land prizes. However, some slots have paylines that “pay both ways”. In short, they pay from right to left, as well as left to right.

Payout Systems in Slots

Of course, the amount you can win on online slot paylines in the UK doesn’t just depend on landing identical symbols on paylines. It may also depend on the value of the symbols you land, your stake, and the volatility/variance of the game. Megaways slots payouts, for instance, tend to be quite rich because they are highly volatile. However, big wins don’t come as often as they would in a low-variance game, which has lower cash prizes but wins that come more frequently.

Let’s touch on some of the different payout systems in UK slots at Betnero and explain how they work and differ from one another.

Paylines VS Ways to Win

Once you go beyond 100 paylines, you start to enter “Ways to Win” territory. In short, there are so many paylines to win that they can’t be visualised. You don’t need to worry about paylines in games with 243 ways to win and 1,024 ways to win or higher. Instead, it’s normally enough for identical symbols to land adjacent reels to land wins.

Payout Multipliers

Ordinarily, each symbol combo will pay out based on your stake and the number of symbols you land. In most cases, prizes will be shown by a value, followed by “X”. For instance, if you see a winning combo that pays 5x, this means that it pays five times your stake or bet per line. You’ll want to check the slot’s paytable to find out which. Normally, it is multiplied against your stake.

Innovations in Slot Payout Systems

When comparing paylines vs ways to win, it is important to consider the advances and innovations that we’ve seen in the online slot world and slot payout systems over the last decade or so. Let’s explain this in more detail next.

1 – Megaways Slots

Developed by Big Time Gaming (BTG) and leased to virtually every software provider around, Megaways slots feature a random number of theoretical ways to win on each spin. These may be as few as a couple of hundred or as many as 117,649 ways to win, sometimes more.

2 – Cluster Pays

Cluster Pays games were created by NetEnt and work a bit differently from conventional lines. To win in these games, you need clusters of symbols or groups of symbols to appear adjacent to one another on the reels. There are no conventional paylines here. Just group together as many identical symbols as you can. Those symbols then disappear, and new symbols drop down, effectively allowing you to try to win again without placing a new bet. A progressive multiplier may or may not be added.

3 – Infinity Reels and Expanding Paylines

Lastly, let’s touch on Infinity Reels and slots with expanding paylines. In these games, there will be various triggers that can see extra reels added (often to the right of the screen). Others may increase the number of rows (and thus, paylines or ways to win) in games. They get their name as they will continually expand (infinitely) with each win, only resetting when you lose.

Top 5 Slots with Innovative Paylines and Payouts at Betnero

Want to see these features in action? Let’s introduce you to five of our top slots with innovative slot paylines and payouts that you can play right here at Betnero UK. Our selection includes:

1. Starburst

Starburst is a classic example of a multi-directional, “pays both ways” slot. Despite being simple, this is a rewarding NetEnt game. It pays regularly as a low-variance game. Highlights here include sticky wilds and up to three re-spins with wild reels.

2. Gonzo’s Quest Megaways

Gonzo’s Quest was one of the most popular Rolling Reels types of slots from NetEnt, with cascading reels and multipliers. Red Tiger Gaming’s makeover transformed it into a Megaways release. The cascading reels feature is still in play, and chaining together successive wins via this feature can yield multipliers.

3. Buffalo King Megaways

Pragmatic Play’s highly volatile Buffalo King Megaways doesn’t play by the rules. It doesn’t offer you up to 117,649 ways to win like normal Megaways games. It can dish out as many as 200,704 of them at random on each spin.

4. Reactoonz

NetEnt isn’t the only provider with Cluster Pays games. Reactoonz is NetEnt’s attempt at the mechanic. You can win over 4,750x your bet in this monster-inspired game, which features a 7×7 grid and comes sporting all sorts of added perks and modifiers, including implosions (with wilds), alterations (symbol swaps), demolition and incision features.

5. Book of Dead

This book slot, known by its full name of Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead, is the jewel in Play’n Go’s crown. It may have ten fixed lines, but this highly volatile game features scatter wilds (that serve the function of both symbols) and has a bonus spin round where a symbol is chosen at random as an expanding icon.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What are paylines, and how do they work in slots?

Paylines are pathways or routes that straddle the reels of online slots. You’ll need to land identical symbols on these pathways to be succefull. You can view them by checking out the slot’s paytable.

What is the difference between paylines and ways to win?

Once you have Ways to Win payline systems, you only need to land symbols on adjacent reels to guarantee a prize, whereas, with conventional paylines, that may not necessarily be enough to land a win.

Do Megaways slots pay more than traditional slots?

Not necessarily. Megaways games tend to be highly volatile. This means that they pay out bigger prizes but less frequently than traditional slots.

How do Cluster Pays differ from regular paylines?

Cluster Pays slots don’t require you to land three or more identical symbols on a payline. They have no paylines. Instead, you need to group five or more (the exact figure varies) on the reels in a cluster. In many cases, they won’t need to be on the first reel, either.

Slot Bonuses Guide: How to Use Them

Slot bonuses can, on occasion, make the difference between landing a so-so win and a considerably epic one. Of course, just how valuable those bonuses are and what they consist of depends on the game and casino you’re looking at. In fact, some slot bonuses aren’t casino offers at all – instead, they are in-game bonuses that are often triggered at random or via scatter or bonus symbols, and it is important to differentiate between the two.

If you want the inside track on slot bonuses, how they work and what sorts of deals you can expect to see when playing at Betnero, you’ve come to the right place. Join us as we explain the types of slot bonuses you can get from casinos and touch on the types of bonuses you’ll get inside slots themselves. Read on to learn more as we introduce you to some of the newest must-play slots with bonuses and share our experience with you right here.

Let’s start, though, by looking at the main types of internet slot bonuses offered by online casinos.

Types of Slot Bonuses Offered by Casinos

We’ll begin by looking at the top types of slot bonuses. We’re talking about bonuses offered by casinos rather than online slots with bonuses.

These types of slot bonuses are provided by casinos as promotions. You can claim them (in many cases) either by depositing or opting into no-deposit offers. Others are more generic but can be used to play slots with the potential to win real money. Here are four banging bonuses you may wish to consider from Betnero and other top casinos:

1 – Spin Bonuses

Spin bonuses, as their name suggests, can be awarded by casinos for a variety of reasons. They may be issued to you as a loyalty reward, as part of a no-deposit bonus, or as deposit-based offer. They are also sometimes available for purchase using loyalty points in a club shop. However you acquire them, you can rely on these bonuses to allow you to spin the reels of a slot, several slots or many different slots with the potential to win real money. Each spin is generally played at the lowest possible stake using all active paylines.

2 – Cashback Bonuses

A slot cashback bonus is an offer that is regularly available as a loyalty reward. How it is acquired can vary from casino to casino. For instance, you may be given this offer daily, weekly or monthly as a loyalty bonus, where you’ll receive a percentage of your losses based on your loyalty level. Alternatively, you may be able to “buy cashback” by converting loyalty points. Either way, you can use the funds you receive to play slots.

3 – Slot Tournaments

It’s also worth noting that online slot tournaments also represent great ways to bag prizes on slot games. Slot tournaments can regularly be found at the best casinos, like Betnero UK. They will be valid on a selected array of games. Simply play any games associated with the game, and then you’ll receive leaderboard points based on your in-game achievements, which may vary from tournament to tournament. End up towards the top of the leaderboard after the tournament ends, and you’ll receive a share of the spoils, with prize pools ranging from hundreds of pounds and bonus spins to millions of quid, depending on the competition you join and your finishing position.

4 – Reload Bonuses

Reload bonuses are another great way to land spins and cash bonuses. Just like a welcome bonus (for newbies) can reward you with funds and spins to play slots, reload bonuses allow already existing members of Betnero to benefit from the same perks. These deals can naturally be used to play your favourite slots or a selected array of eligible games. Check the T&Cs associated with the bonuses to discover what the deal is with your bonus.

Types of Bonuses Within Slot Games

As mentioned earlier, there are also slot bonuses that aren’t awarded by the casino. These are won in-game by landing scatter symbols, bonus icons or triggering the feature randomly. The exact features and mechanics you receive will vary from slot to slot, but each game’s paytable should let you know what to expect, and you can always play demos to get a sneak peek at them. In-game slot bonuses often include:

1 – Bonus Rounds

Many online slots with bonuses tend to offer instant win features. Known as pick and win, pick and click, or click and win modes, these allow you to choose from a series of symbols or items to win cash prizes. Some games may ask you to match three, others may feature booby traps, and some offer racing or money wheel elements to them, but they all constitute bonus rounds.

2 – Bonus Spins Mode

The spin bonus is a UK favourite and a staple of online slots the world over. This common bonus allows you to spin the reels of a slot without using your balance. Unlike the casino bonus of the same name, these spins are played at the same stake as when you triggered them. Moreover, they are played in a special bonus round that features added enhancements, including special wilds, multipliers, or other perks. The exact benefits will vary from slot to slot.

3 – Multipliers

Multipliers may also appear in a slot’s base game, but it is the main bonus round where they really excel. These features can magnify whatever you win. Sometimes, they require special symbols to appear, and other times, they apply to any wins you land. If you’re really lucky, several multipliers will band together, creating a super multiplier that applies to your winnings.

4 – Jackpot Features

One of the best slot bonuses you’ll come across is a progressive jackpot. While some games have randomly triggered jackpots, others make them winnable in the bonus rounds. In this case, you may need to spin a fortune wheel, engage in a click-and-win bonus, or collect symbols on re-spinning reels to land prizes, and there may be several progressives on the fly at once.

5 – Wild Symbols

Some slots choose to offer special wilds in bonuses such as bonus spins. These can include expanding, stacked, colossal, sticky, multiplier, and walking wilds, amongst others. It isn’t just spin wilds that can make winning easier. They also sometimes appear in base games, too. As always, they’ll replace any standard paying symbols to help you land wins.

Online Slots that Offer Interesting Bonuses

Where can you try some of the great and nifty features we’ve discussed above? As it happens, you do that right here. Allow us to showcase five of the best bonus slots around. Here are five of the most recent bonus slots to debut at Betnero and what each brings to the table:

#1 – Starburst Galaxy by NetEnt

Released in November 2024, the Starburst Galaxy slot is a bona fide to the much-loved NetEnt Starburst slot. This five-to-seven-reel game uses a Cluster Pays mechanic, supports a non-progressive jackpot worth 25,000x and has medium to high volatility. Its highlights include wilds and feature generators that can destroy, add, upgrade or substitute for symbols, while Galaxy Star and Mega Star metres can see colossal wilds and multipliers enter the mix. Finally, there is an Elevate feature that provides multipliers worth up to 500x.

#2 – Wolf Gold Ultimate by Pragmatic Play

A more extensive version of Pragmatic Play’s famous slot, this “Ultimate” edition removes the giant symbol found in its previous spins round to add more gloss to its Money Respins mechanic instead. In this feature, you’ll get to spin the reels, using the re-spins to try and land as many money symbols as possible. The more you land in this 5-reel, 25-line medium variance slot, the bigger your prize. Do well, and you could walk away with the fixed Grand Jackpot prize.

#3 – Big Bass Xmas Xtreme by Pragmatic Play

Big Bass Xmas Xtreme arrived in time for the 2024 festive season. This is yet another Pragmatic Play slot in this fishing-themed series. It features five reels, ten lines, and highly volatile action like its counterparts. Aside from its seasonal imagery, the game gets its name from its elevated bonus mechanics. There’s a money re-spin round with multipliers of up to 50x, a spins mechanic, pick modes, and collection features. Modifiers include random money symbols, reels, and wilds to help you win up to 10,000x your bet.

#4 – Rich Wilde and the Pearls of Vishnu by Play’n Go

The latest in the Rich Wilde series, this latest slot offers twenty lines instead of the default ten found in other slots in this series and is surprisingly offering you medium variance action. It also ditches the “book” mechanics of its predecessors. Here, you’ve got cascading wins, wall and money wheel bonuses made popular in live casino games, and spins with multipliers. The bonus round is played over three stages, so there’s plenty of bang for your buck if you have a crack at this Play’n Go slot.

#5– Wildest Gambit by Play’n Go

Play’n Go have rolled together all their adventurers for the Wildest Gambit. Rich Wilde, his sister Cat, and Gerard Wilde star in this ten-line game that offers highly volatile action, a top prize worth 20,000x and adheres to the book slot (expanding wilds) spin bonuses of its predecessors. However, it’s worth noting that wilds offer multipliers, and there are four locations in this game, with each offering different types of bonuses, ranging from multiplier wilds in Chile to wild re-spins in Peru, sticky wilds in India, and all three mechanics in the Egypt-centric bonus.

FAQs about Slot Bonuses

What are slot bonuses, and how do they work?

Slot bonuses, whether they are spins or slot cashback bonus deals, will allow you to play internet slot games and potentially win real money. That’s their primary purpose.

Can I withdraw any real winnings from spins immediately?

Normally, no. There will generally be wagering requirements (on what you win) that must be met first. However, if your bonus is “wager-free”, then yes, you can do that.

Which slots offer the best bonuses?

There isn’t one title that stands out. The best slots are those with plenty of different bonuses, ideally ones that use scatter wilds or as few symbols as possible to trigger bonuses and slot bonuses.

Do in-game bonuses count towards wagering requirements?

Normally, no. For a stake to count towards wagering requirements, it must be removed from your balance. Since spin bonuses won’t deduct bets from your balance, they won’t count.

What’s the difference between spins from the casino and those in a game?

In-game bonuses are “won” or “triggered” by symbols or at random. They offer special rounds and features inside the slot at the stake you chose when you triggered the round. Casino bonuses allow you to claim cash or bonus spins, which can be used to play the base game (without the added perks) with fixed stakes.