How slot features work
Wilds substitute for other symbols, scatters trigger free spins wherever they land, and multipliers and cascades make wins bigger inside those features. A bonus buy lets you pay, often 100x your stake, to skip straight to free spins. No feature changes a slot's RTP much; they change how often and how big it pays.
On this page 15
Every modern slot is a bundle of features: wilds, scatters, free spins, multipliers, cascades and often a bonus buy. Knowing what each one does helps you read a game’s rules, pick slots that suit your budget and spot when a feature is costing you more than it looks. This guide explains them one by one, in plain terms.
First, what features don’t do
A slot’s RTP is the long-run return across every spin, including every feature. The features are already inside that number. So a slot with “huge multipliers” isn’t more generous than one without; it just pays in a different shape. Features mostly change two things:
- Hit frequency: how often a spin wins anything.
- Volatility: how unevenly the wins are spread, from many small wins to rare large ones.
Keep that in mind and the rest of this guide is about which shape you prefer.
Wilds
A wild substitutes for other symbols to complete a win, usually everything except scatters and bonus symbols. Common types:
- Standard wild: stands in for any regular symbol.
- Expanding wild: grows to cover the whole reel.
- Sticky wild: stays in place for several spins or the whole free spins round.
- Walking wild: moves one reel left or right each spin until it falls off.
- Multiplier wild: multiplies any win it’s part of, sometimes stacking if several wilds combine.
- Random wilds: added to the reels by a random trigger.
Hot Hot Fruit from Habanero, one of the most-searched slots in South Africa, guarantees wilds in its free spins.
Scatters
A scatter pays, or triggers a feature, wherever it lands on the reels, not only along a payline. Three or more scatters usually start free spins. In “pay anywhere” slots such as Sweet Bonanza and Gates of Olympus, all symbols effectively work like scatters: you need eight or more of a kind anywhere on the screen.
Some games have a special “super scatter” that awards a bigger prize or a better feature when it lands, which is behind the popularity of titles like Gates of Olympus Super Scatter.
Free spins
Free spins are the main bonus round in most slots. You get a set number of spins at your current stake, often with something extra:
- extra wilds or sticky wilds,
- a win multiplier that grows during the round,
- special symbols that only appear in the feature,
- retriggers that add more spins.
Most of a high-volatility slot’s return sits in its free spins. That’s why the base game can feel slow: you’re paying to wait for the feature. Some games let you pick between several free spins modes, trading more spins for smaller multipliers or fewer spins for bigger ones.
These are different from the free spins a casino gives you as a bonus. Casino free spins are paid rounds on the base game, funded by the casino. Our guide to free spins vs bonus cash covers those.
Multipliers
A multiplier increases a win by a set factor: 2x, 5x, 100x and so on. They appear on wilds, as random symbols (Gates of Olympus is the best-known example), or as a counter that grows during free spins. Multipliers are the main driver of very large wins, and the main reason a game is high volatility.
Cascades (tumbles, avalanches)
Instead of the reels stopping and staying, winning symbols disappear and new ones drop in from above. If they form another win, it pays and the process repeats. One paid spin can therefore produce several wins. Cascades are often paired with multipliers that grow with each cascade, and they’re central to most Megaways slots.
Hold and win (respins)
Popular in slots like Wolf Gold and 64 Gold Coins Hold and Win. Land six or more special coin symbols and they lock in place. You get three respins; every new coin locks and resets the count to three. When you run out, the coin values are added up. Filling the screen often awards a jackpot.
Collect features
Fishing-themed slots like Big Bass Bonanza use a collector: fish symbols carry cash values, and a fisherman wild collects them during free spins. Collecting enough fishermen retriggers spins and raises a multiplier.
Gamble feature
Some slots, including Book of Dead, offer to “gamble” a win on a card colour or suit, doubling or quadrupling it or losing it all. The gamble step is usually close to a fair coin flip, so it doesn’t change your long-run return much, but it does double the risk on that win. Most players are better off collecting.
Bonus buys
A bonus buy (feature buy) lets you pay a fixed price to start free spins immediately, instead of waiting for scatters. The price is usually 70x to 100x your stake, sometimes more for a premium version.
What a bonus buy costs in Rands
Say a slot’s feature buy costs 100x and you play at R2 a spin. One buy costs R200.
- The buy’s RTP is usually close to the game’s normal RTP, say 96%. On average, a R200 buy returns about R192.
- But the average hides a wide spread. Many bonuses return R40 to R150. A few return R500, R1,000 or more.
- With a R1,000 budget, you get five buys. It’s quite possible to lose four or five of them in a row.
Compare that with spinning: R1,000 at R2 is 500 base-game spins, with a reasonable chance of triggering the feature naturally once or twice and lots of small wins along the way. The expected loss is about the same (4% of the amount bet), but the bonus buy puts the whole budget at risk in a handful of bets.
That’s the honest summary: a bonus buy isn’t a shortcut to profit. It’s the same game with the boring part removed and the risk concentrated. Many casinos also ban bonus buys while you’re clearing a bonus, so read the bonus terms first.
Ante bets
An ante bet (sometimes called “double chance” in slot menus) raises your stake, often by 25%, to make free spins more likely. Your stake goes up for every spin, so it’s only worth it if you specifically want the feature more often. It doesn’t change the game’s overall return much, and bonus terms sometimes forbid it.
Jackpots
Some slots link to a jackpot: a fixed one, a progressive one that grows with every bet, or a “must drop” jackpot that pays before it reaches a set amount. Jackpot slots often have a slightly lower base RTP because part of each bet funds the prize. Our jackpot games page lists them.
How to read a slot before you play
- Open the info or paytable screen. It lists the features, the RTP version and the maximum win.
- Check the volatility. It tells you whether the features pay often and small, or rarely and big.
- Try the demo. Watch how long it takes to trigger free spins. Our game pages have demos where the provider allows them.
- Pick a stake that gives you enough spins. As a rough guide, divide your budget by 200 to find a stake that lets you see a feature or two.
- Avoid buying bonuses with your whole budget. If you want to try one, use a small slice of it.
The bottom line
Features make slots more entertaining, and knowing them helps you choose games that match your budget. They don’t make winning more likely over time: every spin, bought or not, carries the same house edge. Play with money you’ve set aside for fun, and stop when it’s gone. If you notice you’re buying bonuses to chase losses, take a break; help is free on 0800 006 008.
Frequently asked questions
What is a wild in slots?
A wild is a symbol that stands in for other symbols to complete a win. Variations include expanding wilds that fill a reel, sticky wilds that stay for several spins, and multiplier wilds that boost any win they're part of.
What does a scatter symbol do?
A scatter pays or triggers a feature wherever it lands, not just on a payline. Three or more scatters usually start free spins.
Is buying a bonus in slots worth it?
A bonus buy has roughly the same RTP as normal play, so it isn't cheaper on average. It just packs the variance into fewer, larger bets. At R2 a spin, a 100x buy costs R200 in one go, and many bonuses pay back less than that.
How do I win on slot machines in South Africa?
There's no method that beats a slot: results are random and the RTP sets the long-run return. You can choose higher-RTP games, use stakes that suit your budget, avoid chasing losses and know a game's features before you play for real.
What is hold and win?
It's a respins feature: special coin symbols lock in place, and you get a few respins (usually three) that reset every time a new coin lands. When the respins run out, the coin values are added up and paid.
What is an ante bet?
Some slots let you pay extra per spin, often 25% more, to raise the chance of triggering free spins. It changes how often the feature lands, not the game's overall return, and some casinos disable it during bonus wagering.
More guides
Mark has been writing about online gaming since 2007, covering everything from sportsbooks to casino and slot reviews, offering insights for players of all levels.