| RTP | 96.00% - Compare RTPs |
|---|---|
| Reels | 6 |
| Paylines | 117,649 |
| Bet Range | £0.20 - £20.00 |
| Features | Wilds, Scatters |
Bonanza Megaways is the slot that put the Megaways mechanic on the map. Released by Big Time Gaming in December 2016, it introduced a generation of players to variable reels, cascading wins, and unlimited free spin multipliers - a combination that still holds up nearly a decade later. If you want to understand why Megaways became the dominant slot format of the late 2010s and 2020s, playing Bonanza is the quickest route to finding out.
Bonanza Megaways: Key Facts
| Provider | Big Time Gaming |
|---|---|
| Release Date | December 2016 |
| RTP | 96.00% |
| Volatility | High |
| Reels | 6 reels + horizontal carts reel above reels 2-5 |
| Max Ways to Win | 117,649 |
| Min Bet | £0.20 |
| Max Bet | £20 |
| Max Win | 26,000x stake |
| Free Spins Trigger | Land all four G-O-L-D scatter letters |
| Free Spins Awarded | 12 base spins (+5 for each extra scatter) |
The Megaways Mechanic Explained
Standard slots use fixed paylines. Bonanza does not. Each spin, the six main reels can display anywhere from two to seven symbols, with the number changing randomly every time. The ways to win on any given spin depends on how many symbols appear across all reels multiplied together - when all six reels show their maximum seven symbols, that produces 117,649 different ways to form a winning combination.
There is also a horizontal reel running above reels two through five. This cart reel carries one extra symbol per position and adds to the symbol count on those columns, pushing the ways-to-win count higher. The cart reel is where Dynamite Wild symbols appear, and where the gold bar scatter letters that trigger the free spins feature land.
This was the first version of Megaways most players encountered. Big Time Gaming had patented the mechanic and originally launched it in a different game, but Bonanza was the release that reached mainstream casino lobbies and drove the licensed versions now used by dozens of other developers.
Theme and Visuals
The setting is a gold mine. Symbols sit inside chunks of stone on the reels, animated against a mountain backdrop. The soundtrack is upbeat country music, with a distinctive crack of dynamite when wins land. It is a specific aesthetic - not to everyone's taste, but internally consistent. The gold-rush mining theme ties directly into the mechanics (the carts, the dynamite wilds, the G-O-L-D letters), which gives Bonanza a coherence that a lot of later Megaways clones lack.
HTML5 construction means the game runs in any browser on desktop or mobile without additional software. The layout adapts to portrait and landscape on phones, though some players find the six-reel grid slightly cramped in portrait mode.
Symbols and Payouts
The symbol set splits into three tiers:
- Low-value: Standard playing card ranks (9, 10, J, Q, K, A) - these fill the reels frequently and produce the majority of base game wins, which tend to be small
- Premium: Three gem types in green, blue, and red - the red gem is the highest paying regular symbol
- Special: Dynamite (wild, appears only on the cart reel above the main reels), and the G, O, L, D scatter letters that trigger the bonus
Because Bonanza uses ways to win rather than paylines, a symbol just needs to appear on consecutive reels from left to right to form a win - no specific row alignment required. The high ways count makes wins frequent in the base game, though most are small relative to the stake.
Reactions - How Cascading Wins Work
Every win triggers a Reaction. The winning symbols disappear, and new symbols fall from above to fill the gaps. If the new combination produces another win, those symbols disappear too, and the process repeats. A single spin can produce multiple wins in a chain before a non-winning combination finally lands and the Reaction sequence ends.
In the base game, Reactions add up wins but do not apply a multiplier. Their primary role is to chain together multiple wins from a single spin. The real value of Reactions becomes clear in the free spins feature.
Free Spins Feature
Landing all four gold scatter letters (G, O, L, D) across the reels and the cart triggers 12 free spins. Each additional scatter letter beyond the required four adds five more spins. During play, gold bars can appear in the cart - three add another five free spins, four add another ten - which means a single free spins session can run considerably longer than the base 12.
The critical mechanic here is the multiplier. Every time a Reaction occurs during free spins, the multiplier increases by one. It starts at 1x on the first win of each spin, rises to 2x after the first Reaction, 3x after the second, and so on - with no upper limit. A free spin that produces six consecutive Reactions will have the final win evaluated at 6x. The multiplier resets at the start of each new free spin.
The result is that the biggest wins in Bonanza do not come from individual lucky symbol combinations - they come from long Reaction chains in the bonus. The combination of high ways-to-win, consecutive cascades, and an accelerating multiplier is what drives the 26,000x maximum win potential. Most sessions will not get anywhere near that figure, but the mechanics are genuinely capable of large returns when they align.
RTP and Volatility
The published RTP is 96.00%, which sits at the lower end of the average for UK-licensed casino games but is standard for a high-volatility slot from this era. High volatility means win frequency in the base game is moderate, but the size distribution is uneven - most spins return nothing or a small multiple of the stake, with occasional larger wins concentrated in the free spins feature.
The hit frequency across all spins is around 37%, meaning roughly one in three spins produces some kind of return. That figure sounds comfortable but includes many near-zero wins from the low-value card symbols. For practical session planning, treat Bonanza as a slot that will grind the balance steadily between free spins triggers, with the feature doing the heavy lifting.
BTG do not publicly list reduced RTP variants for Bonanza, but individual operators can configure lower return versions. If the RTP matters for your decision, check the game information panel in the casino lobby rather than relying solely on the published 96.00% figure.
How Bonanza Compares to Other Megaways Slots
Because BTG licensed the Megaways engine to other developers from around 2018 onwards, there are now hundreds of Megaways titles. Bonanza remains one of the most-played because it established the format, but there are meaningful differences between it and later Megaways releases.
Pragmatic Play's Buffalo King Megaways and Fruit Party Megaways tend to run at lower RTPs (typically 96.5% standard but with many configurations below 95%). BTG's own later releases, including Extra Chilli Megaways and Danger High Voltage, share similar mechanics but with different feature triggers. Big Bass Bonanza Megaways from Pragmatic borrows the Megaways naming but uses entirely different base mechanics.
For players new to the format, Bonanza is still a reasonable starting point - the mechanics are clean and the feature is easy to understand. Experienced Megaways players looking for higher max win potential might look at Gonzo's Quest Megaways (20,000x) or Bonanza Gold (higher variance variant from BTG).
About Big Time Gaming
Big Time Gaming is an Australian developer founded in 2011. Before Megaways, the studio was known for innovative but niche titles. Bonanza changed that. The Megaways patent, which covers the variable reel mechanic, was licensed to Pragmatic Play, Red Tiger, Blueprint Gaming, and dozens of other studios, generating substantial ongoing royalties. Evolution Gaming acquired BTG in 2021, but the studio continues to release games under its own brand. BTG games are available at the majority of UK-licensed online casinos.
Our Verdict
Bonanza Megaways earned its reputation. The Megaways engine, the unlimited multiplier in free spins, and the Reactions mechanic combine into a feature round that can produce genuinely large wins from a single trigger. The base game is average - most spins deliver small returns or nothing - but that is true of most high-volatility slots.
Where Bonanza still stands out is coherence. The theme, the mechanics, and the feature design all work together. The gold mine setting ties to the cart reel, the cart reel feeds the scatter trigger, the scatters unlock the multiplier feature. It does not feel like a random combination of elements bolted together. That consistency, combined with the historical significance of the slot, explains why it still appears near the top of casino game lobbies a decade after launch.
Related Slots
What is the RTP of Bonanza Megaways?
The published RTP is 96.00%. Some casinos may run lower-configured versions, so check the game information panel in your casino lobby to confirm the RTP before playing.
How do you trigger free spins in Bonanza Megaways?
Land all four G-O-L-D scatter letters across the main reels and the cart reel above to trigger 12 free spins. Each additional scatter beyond the required four adds five more spins.
What is the Megaways mechanic in Bonanza?
Each spin, the six reels display a random number of symbols (two to seven per reel). The total number of ways to win changes every spin based on the symbol count, reaching up to 117,649 ways when all reels show maximum symbols.
How does the multiplier work in Bonanza free spins?
During free spins, each Reaction (cascading win) increases the multiplier by 1. It starts at 1x and rises by 1 with each consecutive Reaction on the same spin, with no upper limit. The multiplier resets at the start of each new free spin.
What is the maximum win on Bonanza Megaways?
The maximum win is 26,000 times your stake. This requires a long chain of Reactions during the free spins feature with an accumulating multiplier.
Who made Bonanza Megaways?
Bonanza Megaways was developed by Big Time Gaming (BTG), an Australian studio founded in 2011. BTG created the Megaways mechanic and released Bonanza in December 2016. Evolution Gaming acquired BTG in 2021.
Where to Play Bonanza
We're currently updating our casino list for Bonanza. In the meantime, browse our full casino reviews or check out current free spins offers.
Bonanza RTP and Variance
Bonanza has an RTP of 96.00%, which is above average. See our highest RTP slots for the best returning games.
At the minimum bet of £0.20 per spin, a £10 deposit gives you 50 spins with a statistical expected return of £9.60. Read our slot betting strategy guide for tips on managing your bankroll.