Who makes Dolphin Reef?

Dolphin Reef is made by Playtech, one of the largest gaming software suppliers in the industry.

What is the RTP on Dolphin Reef?

Dolphin Reef has a return to player (RTP) of 96%, which is in line with the average for online slots.

How do you trigger the free spins in Dolphin Reef?

The free spins are triggered when the dolphin wild symbol lands on both reel 2 and reel 4 at the same time. This awards 5 free spins with reels 2 and 4 becoming fully expanded wilds.

How many reels and paylines does Dolphin Reef have?

Dolphin Reef plays on 5 reels with 20 fixed paylines.

What is the scatter symbol in Dolphin Reef?

The scatter is a sunken treasure chest. Landing 3, 4 or 5 scatters pays 3x, 10x or 100x your total stake respectively.

Can I play Dolphin Reef on mobile?

Yes, Dolphin Reef is fully optimised for mobile and tablet play across all major platforms and screen sizes.

Dolphin Reef Slot Review - Playtech

Provider	NextGen Gaming
Reels	5
Paylines	25
Bet Range	£0.01 - £250.00
Features	Wilds, Scatters

Dolphin Reef Slot Review

Dolphin Reef is an underwater-themed video slot from Playtech, built around the familiar world of ocean life and marine creatures. Released in 2009, it has held its place in Playtech casino lobbies for years thanks to a bonus round that punches above its weight. If you enjoy a calm, aquatic setting with a straightforward structure, this one delivers without overcomplicating things.

The game runs on 5 reels with 20 fixed paylines. The backdrop is a deep-sea scene with light filtering down from the surface, and the symbols on the reels stick closely to the theme. You get a dolphin, a sea turtle, a seahorse, a starfish, a clownfish, and a sunken treasure chest, rounding out with the standard card rank fillers from 9 through to Ace. It is not the most striking visual package by modern standards, but the layout is clean and easy to read.

Betting runs from 1p per line up to a maximum of £500 per spin, giving it decent coverage across casual and higher-stakes players. The RTP sits at 96%, which lands comfortably in average territory for a Playtech release.

Symbols and the Wild

The dolphin acts as the wild in Dolphin Reef, but with an unusual restriction: it only lands on reels 2 and 4. This limits how often it contributes to base game wins, which keeps sessions feeling a bit feast or famine until the free spins trigger.

The sunken treasure chest is the scatter. Land three or more anywhere on the reels and it pays out directly based on your total stake - three chests pay 3x, four pay 10x, and five pay 100x. That scatter payout alone is worth watching for, even outside the bonus.

The gamble feature is available after any standard win. You can try to double your prize by guessing the colour of the next card, or go for quadruple by naming the suit. It is a basic add-on that has been a staple of older Playtech titles, and it functions exactly as you would expect.

Free Spins Bonus

The main event in Dolphin Reef is the free spins round, and the trigger condition makes it stand out. You need the dolphin wild to land on both reels 2 and 4 simultaneously during the same spin. When that happens, five free spins are awarded.

Five spins sounds thin, and in most games it would be. Here, though, reels 2 and 4 stay as fully expanded wilds for the entire duration of the free spins. Every spin during the bonus has two full reels locked wild, which dramatically increases the number of winning combinations you can form across the 20 paylines. The dolphin animation plays between each spin, swimming between the wild reels in a small visual touch that keeps the theme consistent throughout.

There is no retriggering option, and five spins is the fixed allocation regardless of how the bonus is entered. The expanded wilds do a lot of the heavy lifting and can produce some substantial line wins when the other reels cooperate.

Autoplay and Mobile

Autoplay is available for sessions between 5 and 500 spins, with the ability to set win and loss limits. The game is fully optimised for mobile and tablet play, so the interface scales without issue across screen sizes. Touch controls work cleanly on the reel set and bet adjustment.

Verdict

Dolphin Reef is not trying to be the flashiest slot in the ocean. What it offers is a compact bonus feature that uses the expanding wild mechanic well, a 96% RTP, and a theme that is easy to sit with for a session. The restriction of wilds to reels 2 and 4 keeps base game wins tighter than average, so most of the value comes when the free spins land. If the five-spin bonus aligns across both expanded wild reels, the results can be well above what the round length suggests. A solid Playtech entry for players who prefer mechanics over spectacle.