What Megaways does on every spin
On a fixed-line pokie the board is the same size every spin and the paylines never move. On a Megaways build each reel is dealt a random height before the spin resolves, and a win is any run of matching symbols in adjacent reels from the left, in any position, rather than along a drawn line. So the number of ways a win can form is recalculated every single spin.
That figure is a multiplication, not a marketing number. A build with six reels that can each show up to seven symbols works out at 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7 x 7, which is 117,649 ways, and that is where the mechanic's reputation comes from. When those same six reels come up short at four symbols each, the spin is 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4, or 4,096 ways. Same game, consecutive spins. Reel and symbol counts differ between titles, so read the figure in the paytable of the build you open instead of assuming the headline.
| Symbols on each of six reels | Ways to win that spin | How the spin tends to behave |
|---|---|---|
| Two | 64 | Barely anything can form. A dead spin in most builds |
| Four | 4,096 | An ordinary spin, where small wins land and resolve |
| Six | 46,656 | A wide board, with room for a tumble chain to run |
| Seven | 117,649 | The headline number, and the rarest of the four |
Compare the casinos and their bonus terms
Bonus size, wagering multiple, minimum deposit and payout terms, with the operator's full published conditions under every row.
Bonus terms
Offer placeholder. Bonus amount, wagering, minimum deposit and eligibility are to be confirmed with the operator before publishing. 18+. T&Cs apply. Play responsibly.
Bonus terms
Min. deposit €20 | 125% bonus up to €1,000 + 100 free spins | 40x wagering on bonus & free-spin winnings | Bonus valid 7 days | Free spins credited over 4 days | First deposit only | T&Cs apply.
Bonus terms
18+ | New customers only | Bonus code BLISS | Min. deposit €20 | 120% bonus up to €500 + 125 free spins | 40x wagering within 14 days | T&Cs apply.
- #4
Bonus terms
Min. deposit €20 | 1st dep: 100% up to €500 + 100 FS | 2nd dep: 75% up to €2,000 + 75 FS | 3rd dep: 50% up to €2,000 + 75 FS | 4th dep: 25% up to €3,500 + 50 FS | 5th dep: 50% up to €2,000 + 100 FS | 40x-50x wagering on bonus & FS winnings | Bonus and free spins valid 3 days | Max withdrawal 5x deposit | First 5 deposits only | T&Cs apply.
- #5
Bonus terms
New customers only | Min. deposit €20 | 100% bonus on the first deposit up to €600 + 125 free spins (25 free spins daily over 5 days) | Wager the bonus within 7 days | T&Cs apply | 18+ | Gambling can be addictive.
- #6
Bonus terms
Welcome bonus 280% up to €3,200 + 800 free spins. Bonus winnings are subject to wagering and are capped at €500. The bonus expires after 5 days if the wagering is not met. One bonus per person. 18+. T&Cs apply. Play responsibly.
- #7
Bonus terms
New customers only | Min. deposit €250 | Deposit bonus 100% up to €5,000 + 100 free spins on Collapsed Castle (€0.20 per spin) | Free spins credited in 2 packs of 50 every 24 hours | Bonus wagering x25 (free-spin winnings x25) | Wagering to be met within 14 days | Bonus can be reactivated after 7 days | Bonus is not withdrawable until fully wagered | Bonus T&Cs apply.
- #8
Bonus terms
18+ | New users | Welcome pack across 3 deposits: 100%/80%/60% bonus, up to €2,500 in total + 300 free spins | Min. deposit €20 | 45x wagering | Max bonus bet €5 | Activate within 48 hours, valid 5 days | T&Cs apply | BeGambleAware.org
- #9
Bonus terms
18+ | New customers only | 100% deposit bonus up to €200 | Min. deposit €20 | 40x wagering | Max bet €5 | Bonus valid 10 days | Max withdrawal 10x the bonus amount | T&Cs apply | Gambling can be addictive.
- #10
Bonus terms
18+ | New players | Min. first deposit €20 (CAD/AUD: 15) | Bonus code FIRST | 100% bonus up to €1,000 + 100 free spins | 40x wagering on bonus & free-spin winnings | Max bonus withdrawal equals the bonus amount received | Max bet €5 while wagering | T&Cs apply | BeGambleAware.org
- #11
Bonus terms
Welcome bonus: 100% up to €1,250 on the first deposit (min. €20). The bonus must be wagered 30x with real money and is valid for 14 days. One redemption per player. 18+. T&Cs apply. Play responsibly.
- #12
Bonus terms
18+ | All deposits | Min. deposit €50 | Privilege Wheel: up to €700 bonus or 50 free spins on 3 Royal Coins / Lucky Streak 1000 | 30x wagering | Max withdrawal from free spins €300 | The prize must be activated with a min. €50 deposit | T&Cs apply | BeGambleAware.org
- #13
Bonus terms
Min. deposit €20 | 1st dep: 100% up to €1,000 + 200 FS | 2nd dep: 100% up to €200 + 50 FS | 35x wagering on deposit & bonus | 40x wagering on free-spin winnings | Bonus must be activated within 7 days | Wagering to be met within 10 days | Max withdrawal 6x the bonus amount | First 2 deposits only | T&Cs apply.
- #14
Bonus terms
Welcome package: 100% bonus up to €10,000 + 500 free spins, min. deposit €20. Bonus funds and deposits must be wagered 3x before a withdrawal is possible. Check whether your country is accepted before depositing. Full terms apply. 18+. Play responsibly.
- #15
Bonus terms
18+. New customers only. The casino welcome bonus of 100% up to €500 + 50 free spins applies on a successful first deposit after the bonus code is entered. Before any withdrawal a 5x wagering of the deposit is required, counting only sports bets at minimum odds 1.6 and casino bets without minimal or zero risk. Withdrawal limits and further bonus conditions apply under the general terms. 18+. T&Cs apply. Play responsibly.
Tumbling reels and the multiplier that does not reset
The second half of the mechanic is the tumble. Symbols that formed a win are removed, the symbols above drop into the space, and the board is paid again. The chain continues while each new arrangement keeps forming a win, so one spin can pay four or five times before it finishes. On a wide board with a low-value symbol repeated, that is where an ordinary spin quietly turns into a good one.
Where a build has a free spins round, the usual design attaches a multiplier to the tumbles that rises with each one and holds its value for the rest of the round rather than resetting between spins. That is the structure behind almost every large result people post from these games, and it is also why the base game feels thin: the paytable's weight has been moved into the round. Whether your build works that way is in its own rules screen, which is worth two minutes before the first spin.
Why the variance is higher than a fixed-line pokie
Two things concentrate the return: most spins land on a narrow board that cannot form much, and most of the paytable's value sits behind a feature round. Between rounds the balance drains steadily. When a round arrives with a rising multiplier and a wide board, it can return more than the previous hour cost. That shape is the attraction and it is also the risk, because the hour has to be funded first.
Which makes the stake per spin the decision that matters most. A$100 at $0.20 a spin is 500 spins, enough for a feature round or two to appear. The same $100 at $2 a spin is 50 spins, which for a structure this top-heavy is not a session at all. Neither stake changes the modelled cost of the turnover, and neither improves the odds on any single spin, but only one of them lets the game show its shape. What volatility does to a bankroll covers the same point with the sums written out.
What works
- A board that changes size keeps the base game from feeling identical spin to spin.
- Tumbles let one spin pay several times, so a single good arrangement can carry a session.
- A free spins multiplier that holds its value across a round gives the format a genuinely high ceiling.
- The ways figure and the stake range are printed in the paytable of every build, so the maths is checkable before you play.
What to watch
- Long dry stretches: narrow boards pay little and arrive often.
- The ceiling is reached through a feature round, so a bankroll too small to reach one gets none of the upside.
- An ante bet or a feature buy raises the stake in play, which is the number a bonus max-bet clause measures.
- The published return differs between builds and between the standard and ante versions of the same title.
- The headline ways figure belongs to the best possible spin, not to the spin you are about to make.
Feature buys, ante bets and the stake that is actually in play
Many Megaways builds sell a faster route to the feature. An ante bet raises the cost of every spin in exchange for better odds of triggering the round, and a feature buy pays a fixed multiple of the stake to enter it immediately. Whether either is available depends on the build and on the market the lobby serves, so the rules screen decides it, not a review.
The important part is arithmetic. With an ante or a buy switched on, the stake in play is the raised figure, and that is the number a bonus clause is measured against. Two offers in the table above cap the bet at 5 in the offer currency while wagering is outstanding: a A$4 base spin with an ante on top can quietly cross that line, and a breach can void the bonus and the balance built from it.
- 01
Read the ways figure and the reel structure
Open the paytable and note how many reels the build uses and how many symbols each can show. That is where the headline number comes from and it differs between titles.
- 02
Read the return for your build
The percentage sits with the paytable in the game's information panel. Where an ante version exists, its return is usually listed separately from the standard one.
- 03
Decide about the ante or the buy before you start
Work out the total stake per spin with it switched on, then check that total against your bankroll rather than the base bet.
- 04
Check the bonus clauses if bonus money is live
The maximum bet while wagering, and whether this title counts toward the turnover, are both in the operator's bonus terms.
What the published RTP of a Megaways pokie means
There is no single return for the format and no single return for a given title. Studios supply builds in more than one configuration, and an ante version normally carries its own figure alongside the standard one, so a title can show two returns inside the same lobby depending on which mode you have switched on.
The figure is a cost comparison rather than a forecast. At A$1 a spin, 1,000 spins is $1,000 of turnover, and one percentage point of difference between two builds is $10 of modelled cost across it. That is all it says, and it says nothing about whether a feature round arrives tonight. The arithmetic is set out on what RTP means, the same problem applied across whole lobbies is on highest RTP pokies, and the reason no league table of returns appears anywhere on this site is on loosest pokies.
Where Australians play Megaways pokies, and what the law says
No operator in the table holds an Australian online-casino licence, because that licence does not exist for online pokies. The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 prohibits the supply of online casino games to a person physically in Australia without one, and the prohibition is written at the businesses supplying the service rather than at the person playing. A 2017 amendment strengthened enforcement and gave the communications regulator a complaints process and the power to have non-compliant services blocked. The legal page goes through what that means.
On payments, according to an industry market brief on the Australian market about 73% of gambling transactions here run on cards, roughly 50% debit and 23% credit, while withdrawals lean on bank transfer. Deposits are quick, the return trip is not, and a format that can hand you a large balance in one round is exactly the one where the payout terms deserve reading first. The operators are compared on those terms on the best online pokies page.
Other titles are reviewed on their own pages, including Sweet Bonanza, Gates of Olympus and Book of Dead. The full set is in the pokies section.
Check the ways figure, then the return, then play
Both live in the paytable of the build in front of you, and they take a minute to read. Decide the stake with the ante switched to where you intend to leave it.
See the offer