Bonus wheel slots

What bonus wheel slots are

In a bonus wheel slot, landing the trigger, usually a set of scatter or bonus symbols, doesn’t take you straight into one bonus. It takes you to a wheel. Each segment carries a reward: a free spins round, a hold-and-win style feature, a cash amount, a multiplier, extra spins on the wheel or an upgrade to a better wheel. Wherever the pointer stops is what you play next.

The wheel suits games that carry several different features, especially branded slots that want to give each character or film scene its own bonus. It sits alongside other selector features on our features hub, such as the pick me bonus, where you choose tiles instead of spinning. A jackpot wheel works the same way but chooses a jackpot tier.

How a bonus wheel works

1. You stake and spin. The trigger lands, typically three or more bonus symbols, or the wheel is awarded at random.
2. The game moves to the wheel screen. Some games let you spin it with a button; that press only starts the animation.
3. The wheel stops on the segment the random number generator chose when the trigger happened.
4. If the segment is a feature, it starts; if it is cash or a multiplier, the amount is credited; if it is an upgrade, a better wheel appears.
5. After the feature ends, the game returns to normal paid spins, and the total is shown in your balance and net position.

Pressing the spin button on the wheel feels like taking part, but it isn’t a skill element. The result is drawn by the random number generator and the button simply plays the animation.

The maths of a bonus wheel: expected value

A bonus wheel has an average value, worked out by weighting each reward by its chance. The example below is invented to show the method; no real game’s weightings are quoted. It uses an eight-segment wheel where each segment is equally likely.

Across many visits, this wheel would pay an average of 53.75 times the stake. At a 20p stake that is £10.75 per wheel, but a single visit could pay far less (Feature A can pay very little) or far more. The designer sets the wheel’s average value and how often it triggers so that, together with the base game, the total matches the published RTP. Landing the top segment doesn’t beat the maths; it is one of the outcomes the maths already counted.

Bonus wheel slots in our checked data

Blueprint Gaming, the UK-based studio behind many branded slots, uses bonus wheels to choose between film-themed features. Two titles in our verified facts are built this way.

You can see these figures on slotcatalog’s The Goonies Return page (opens in a new tab) and slotcatalog’s Ted page (opens in a new tab). Our guides to The Goonies Return and Ted go through each feature. The studio’s background is on our Blueprint Gaming page.

Types of bonus wheel

• Feature selector: each segment is a different bonus game, as in The Goonies Return and Ted.
• Prize wheel: segments carry cash amounts or stake multiples paid straight away.
• Multi-level wheel: an arrow or upgrade segment sends you to an outer or second wheel with bigger prizes.
• Modifier wheel: the wheel sets the terms of the next feature, such as the number of free spins or a starting multiplier. See reel modifiers.
• Jackpot wheel: the wheel picks a jackpot tier. Covered on our separate jackpot wheel page.

Does a bigger segment mean a better chance?

On a physical wheel, a wider segment is more likely to stop under the pointer. On a screen, the result comes from software, so it is fair to ask whether the picture matches the maths. The Gambling Commission’s technical standard on generating random outcomes (RTS 7) (opens in a new tab) says that where a virtual event simulates a physical device, the theoretical probabilities should match it, and that game designs must not mislead customers about the likelihood of winning. Its standard on rules and the likelihood of winning (RTS 3) (opens in a new tab) requires the rules to be accurate and available before you play.

The practical step is to open the help screen. If a game says how its wheel is weighted, that is the authority; if it doesn’t, don’t build a staking plan around the picture.

Bonus wheel slot cost and max win at UK stakes

The wheel doesn’t change your cost per spin; the stake and RTP do. At 96%, The Goonies Return has an average long-run cost of £4 per £100 staked, and Ted at 95.8% costs £4.20 per £100. For The Goonies Return’s 50,000× max win:

Max wins are reached very rarely. The max win caps page explains how caps work and why most sessions end below the starting balance.

The bonus wheel’s fruit machine relatives

British fruit machines have long used their own selectors. A feature trail or board lights up steps that lead to cash, nudges or bonus games, and many machines use mini games chosen by a spinning light or reel. Second-screen bonus rounds became a fixture of video slots in the 1990s: Australia’s Three Bags Full introduced one in 1994 and WMS’s Reel ’Em In followed in the US in 1996, as our first video slot machines history covers.

On a Category C pub machine, any feature still sits within a £1 stake and £100 top prize, and the machine works towards its displayed target payout percentage. No way of playing a feature beats that percentage.

Bonus wheel myths

Slots have no memory of previous wheels or spins. Our guide to the gambler’s fallacy on slots explains why “due” thinking misleads.

UK rules for bonus wheel slots

Since 31 October 2021, online slots in Great Britain have had no autoplay, a minimum of 2.5 seconds per spin, no turbo or slam-stop, and no celebration of returns at or below the stake. Stakes are limited to £5 per spin for players aged 25 and over and £2 for those aged 18 to 24. Bonus buy, which in some markets lets players pay to go straight to the wheel, isn’t offered at UK-licensed casinos. Read our slot game design rules page for the detail.

Where to play bonus wheel slots

Blueprint Gaming titles are widely carried, but lobbies change, so search each partner casino for The Goonies Return or Ted by name. We don’t claim a particular casino carries either.

For new customers aged 18+, with full terms applying: Coral gives 100 free spins at 10p each on selected games when you bet £10 on slots, with 48 hours to accept, 7 days to use them and no wagering on winnings. Ladbrokes gives 50 free spins a day for 10 days, up to 500, after a £10 deposit and spend on slots, with no wagering. PlayOJO gives 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza with a first deposit of £10 or more, winnings paid in cash. Some payment methods don’t qualify, and Coral and Ladbrokes share an operator.

Set a budget and a deposit limit before you play. The National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 is free and open 24 hours a day.

18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Decide a budget before you play: plan a slot budget. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.