Copycat slots explained

What counts as a copycat slot?

There is no official definition, so it helps to separate three quite different things that players call copycat slots. A mechanic follower is a game from one studio that uses an idea made popular by another, such as the expanding book symbol or pays-anywhere tumbling grids. A reskin is a game whose maths and layout match an earlier title, usually from the same studio, wearing new art and sound. A licensed mechanic is a feature that its owner rents out to other studios, with Megaways the best-known case.

None of these is the same as a slot sequel, which continues a named game and usually changes the maths. Our slot sequels guide follows those families. A copycat often keeps the maths and changes the name; a sequel keeps the name and changes the maths.

Same maths, new theme: copycat slots from the same studio

The clearest copycat slots are a studio’s own reskins. When two titles share RTP, maximum win, grid and ways to win exactly, they almost certainly run on the same maths model, and the difference is presentation. Seasonal editions are the usual case.

Gates of Olympus and Starlight Princess are not branded as versions of each other, but the published figures and grids line up, which is why many players treat them as twins with different themes. Matching figures don’t prove two games are identical in every detail, so read the paytables: symbol pays and feature rules can still differ. Our Gates of Olympus page and Starlight Princess page set out each game’s features.

Mechanic followers: copycat slots across studios

When a mechanic proves popular, other studios build their own versions. These are copycats of the idea, not of the maths, so the numbers can differ a lot. Four families account for most of them.

The table makes the point: following a mechanic says nothing about the price. On £100 staked, a 96.83% cluster game costs £3.17 on average and a 95.32% fishing game £4.68. Our pages on book slot machines, pays-anywhere slot machines, cluster pays and fishing slots explain each mechanic in depth.

Case study: copycat book slots compared

Book slots show how far followers can drift from each other. The format is broadly the same: usually ten lines on five reels, a book symbol that acts as wild and scatter, and free spins in which one chosen symbol expands to fill its reel. The figures are not.

Book of Ra Deluxe is dated 2008 in our figures, Book of Oz 2018 and Book of Shadows 2020, so the format has been copied and reworked for well over a decade. Nolimit City’s version shows how a follower can keep the idea and change the risk completely, with a far higher ceiling and a far rougher ride. Compare two of them on Book of Dead vs Book of Ra Deluxe and Book of Dead vs Legacy of Dead.

Licensed mechanics: why so many slots say Megaways

Megaways looks like the biggest copycat wave of all, but it is mostly licensing. Big Time Gaming created the mechanic, in which a random reel modifier changes how many symbols each reel shows on every spin, and its first Megaways game was Dragon Born. Sources describe the mechanic as patented in the US and the MegaWays name as a trademark, and BTG lets other studios use it under licence.

The first deal, with Blueprint Gaming, was announced on 1 May 2018 and reported by CasinoBeats (opens in a new tab) as a first of its kind; Blueprint’s first title under it was Diamond Mine. A licence for Red Tiger followed in October 2018, as Gambling Insider reported (opens in a new tab). That is why Diamond Mine Megaways, Temple Tumble Megaways and many others carry the name without being made by BTG. Our Megaways history page covers the dispute over exactly when Dragon Born appeared.

A Megaways game from a licensee is not a cheaper copy of a BTG one. Each has its own maths: Primal Megaways is listed at 96.76% and Eye of Horus Megaways at 95.49% with lower versions, while BTG’s Bonanza Megaways is 96.00%.

How to tell whether two slots share the same maths

You can’t see a maths model directly, but its fingerprints are public. Follow these steps with the help screens of both games open.

1. Compare the layout: reels, rows and the ways-to-win rule.
2. Compare the default RTP and any listed lower versions.
3. Compare the maximum win as a multiple of stake.
4. Compare the paytable at the same stake, symbol by symbol.
5. Compare the feature rules: how free spins trigger, how many are awarded, what multiplies.
6. If every line matches, treat the two as one game in different clothes and choose on theme and RTP version.

If only the first two or three match, you are probably looking at a follower built on a similar template. Our guide to comparing slots and the paytable explainer help with the detail.

Fake copies of popular slots: a risk off the licensed market

There is a different, more serious kind of copy: a game made to look like a famous slot without the developer’s involvement. The risk is that its maths has never been independently checked. At UK-licensed casinos this shouldn’t arise, because manufacturers of remote gambling software must use an accredited, Commission-approved test house, and licensed operators must comply with the Commission’s technical standards, including rules that outcomes are random and that rules and payouts don’t change while a game is live.

You can check a casino on the Gambling Commission’s public register (opens in a new tab) by name, domain or account number, and see the labs it relies on in the list of approved test houses (opens in a new tab). Our pages on how slot machines are tested and whether slot machines are rigged explain the checks.

Are copycat slots worse than the originals?

The honest answer is that copycat status tells you nothing on its own. The figures do. Check the RTP in the help screen, read the volatility, convert the max win into pounds at your stake and remember that every version keeps a house edge.

Do fruit machines have copycats too?

Shared ideas are older than video slots. Fruit machine features such as holds, nudges and the feature trail appear across many makers and themes, and the classic fruit symbols themselves have been reused from machine to machine for generations. Our history of nudges and holds traces how those features spread. The copying even goes back to the Liberty Bell: accounts differ on whether Herbert Mills copied Charles Fey’s machine in 1907 or worked with him on a version.

What doesn’t copy across is the rules. A pub fruit machine is usually Category C, with a £1 maximum stake and £100 top prize, and must display its target return to player, whatever game it runs.

Finding the original or the copycat at UK casinos

Whether you want an original or its reskin, search the casino lobby by name, because what each casino carries changes, and open the help screen to see which RTP version it runs. Big Bass Bonanza is the one game here tied to a specific offer: it is where PlayOJO’s 80 welcome spins are played, at 10p each for new UK customers (excluding Northern Ireland) who make a first deposit of £10 or more, with winnings paid in cash and no wagering.

Coral offers new players 100 free spins at 10p on selected games when they deposit and bet £10 or more on slots, with 48 hours to accept the spins and 7 days to use them, and no wagering on winnings. Ladbrokes offers new customers 50 free spins a day for 10 days, up to 500 at 10p, after depositing and spending £10 on slots, with each day’s spins claimed before 23:59 and no wagering. Certain deposit methods are excluded at both, including PayPal and Skrill. All three offers are 18+ with terms applying, checked on 5 October 2026; Coral and Ladbrokes are both run by LC International Limited, so check the terms if you hold an account at either.

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.