Barcrest slots

What are Barcrest slots?

Barcrest slots are games from one of Britain’s long-standing gaming machine makers, a company that started in the Manchester area and spent decades building fruit machines for pubs, clubs and arcades before moving into online slots. Its name is now attached mostly to online games, especially the Rainbow Riches family, but its design habits still come from the pub machine.

Barcrest is a wholly owned UK subsidiary of Light & Wonder, the American group formerly called Scientific Games. Our Light & Wonder page covers the parent; this page focuses on what is distinctive about Barcrest itself. For the other names that shaped British machines, see who makes UK fruit machines.

Barcrest history: from pub machines to online slots

Published company histories describe a two-person operation in 1968 and a first game, Invader, in 1970. Its founding date, exact location and founders aren’t confirmed on the sources we checked, so we don’t state them. What is well documented is how quickly it grew: a 1987 article reproduced by the Lenton Times local history archive (opens in a new tab) places Barcrest joint second in the British machine market with Bell-Fruit, behind JPM.

Its land-based catalogue went beyond reel games. The International Arcade Museum’s Barcrest listing (opens in a new tab) records machines such as Body Match (1990), The Crystal Maze (1994) and Tetris Payout, and Barcrest is named among the leading makers of pub quiz machines in the 1980s and 1990s in Wikipedia’s quiz machine history (opens in a new tab). Those machines were the forerunners of today’s skill with prizes machines.

Sources disagree slightly on the Scientific Games deal: maker records date it to 2010, while some company summaries give 2011, so we show both. Wikipedia’s Light & Wonder history (opens in a new tab) covers the purchase. For the wider picture, our history of slot machines in Britain and fruit machine history pages set Barcrest alongside its rivals.

The Rainbow Riches slots by Barcrest

Rainbow Riches arrived in 2006 and became the studio’s signature, an Irish-luck theme with a leprechaun, pots of gold and a fruit-machine-style set of bonuses: Road to Riches (a trail), Wishing Wells and Pots of Gold. It established the template many Irish-themed slots still follow.

Each has its own page: Rainbow Riches, Pick 'n' Mix, Reels of Gold and Rainbow Riches Megaways. The jump from the original to the Megaways version is the clearest example of how Barcrest’s maths changed: a 500x cap became 12,500x and the rating moved from medium to high volatility. Our Rainbow Riches vs Rainbow Riches Megaways comparison sets them out.

Other Barcrest slots worth knowing

Two more Barcrest games appear in our checked data. Action Bank is a 5x3, 20-line medium-volatility game at 95.16%, whose Big Bank pick bonus is triggered by Golden Vault symbols. Monopoly Big Event, from 2015, is a branded 20-line game at 96% with a board bonus triggered by scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5 and Dancing Wilds. Both lean on pick-me bonuses and board trails, which echo the feature trail on a pub fruit machine.

Barcrest RTP: why your stake can change it

The most unusual thing about many Barcrest online slots is that the RTP isn’t a single number. Games such as Pick 'n' Mix and Reels of Gold publish a range, and the return at the lowest stakes is lower than at higher ones. Our checked data puts the typical spread at about 94% to 96%. The game’s help screen shows the RTP for each stake level.

Here is how that plays out on 100 spins at 20p (£20 staked):

A 2-point gap is 40p on £20, or £2 on £100. It is not a reason to raise your stake: a bigger stake costs more per spin in absolute terms even at a better percentage, because 4% of £1 is still more than 6% of 20p. Treat the stake-linked RTP as information, choose the stake that fits your budget, and see our RTP variants and should you bet max? pages for the reasoning.

Barcrest slot max wins at UK stake limits

Online slot stakes in Great Britain are capped at £5 per spin for those aged 25 and over and £2 per spin for those aged 18 to 24, explained in our online slot stake limits guide. The two Rainbow Riches games with confirmed caps illustrate the range:

These are ceilings set by the maths, not something to plan around. For the remaining Barcrest titles, read the maximum win in the help screen and multiply by your stake.

Barcrest online slots vs pub fruit machines

A pub fruit machine and a Barcrest online slot may share a theme, but they run under different rules. Pub machines are usually Category C, limited to a £1 stake and a £100 top prize, and many work on a compensated model where payouts are managed towards a target over a cycle; see our compensated machines page. Online slots fall outside the land-based categories altogether and use an RNG with independent spins and a published RTP.

• Holds and nudges are common on pub machines; Barcrest’s online games replace them with pick bonuses and trails.
• Pub machines take cash and pay out from the machine; online slots draw on your account balance and must take at least 2.5 seconds a spin.
• Online versions show your net position and can’t celebrate a return equal to or below your stake.

Our pub fruit machine guide explains the land-based side in full, and online vs land-based compares the two formats.

How to check a Barcrest slot’s RTP by stake

1. Open the game at your chosen casino and, before spinning, tap the info or help icon.
2. Find the RTP section; on stake-linked games it lists a figure for each stake band.
3. Note the RTP for the stake you intend to use, not the headline maximum.
4. Check the maximum win line and the bonus rules in the same screen.
5. Set your budget for the session and a deposit limit in the account settings.

Barcrest slot myths

“Rainbow Riches online works like the pub machine, so it pays in cycles.” Online versions use independent RNG spins; there is no cycle to track. “Betting more makes a win more likely.” On stake-linked games, a higher stake slightly raises the percentage return, but your cost per spin still rises with the stake. “The leprechaun appears more after a losing run.” Symbol positions are random each spin. Our slot machine myths guide has more.

Where to play Barcrest slots

Barcrest games are widely distributed, but lobbies change and we can’t confirm which titles each partner casino lists, so search for the game before you sign up. All offers are for new customers aged 18 or over, and terms apply.

Coral’s offer is 100 free spins on selected games at 10p each when you deposit and bet £10 or more on slots; the spins must be accepted within 48 hours and used within 7 days, and winnings carry no wagering. Ladbrokes offers 50 free spins a day for the first 10 days, up to 500 at 10p each and with no wagering, after a £10 deposit and spend on slots. PlayOJO gives 80 free spins at 10p each on Big Bass Bonanza for a first deposit of £10 or more, with cash winnings and no wagering. Coral and Ladbrokes are both run by LC International Limited. Compare them on our casinos page.

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.