The 5 Lions Megaways slot is a 2021 Pragmatic Play game that puts its Asian lion-dance theme on six Megaways reels with tumbling wins. Its standout feature is a free spins menu where you choose the trade-off yourself: more spins with smaller wild multipliers, or fewer spins with bigger ones. The top RTP is 96.5%, lower versions exist, and volatility is high.
A 2021 Pragmatic Play Megaways slot with six reels, tumbling wins and a 96.5% top RTP.
Volatility is rated high, and lower RTP versions are supplied, so check the help screen.
When free spins trigger, you choose between options that swap spin count for wild multiplier size.
Your choice changes how swingy the round is, not its long-run average value.
In the UK there is no bonus buy, no autoplay and a 2.5-second minimum spin.
Developer
Pragmatic Play
RTP
96.5% (lower versions exist)
Volatility
High
Layout
6 reels (Megaways)
Released
2021
Main feature
Free spins where the player picks spin count and wild multiplier combinations
The 5 Lions Megaways slot machine in brief
Pragmatic Play’s 5 Lions games share a Chinese New Year lion-dance theme: red and gold lions, dragon wilds and lucky coins. The 2021 Megaways edition moves the theme onto Big Time Gaming’s licensed reel engine, where each of the six reels shows a different number of symbols on every spin. Wins pay from the leftmost reel on adjacent reels, and winning symbols tumble away so new ones can drop in.
On a Megaways slot machine, the ways to win equal the number of symbols on each reel multiplied together. A spin showing 3, 5, 6, 6, 5 and 3 symbols has 3 × 5 × 6 × 6 × 5 × 3 = 8,100 ways. The next spin might show fewer symbols per reel and far fewer ways. The maximum depends on the tallest reel heights the game allows; the help screen in your version states it.
After a win, the winning symbols are removed and new ones fall into the gaps, which is a tumble. Tumbles continue until no new win forms, all within one paid spin. In the base game, the dragon wild substitutes for paying symbols on the middle reels, and published descriptions say wilds that form part of a win can carry a random multiplier.
Set your stake. In Great Britain, £5 a spin is the most you can stake if you are 25 or over, and £2 if you are 18–24.
Press spin. The RNG decides the reel heights, symbols and every tumble before anything moves; the spin runs for at least 2.5 seconds.
Wins pay for matches on three or more adjacent reels from the left; tumbles may add further wins.
If enough scatters land in the same tumble sequence, the free spins choice screen opens.
5 Lions Megaways free spins: choosing spins vs multipliers
Landing three or more scatters starts the feature and pays a scatter win. You then see a menu of options. Each option pairs a number of free spins with a set of wild multipliers that can apply during those spins. At one end you get many spins with small multipliers; at the other, very few spins with large multipliers. A mystery option picks a combination at random. The exact menu is shown on screen and in the game rules.
Choice menus like this are generally balanced so that the options have similar average value. What changes is the spread. A long round with small multipliers usually ends with a moderate result; a short round with large multipliers often ends with very little but occasionally pays heavily. In effect, you are choosing your own variance for the bonus.
Illustrative free spins options (example numbers, not the game’s menu)
Option
Spins
Wild multipliers
Likely shape of the result
Long
Many
Small
More wins, each modest; fewer very low rounds
Middle
Moderate
Medium
Balanced spread
Short
Few
Large
Many low rounds, a few very large ones
Mystery
Random
Random
Any of the above
Worked example
Imagine two invented options at a £1 stake. Option A gives 20 spins in which a typical winning wild line pays £2 at a small multiplier. Option B gives 6 spins in which the same line would pay £20 at a large multiplier. If wild wins come up about once every four spins, A will typically give around five of them (about £10), while B will typically give one or two, and sometimes none. Both can average out the same over thousands of bonuses, but B’s results are far more extreme. This is why our guide to slot volatility and budgets suggests the longer options for smaller balances.
Scatters during the round can retrigger more spins on the same terms. Pragmatic used a similar choice mechanic in other games; The Dog House Megaways lets you choose between two kinds of wild behaviour instead.
5 Lions Megaways RTP and volatility
The top 5 Lions Megaways RTP is 96.5%, and Pragmatic supplies lower versions to casinos that request them. Volatility is rated high, which fits a tumbling Megaways game whose bonus can be set to a short, high-multiplier round.
5 Lions Megaways cost per 100 spins at 96.5% RTP
Stake
Total staked
Average long-run cost
Cost if the version were 2 points lower
20p
£20
70p
£1.10
50p
£50
£1.75
£2.75
£1
£100
£3.50
£5.50
£2 (18–24 limit)
£200
£7.00
£11.00
£5 (25+ limit)
£500
£17.50
£27.50
The right-hand column is illustrative: it shows what any two-point drop in RTP costs, which is why checking the version matters. An ante bet, where your version offers one, raises the stake per spin in return for a higher chance of triggering free spins; the help screen states its cost and the RTP with it on.
5 Lions Megaways max win
We have not been able to confirm a 5 Lions Megaways max win figure from our checked data, so we do not quote one. Your casino’s version states the cap in the rules section of the help screen. Use it to work out what the cap means at your stake: multiply the cap by your stake per spin. For example, any 1,000× cap would be £200 at 20p, £1,000 at £1, £2,000 at £2 and £5,000 at £5 (an illustration, not this game’s figure).
Read our max win glossary entry for how caps work. For comparison with venues, the highest prize on a machine you will find in a betting shop or adult gaming centre is £500 (Categories B2 and B3), and in a pub £100 (Category C); see what is a Category B machine.
How it compares with other Pragmatic Megaways slots
Pragmatic Play Megaways slots compared
Game
Top RTP
Volatility
Max win
5 Lions Megaways
96.5%
High
See help screen
Great Rhino Megaways
96.58%
High
20,000×
Buffalo King Megaways
96.52%
High
5,000×
The Dog House Megaways
96.55%
Very high
12,305×
The RTPs are very close, so the choice comes down to theme and bonus style. If you like choosing how the bonus plays, 5 Lions Megaways and The Dog House Megaways both offer it in different ways.
Is the 5 Lions Megaways slot worth playing?
Advantages
Free spins choice lets you set the bonus’s risk level
96.5% top RTP
Tumbles give several chances per paid spin
Retriggers on the same terms you chose
Drawbacks
High volatility; long gaps between bonuses are normal
Lower RTP versions are in circulation
Max win not confirmed in published data we could verify
Choosing short, high-multiplier rounds often ends with small returns
It suits players who like Megaways tumbles and want some say in how the bonus behaves. For a first Megaways game, the Megaways guide and our slots for beginners guide are useful reading.
Myths about choosing free spins
The short option is the expert choice. Fact: it is just a more volatile choice; it does not pay more on average.
The mystery option is weighted against you. Fact: it picks from the same menu and is priced into the RTP.
A long run without free spins means they are due. Fact: there is no due point on any slot.
How to check the RTP and try the 5 Lions Megaways demo
In the game, open the menu and choose the rules or information page. The theoretical RTP is listed near the bottom, sometimes with a second figure for the ante bet. If it is below 96.5%, you are on a lower version. Our guide to finding a slot’s RTP explains the usual layout.
A 5 Lions Megaways demo, where offered, is free demo play after age verification: UK operators must check you are 18 or over before any free-to-play game. Testing each free spins option in a demo shows how differently they feel without spending money. See our demo slots guide.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 5 Lions Megaways RTP?
The top RTP is 96.5%, and lower versions are also supplied to casinos. At 96.5% the long-run average cost is £3.50 per £100 staked; a lower version costs more. The figure applies over millions of spins, not to one session. Check the rules page inside the game before playing, and see our guide on reading slot RTP in the UK for help finding it. If an ante bet is offered, the RTP with it switched on may be listed separately.
How do the 5 Lions Megaways free spins work?
Three or more scatters start the feature, and you choose from a menu that pairs a number of free spins with a range of wild multipliers. Longer options give more spins with smaller multipliers; shorter ones give fewer spins with larger multipliers. A mystery option picks one at random. Scatters during the round can add more spins on the terms you chose. Our page on how free spins work on slot machines covers the general mechanics.
Which free spins option is best on 5 Lions Megaways?
None is best on average; the options differ in risk, not value. Longer options with small multipliers tend to pay moderate amounts more consistently, while short options with big multipliers often pay little and occasionally a lot. If your balance is small or you prefer steadier results, the longer options are usually the more comfortable choice. If you pick the short ones, expect many disappointing rounds. Read slot volatility and budgets for the reasoning.
What is the max win on 5 Lions Megaways?
We have not confirmed a maximum win figure from our checked data, so we do not quote one. The rules page in your casino’s version states the cap. Multiply that cap by your stake to see the pound figure: at the £2 limit for 18–24s, any cap is worth twice what it is at £1. Remember that a max win is the rarest outcome a game allows. See what slot has the biggest max win for context.
How many ways to win does 5 Lions Megaways have?
The number changes on every spin. Each of the six reels shows a different number of symbols, and the ways equal those counts multiplied together, so a spin with tall reels has many thousands of ways and a short one far fewer. The maximum depends on the game’s tallest reel settings, which the help screen states. More ways does not change the RTP. Our ways to win slot machines page explains how ways differ from paylines.
Is 5 Lions Megaways high volatility?
Yes, it is rated high volatility. That means many spins pay little, and a large share of the return arrives in occasional bonuses and big tumble sequences. A session can end well below or above what the RTP suggests. The free spins choice lets you make the bonus itself more or less volatile, but the base game stays the same. For gentler alternatives, see medium volatility slot machines.
Can I play a 5 Lions Megaways demo in the UK?
You can, where a site offers it, as free demo play after age verification. Since May 2019, UK-licensed operators have had to confirm that you are 18 or over before you can use free-to-play games. A demo runs the same rules as the real game, so you can try each free spins option and see how differently they play without spending money. Demo results do not predict real ones. See free slot machines.
Can I buy free spins on 5 Lions Megaways?
Not at UK-licensed casinos. International versions include a bonus buy, but slots supplied to Great Britain come without it. There is no single dated Gambling Commission rule naming feature buys; it is how games are supplied here, alongside the confirmed bans on autoplay and turbo spins since October 2021. In the UK, the scatters are the only way into the free spins choice. For the history, read bonus buy in the UK.
Is 5 Lions Megaways fair?
Yes, at a casino licensed by the Gambling Commission. Licensed games must use tested random number generators, and the published RTP must match how the game is set. Fair does not mean profitable: at its top version the game keeps about 3.5% of stakes over the long run, more at lower versions. Every spin and every free spins result is independent. Our page on whether slot machines are rigged explains how testing works.
Gambling can be addictive. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day from the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133. Visit GamCare.org.uk and GamCare, or block yourself from all UK-licensed gambling sites with GAMSTOP.
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