Narcos slot explained

What is the Narcos slot?

Narcos is a licensed TV and film slot from NetEnt, the Swedish studio now owned by Evolution. It borrows the look of the Netflix series about the Medellín cartel and the agents chasing it: grainy 1980s colours, character portraits as the higher symbols and a soundtrack that leans on the show. Underneath the branding sits a straightforward machine: five reels, three rows and 243 ways to win.

What sets the Narcos slot machine apart from many branded games is where its value sits. A lot of branded slots hold almost everything back for one bonus round. Narcos spreads its features through ordinary play, so a typical session is a run of small events (a wild that walks, a random burst of wilds, a respin round) rather than a long wait for scatters. That design is part of why NetEnt rates it medium rather than high volatility.

How the Narcos slot machine works, spin by spin

Every spin follows the same sequence. The outcome is fixed by the random number generator the moment you press spin; the animation of reels, cars and gunfire is a presentation of a result that already exists. Here is what happens in order:

1. Choose a total stake. In Great Britain the game must stop at £5 a spin, or £2 if you are aged 18 to 24.
2. Press spin. The RNG picks a stopping position on each reel strip and decides whether any random feature fires.
3. The reels settle and the game checks all 243 ways: three or more matching symbols on adjacent reels, starting from reel one, in any row.
4. Any walking wild, Drive-By or Locked Up event plays out, followed by any respins it awards.
5. Wins are added together and paid to your balance, and the game shows your net position for the session.

Because the game uses 243 ways rather than fixed lines, you never choose lines. The 243 comes from three rows on each of five reels: 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 3. Our explainer on what 243 ways means works through that sum with a grid.

Narcos walking wilds

The wild is the engine of the base game. Reference descriptions say that when a wild forms part of a winning combination it becomes a walking wild: on each following spin it steps one reel to the left, keeping its row, until it leaves the grid. While it travels it substitutes for paying symbols, so a single wild can help several spins in a row.

Think of a wild landing on reel 4 in the middle row. If it helps form a win, it moves to reel 3 on the next spin, reel 2 on the one after, reel 1 after that, and then drops off. That is up to four further spins with a wild in view. A wild on reel 5 has the longest walk ahead of it. The game's help screen shows whether these moves come as free respins in your version or happen on your next paid spin, so read it before you judge how much the feature is worth.

The Drive-By feature: random wilds in the base game

The Drive-By is a random event. A car passes the reels and bullets strike some of the high-paying character symbols, turning each one hit into a wild. It works like the random wilds found in many modern slots, but limited to the premium symbols, which means the new wilds sit where the better pays already are.

Random features like this are not triggered by anything you can see or do. The decision to fire one is part of the RNG result for that spin. There is no pattern of losing spins that makes a Drive-By more likely next time, and a spin that has just produced one is no less likely to produce another.

Narcos Locked Up respins

Locked Up is the game's hold and win style feature. Reference listings describe it starting when three or more of its special character symbols land at once. Those symbols, together with any wilds on screen, lock in place and the rest of the grid respins. The counter starts at three respins and resets to three whenever a new special symbol or wild lands. When three respins pass with nothing new, every locked symbol pays out the value or multiplier it carries.

The values in the table are made up to show the rhythm, not the game's prizes. The exact amounts each symbol can carry are listed in the paytable inside the game.

Narcos free spins and bonus round

Listings disagree on the Narcos free spins. One reference review describes a round of 10 free spins in which a high-value character can become extra walking wilds, and in which the round carries on with extra spins while any wild is still in view on the last game. Another major listing says the game has no traditional free spins round and that its features run in normal play.

We can't settle that from the developer's own page, so the honest answer is to open the game's help screen and read the feature list for the version your casino runs. If the free spins round is there, the help screen will show how it is triggered and how many spins it gives. What both listings agree on is that Narcos earns most of its returns through base-game features.

Narcos RTP: what 96.23% costs at each stake

The Narcos RTP is 96.23% in its default setting. RTP is a long-run average across millions of spins, so the house keeps 3.77% of everything staked in the long run. Any one session can land far above or below that. Some casinos run games at a lower setting chosen from the developer's list of RTP variants, so check the figure in the game before you play.

Because UK rules set a minimum of 2.5 seconds per spin, 100 spins take at least four minutes and usually longer once features play out. That makes it easy to estimate an hour: 1,000 spins at 20p is £200 staked and, on average, about £7.54 lost. Our cost per hour guide shows the same sum for other games.

Narcos max win at UK stake limits

The Narcos max win is 1,506 times your stake. That ceiling is modest by modern standards, which fits its medium volatility: the game pays more of its return through regular features and less through rare, enormous hits. A max win is the most a single spin or feature can pay, not a target the game works towards.

The developer doesn't publish how often the ceiling is reached, and we won't guess. Treat it as a theoretical figure.

Is the Narcos slot worth playing? Volatility and who it suits

Narcos is listed as medium volatility. In practice that tends to mean a session with frequent small events and occasional mid-sized wins, rather than long silences broken by one large result. It sits alongside other medium-volatility slots and is a middle option between a gentle game like Starburst and the extreme Nolimit City titles.

It suits players who want a game with something happening most of the time and who are happy with a capped top prize. It suits less well anyone chasing a very large multiple, though no game should be played for that reason. Our guide to slot volatility and budgets explains how to match a game to the money you're prepared to spend.

Narcos slot myths and facts

• Myth: a walking wild means the next spin is likely to win. The wild helps, but the rest of the grid is still a fresh RNG result each spin.
• Myth: after a long dry spell a Drive-By is due. Random features have the same chance on every spin. No slot is ever due; see our slot machine myths.
• Myth: two character symbols and a near miss on reel 3 means Locked Up was close. A near miss is just another losing result.
• Myth: branded slots pay less to cover the licence. The RTP is set by the developer and shown in the game. Narcos lists 96.23% by default.
• Fact: stopping the reels early makes no difference. UK online slots have no slam-stop, and the result is fixed before the reels move.

UK rules, the Narcos demo and checking the RTP

The British version of Narcos follows the Gambling Commission's responsible product design rules (opens in a new tab): no autoplay since 31 October 2021, at least 2.5 seconds per spin, no turbo, and no celebration of a return that is equal to or less than your stake. Stakes are capped at £5 a spin for players aged 25 and over and £2 for 18 to 24-year-olds, as set out in the Commission's stake limit guidance (opens in a new tab). Slots at UK-licensed casinos don't offer feature buys; see our page on bonus buy in the UK.

The Narcos demo is available as free demo play, after age verification, at casinos that offer demos; the rule has applied since May 2019 and is explained on our demo age verification page. To confirm the RTP of the version in front of you:

1. Open the game and tap the menu or the 'i' button.
2. Choose the rules, help or paytable screen.
3. Scroll to the section on return to player; it is usually near the end.
4. Compare the figure with 96.23%. A lower figure means the casino runs a different RTP setting.

Our guide on how to find a slot's RTP describes where different studios place it.

Narcos and UK land-based slot machines

Narcos is an online slot. You won't find it on a pub fruit machine, because pub machines are Category C, with a £1 maximum stake and £100 top prize, and run very different maths. Casino and arcade cabinets sometimes carry video slots with similar features, but they work under the land-based gaming machine categories, not the online rules.

Slots similar to Narcos

If you like base-game action, the closest relatives are NetEnt's other walking-wild games. Jack and the Beanstalk is the original. For another branded game with a TV link, see Ted and The Goonies. For a game that pays mostly through a hold-and-win round, look at Wolf Gold.

Where to play the Narcos slot in the UK

NetEnt games appear at many UK-licensed casinos, but we can't confirm that any partner below carries Narcos today: search the casino's lobby, as game availability changes. Coral offers 100 free spins when new players deposit and bet £10 on slots; the spins are worth 10p each on selected games, must be accepted within 48 hours and last 7 days, and their winnings carry no wagering. Ladbrokes gives new customers who spend £10 on slots 50 free spins a day for 10 days (up to 500), at 10p each on selected games, claimed by 23:59 each day, valid 7 days and with no wagering.

PlayOJO gives new UK customers (not Northern Ireland) 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each with a first deposit of at least £10, and the winnings are paid in cash with no wagering. All three are 18+ and terms apply, including excluded payment methods. Coral and Ladbrokes are both run by LC International (Entain), so read the terms before opening both. Set a budget you can afford to lose; if play stops being fun, the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 is free and open 24/7.

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.