Vikings slot by NetEnt

About the Vikings slot

Vikings is a branded game from NetEnt, built on the television drama about the Norse raiders. The characters from the show provide the high-paying symbols, which reference listings say can land in stacks, while card-style runes fill the lower end of the paytable. It is one of the better-known TV and film slots and sits in our wider group of Norse and Viking slots.

Don't confuse it with similarly named games. Yggdrasil's Vikings Go Wild and Vikings Go Berzerk are cartoon-styled games from a different studio with different maths; this page is about NetEnt's 2018 title. The defining feature here is a grid that grows from 15 positions to 35 when the bonus starts.

How the Vikings slot machine works

In the base game Vikings is a five-reel, three-row ways game. Every spin is settled by the random number generator before the reels move, and the game then pays any run of matching symbols on adjacent reels from the left.

1. Set your stake (the online maximum is £5 a spin if you are 25 or over, £2 if you are 18 to 24).
2. Spin; the outcome is already fixed when the reels start.
3. The game checks 243 ways for runs of three, four or five matching symbols from reel 1.
4. Any hotspot collection on the reels is updated.
5. If three Raid Spin symbols are in view, the Raid Spins bonus begins on the larger grid.

Three rows on each of five reels gives 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 = 243 ways. See 243-ways slots for other games built the same way.

Vikings hotspots in the base game

Reference descriptions say reel 3 carries a hotspot in the base game. When a Vikings character symbol lands on it, the symbol is collected, and collecting three leads to a bigger feature. The listings don't agree on exactly what that collection awards, so read the help screen of the version in front of you for the precise rule rather than relying on summaries.

Collection features like this can feel as if they build towards something on every spin. The meter is real, but each spin's chance of landing on the hotspot is the same, whatever the meter shows. A part-filled meter tells you what has happened, not what is about to.

Vikings Raid Spins: the 78,125-ways free spins

Raid Spins is the Vikings bonus round, a form of free spins triggered by landing three Raid Spin symbols. The grid then expands to seven reels of five rows, and reference listings describe reels 3, 4 and 5 becoming hotspots for the duration of the round. The number of spins awarded is set out in the paytable.

The growth in ways is the reason the feature carries most of the game's top-end potential:

More ways doesn't mean 321 times more money. It means far more paths for a stacked premium symbol to pay on, plus the chance of six- and seven-of-a-kind runs that the base game can't produce. Our expanding reels page explains how growing grids change a game's maths.

Vikings RTP and what it costs to play

The Vikings RTP is 96.05% in its default form, meaning £3.95 of every £100 staked is kept over the long run. One reference listing shows 95.05% in a sidebar while its own text says 96.05%; the facts we hold give 96.05% as the default, and lower RTP variants may exist. The figure in the game's rules is the one that applies to you.

The time column uses the UK minimum of 2.5 seconds per spin, the rule that the Gambling Commission enforces strictly: one supplier paid £122,835 for running slots too fast (opens in a new tab) in 2026. Real sessions take longer once wins and features animate.

Vikings max win at UK stake limits

The Vikings max win is 10,000 times the stake. It is a Raid Spins outcome; the base game's ceiling is far lower. NetEnt doesn't publish the odds of reaching it.

A 10,000x ceiling sits between NetEnt's medium games and the extreme titles from sister studios. For how different studios set and cap these figures, see max win caps.

Is the Vikings slot worth playing?

Vikings is high volatility. Expect the base game to pay modestly and irregularly, with the Raid Spins doing most of the work. That suits a player who is happy with a fixed budget, played slowly at a low stake, and who accepts that many sessions will end before the bonus. Our guide to high-volatility slot machines explains the pattern.

Vikings slot myths

• Two Raid Spin symbols means the bonus is near. Two of three is still a loss for the trigger. See slot machine near misses.
• A full hotspot meter makes the next spin more valuable. The RNG doesn't look at meters when choosing outcomes, other than to apply the rules shown.
• Playing fast gets you to the bonus sooner in pounds. Speed changes time, not cost per spin; see does the speed of spinning matter.
• The branded licence lowers the RTP. The figure is in the rules: 96.05% by default.

UK rules and the Vikings demo

The UK version of Vikings has no autoplay or turbo, keeps each spin to at least 2.5 seconds, and doesn't celebrate returns that are equal to or less than the stake. Those rules came in on 31 October 2021; our autoplay ban and losses disguised as wins pages explain them. No bonus buy is offered at UK-licensed casinos.

The Vikings demo is free demo play, after age verification. Age checks before free-to-play games were introduced in May 2019, as the Gambling Commission explained when it announced new rules to make online gambling fairer and safer (opens in a new tab). To check the RTP in the real version, open the menu, choose the game rules, and scroll to the return to player figure; our page on the game help screen shows what else you'll find there.

Slots like Vikings

Read more on Vikings Go Berzerk, Viking Runecraft, Power of Thor Megaways, Thunderstruck II and Le Viking.

Where to play the Vikings slot in the UK

Many UK-licensed casinos carry NetEnt's range, but we can't confirm which of our partners has Vikings at any given time, so search the lobby. At Coral, new players who deposit and bet £10 on slots receive 100 free spins worth 10p each on selected games; accept them within 48 hours and use them within 7 days, and the winnings have no wagering. At Ladbrokes, new customers who spend £10 on slots receive 50 free spins a day for 10 days, up to 500 in total, at 10p each on selected games, claimed before 23:59 daily and valid 7 days, with no wagering.

PlayOJO gives 80 free spins at 10p on Big Bass Bonanza for a first deposit of £10 or more by new UK customers (Northern Ireland excluded), and pays the winnings in cash. Each offer is 18+, terms apply and certain deposit methods are excluded. Coral and Ladbrokes are both LC International (Entain) brands. If gambling is becoming a worry, GamCare's chat service (opens in a new tab) and the National Gambling Helpline (0808 8020 133) are available 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.