The melon slot machine symbol is usually the most valuable piece of fruit on the reels: on classic fruit slots it sits above the cherry, lemon, orange and plum and below the seven. It isn't one of the four fruits documented on the earliest gum-vending machines, which makes it a later addition with a high-value job.
On most fruit slots the melon is a high-paying fruit, ranked under the seven and any star or joker.
The documented original fruit set was lemons, cherries, oranges and plums; the melon came later, and no checked source dates it.
A melon pays more because the game makes it rarer, not because of any meaning in the picture.
Its value is set per game: always read the paytable in the help screen at your own stake.
Symbol type
Fruit, usually a high-pay symbol
Also shown as
Watermelon slice or whole melon
Typical rank
Top or near-top fruit, below the seven
Earliest record
Not in the documented original fruit set
Found on
Classic fruit slots and fruit-themed video slots
Pays on
Lines, ways or clusters, depending on the game
What the melon slot machine symbol means
On a slot reel the melon is a paying symbol and nothing more mysterious than that. Land enough of them on a line, a way or a cluster and the game pays the amount printed in its paytable. What makes it interesting is where it tends to sit in that table: on most fruit-themed games it is one of the two or three most valuable fruits, often sharing the upper fruit tier with grapes.
Most games draw it as a green-striped watermelon or a red slice with black seeds. A few use a yellow honeydew or cantaloupe. The shape doesn't matter to the maths; the game treats the picture as a label for one entry in the paytable and one set of positions on each reel strip.
Fruit reached the reels by way of chewing gum. In the Wikipedia account of slot machine history (opens in a new tab), the Mills Operator Bell could be fitted to vend gum, its gum came in fruit flavours, and the reel art followed suit with four fruits: lemons, cherries, oranges and plums. The bell survived the change, and the pictured gum stick is credited as the source of the BAR symbol.
The melon is not in that list. None of the sources we checked says when or why melons and grapes joined the set, so we won't put a date on it. What can be said is that by the time online fruit slots were built, the melon was firmly part of the classic look, and it generally landed in the upper tier of the fruit. Our fruit machine history explains the wider background.
The year of the Operator Bell itself isn't confirmed by the sources we checked, so treat any exact date you see quoted for the first fruit reels with caution.
Why the melon usually pays more than the cherry
A symbol's prize is tied to how often it lands. Designers decide how many positions each symbol gets on every reel, and that count, not the artwork, sets the odds. On a mechanical machine this was literal: a strip with more cherry stops than melon stops. On a modern game, the random number generator picks from virtual stops, and the same principle applies through weighted reels.
Here is an illustrative three-reel example. Each reel has 22 stops. The melon sits on one stop per reel and the cherry on four. The chance of three melons on the line is 1 ÷ (22 × 22 × 22), or 1 in 10,648. Three cherries come up 64 times as often, about 1 in 166. To keep the game's return balanced, the rarer melon line has to pay far more.
Illustrative reel strip: how stop counts drive prizes (not a real game)
Symbol
Stops per reel (of 22)
Chance of 3 on the line
Prize that fits the odds
Cherry
4
About 1 in 166
Small
Plum
3
About 1 in 394
Small to medium
Grapes
2
About 1 in 1,331
Medium to high
Melon
1
About 1 in 10,648
High
Seven
1 (with tighter weighting)
Rarer still
Top fixed prize
The numbers are made up to show the mechanism. Real games publish prizes, not stop counts, and the long-run return is the figure that matters: see our guide to RTP.
Melon slot machine symbol on popular UK slots
Melons appear mostly on games that lean into the old fruit-machine look. Three examples whose symbol sets are published:
Sizzling Hot Deluxe (Novomatic/Greentube, 95.66% RTP): watermelons and grapes form the higher fruit tier, beneath the red seven, with a star scatter.
Mega Joker (NetEnt): a casino-style fruit set that includes watermelons alongside bells, sevens and a treasure chest.
Extra Juicy Megaways (Pragmatic Play, 96.42% RTP top version): keeps watermelons, grapes, plums and cherries on a Megaways engine.
Where the melon sits in three fruit slots
Slot
How wins form
Melon's place
Published max win
Sizzling Hot Deluxe
5 fixed paylines
Upper fruit tier
5,000× stake
Mega Joker
5 paylines plus Supermeter
Part of the classic fruit set
Random progressive jackpot
Extra Juicy Megaways
Up to 117,649 ways
One of the fruit pays
5,000× stake
Rank and value differ between the three, so a melon win in one tells you nothing about another. Open each game's help screen for the actual figures.
Set the stake you actually intend to play; most paytables update to show prizes in pounds at that stake.
Open the menu or 'i' button and choose the paytable or game rules.
Find the melon and note what three, four and five of a kind pay (or the cluster sizes, on a grid game).
Compare it with the cherry and the seven to see where it ranks in this particular game.
Scroll on to the RTP line and check it matches the published figure for the game.
Melons on pub fruit machines and arcade slots
On a British pub fruit machine the melon is usually just one of the fruits on the reels, and the real money is in features: nudges, holds and a feature board. As Category C machines they take no more than £1 a play, pay no more than £100, and are for over-18s. The Commission lists every category on its gaming machine categories (opens in a new tab) page.
Many fruit machines are built on a compensated model, which spreads payouts over a cycle of plays. A run of melons on the win line doesn't mean the machine is 'due' anything; pressing an offered hold or nudge at the right moment may stop you passing up a win the machine has put on offer, but no technique gets round its built-in percentage.
Melon myths that don't hold up
"Two melons on the line mean the third is close." Each reel position is chosen by the RNG before the reels stop; a near miss is just a display. See near misses.
"Melons pay out more late at night." A game's maths doesn't change with the clock, as our page on the best time to play explains.
"Stopping the reels on a melon helps." Online, the result is settled the moment you press spin, and slam-stop buttons were removed from UK slots on 31 October 2021.
"A bigger fruit means a bigger RTP." The symbol's prize is balanced against its rarity, so the overall return stays the same.
What chasing a melon line costs at UK stakes
A high-value fruit tempts people to keep spinning for it, so it helps to price the session first. Using Sizzling Hot Deluxe's 95.66% RTP, the long-run average cost is 4.34p for every £1 staked. Real sessions swing far more than that, in both directions.
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Frequently asked questions
What does the melon symbol pay on a slot machine?
It pays whatever that game's paytable says, and on most fruit slots that is one of the larger fruit prizes. Developers set each symbol's value separately, so a watermelon in one game can be worth several times what it pays in another. Set your stake first, then open the paytable: most UK games show the prize in pounds at that stake. Our paytable guide explains the layout, and the symbols hub compares the classic icons.
Is the melon the highest-paying fruit?
Often, but not always. On many classic fruit slots the melon and grapes share the top fruit tier, sitting under the seven and any special symbol such as a star scatter or joker. Some games rank grapes above melons, and some put a bell or BAR above both. The only reliable answer is the game's own paytable. Our pages on the grapes symbol and the lucky seven show how other symbols are usually ranked.
Was the melon on the first fruit machines?
Not according to the sources we checked. Published histories of the Mills Operator Bell name four fruits chosen to match its gum (lemons, cherries, oranges and plums) alongside a bell and the BAR. The melon arrived later, but no source we found gives a date or a maker for its first appearance, so treat confident claims about that with care. Our fruit machine history page covers what is documented about the gum link.
Why is the melon rarer on the reels than the cherry?
Because the game gives it fewer positions on each reel strip, which is how designers balance a large prize. If the melon had as many stops as the cherry and still paid more, the game would return more than it takes in. Fewer stops mean a lower chance of a line, which pays for the larger prize. Our explainers on weighted reels and virtual reels show how that works on modern machines.
Which online slots have melon symbols?
Classic fruit slots are the usual home. Sizzling Hot Deluxe puts watermelons and grapes in its higher fruit tier, Mega Joker includes watermelons in a casino-style fruit set, and Extra Juicy Megaways keeps watermelons on a Megaways engine. Many other fruit-themed games use one too, but casino line-ups shift, so look the title up before you play. Our fruit slots online page lists more of the type.
Does a melon symbol mean a fruit machine is about to pay?
No. A melon on the screen, or two on a line, says nothing about the next spin. Online, each result is chosen independently by the random number generator before the reels stop. Pub fruit machines may run a compensated cycle, but you can't see where in that cycle the machine is, and nothing beats its built-in percentage. Our slot machine myths guide covers the 'due to pay' belief in more detail.
Is a watermelon symbol different from a melon symbol?
Not in how it works. Developers draw the fruit as a watermelon slice, a whole watermelon or occasionally a yellow melon, but the game treats it as one symbol with one entry in the paytable. Some fruit slots use both a watermelon and another melon as separate symbols, in which case each has its own value. The paytable labels and pictures show which is which. Our reels and symbols guide explains how symbols are defined.
Can I play a fruit slot with melons for free in the UK?
Yes, as free demo play once your age is verified; British-licensed sites have had to check age before opening any demo since May 2019. Demos share the paid game's maths, so the melon ranks and pays exactly as it would with real stakes. It is a sensible way to learn a game's layout before spending anything. Our guides to demo slots and free slot machines explain how it works.
Do melons appear on UK pub fruit machines?
Often, as one of several fruits on the reels, though on pub machines the features usually matter more than any single fruit. In pubs these are Category C machines, limited to £1 a play and £100 in prizes, and only adults may use them. Winning lines depend on the reels and on nudges, holds and feature boards. Our pub slot machines guide and the page on how to play fruit machines cover the details.
Are melon wins taxed in the UK?
No. A melon line online or a pub fruit machine prize is yours in full, because UK players pay no tax on gambling wins. The tax falls on operators: online casinos pay remote gaming duty, set at 40% from 1 April 2026, and venues pay Machine Games Duty on their machines. None of that comes out of a player's prize. Our page on tax on slot winnings has the details.
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