Wheel of Fortune slots online: the versions and how each plays

Online Wheel of Fortune slots come in two kinds: ways games, where matching symbols pay anywhere on adjacent reels (Triple Extreme Spin and Megaways), and payline games with 25 or 30 fixed lines (On Tour, Ruby Riches, Hawaiian Getaway and Ultra 5 Reels). All six put a wheel at the heart of the bonus, but each gets there differently. The comparison below comes from the rules files IGT supplies to Borgata Online, a regulated New Jersey operator.

The online versions side by side

In the fixed-coin games you choose only the coin value; the line or way count never changes, so you cannot play fewer lines to cut the cost of a spin.

How each version plays

Triple Extreme Spin

IGT calls the ways system MultiWay Xtra: a symbol pays when it appears anywhere in adjacent columns, counted from the far left or the far right, and two or more of the same symbol in one column multiply the award. The wild lands on reels 2, 3 and 4 in the base game. Three or more Scatters turn into small wheels that each spin for a credit value, and three or more Bonus symbols open the Triple Extreme Spin Bonus with its three big wheels. BetMGM runs a branded edition with the same rules.

On Tour

Two features set it apart. On a base-game spin, Wheelmobile Wilds can turn every instance of one to four randomly chosen symbols wild. And Level Up Plus collects fuel from every Bonus scatter, moves a Wheelmobile along a map of American stops and adds new slices to the bonus wheel as you progress. The rules file says that progress carries over between sessions, which is why its RTP is a range.

Megaways

IGT built this version with Big Time Gaming and says it first launched in New Jersey on March 1, 2021. Its six reels give up to 117,649 ways in the base game, and a win needs matching symbols on consecutive reels from the left, whatever the reel heights. Wilds land on reels 2 to 5, and each can turn into a Wild Megastack of seven wilds, up to three per base-game spin. Three, four, five or six Scatters award 12, 14, 16 or 18 free spins, where extending reels can take the count to 1,000,000 ways.

Ruby Riches

A Treasure Chest on reel 5 without the Wheel of Fortune coin on reel 1 triggers Ca$hLink Deluxe, which pays the cash values printed on the coin symbols in view, plus any Grand, Mega, Major, Minor or Mini jackpot symbol revealed. Land the Wheel of Fortune coin on reel 1 with the chest and the Wheel Bonus starts instead. Three Free Spins scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5 give 10 free spins, retriggering up to 200.

Hawaiian Getaway

Six or more Bonus scatters anywhere start the Wheel Bonus, whose slices lead to cash, free spins, a Jackpot Bonus or Pointer Frenzy. In the base game and free spins, three or more adjacent full stacks of the same major symbol trigger the Big Kahuna Respin: one respin with jumbo symbols and a random 2x to 5x multiplier.

Ultra 5 Reels

Two kinds of multiplying wild appear on reels 2 and 4. One multiplies a line win by 5x, the other by a random 2x to 5x, and two in the same win multiply each other for up to 25x. Three or more Scatters start the Scatter Wheels Bonus; three Bonus symbols on reels 2 to 4 start the Ultra Wheel Bonus.

What every version has in common

• An award cap in some states. Each rules file warns that some jurisdictions cap the win on a single transaction, bonus included, and a bonus can end early if it hits the cap. The paytable shows whether one applies.
• Independent spins. The files state that every outcome is independent: a big win does not make the next spin less likely to pay, and a losing run does not make a win due.
• Versions vary by casino. The figures above are from one operator’s rules files. Another casino may run a different build, so open the help screen in the game before you play.

For how the wheels themselves pay, read the bonus wheels, version by version. For the payback figures and what they mean, see RTP and volatility by version, or go back to the Wheel of Fortune overview. Casino floor vs online explains why the machine in a casino may not match any of these.