What Are Slot Bonuses?

Slot games have come a long way since the days of three reels and a single fruit symbol. Today, the bonus features built into a slot can be the reason players keep playing it: the moment the reels align, the Scatter symbols land and the game shifts gears. That is what this guide is about.

You could be new to online slots or simply want to know your Wilds from your Scatters. Either way, our guide will cover what you need to know about slot bonus features, and where to find them at MONOPOLY Casino.

Slot Bonuses: Two Things People May Mean

Before we get into the features themselves, it is worth clearing something up. When looking for “slot bonuses", people are usually after one of two things.

The first is bonus features: the free spins rounds, Wilds, multipliers and special mechanics built directly into a slot game. That is the focus of this article.

The second is redeemable offers: welcome bonuses, free spins promotions and ongoing rewards that can be used on slot games. If that’s what you’re looking for, head to our Rewards page for a full view on what is available here at MONOPOLY Casino.

What Are Slot Bonus Features?

A slot bonus feature is any mechanic within a game that goes beyond the base spin. Most modern online slots are built around them, and they tend to be where the bigger moments happen, where the gameplay changes and where the reels tend to pay out at their most generous.

Bonus features are triggered by chance. Landing a certain combination of symbols - typically Scatter symbols - is the most common trigger, though some features activate randomly regardless of what lands on the reels. Once triggered, they tend to offer free spins, altered reels or special symbols that give each game its own distinct character.

For a deeper look at how online slots work from the ground up, our Online Slots Guide covers the full picture.

Types of Slot Bonus Features

There’s no single template for a slot bonus feature. Developers build them differently, combine them in different ways and give them different names depending on the game. Here are the most common types you’ll encounter.

Free Spins

The most recognisable bonus feature in online slots. Free spins give you a set number of spins on the reels at no additional cost, usually with added mechanics layered on top, like expanded Wilds, increasing multipliers or sticky symbols that stay in place throughout the round.

Landing Scatter symbols is the standard trigger, though the number required and the spins you receive vary from game to game. At MONOPOLY Casino, you’ll find free spins features across a wide range of titles: Fishin’ Frenzy, Big Bass Bonanza and Eye of Horus are among the most popular.

Wild Symbols

Wild symbols substitute for other symbols on the reels to help form winning combinations, and some think of them as the Joker in a pack of cards. Most slots carry some form of Wild, but developers have expanded the mechanic considerably over the years.

Expanding Wilds: a Wild symbol that stretches to cover an entire reel when it lands. Starburst is the most recognisable example of this mechanic.

Sticky Wilds: Wilds that stay in place for a set number of spins after landing, giving you repeated opportunities to form wins around them – can be found in games like Finn and the Swirly Spin.

Walking Wilds: Wilds that move one position across the reels with each spin until they disappear from the grid.

Wild multipliers: wilds that not only substitute for other symbols but apply a multiplier to any win they contribute to.

For a full breakdown of different Wild symbols and other slot terms, our Slot Machine Terminology guide is a good place to start.

Multipliers

A multiplier increases the value of a win by a set factor. A x3 multiplier on a £10 win pays £30. They appear in many forms: as part of a Wild symbol, built into a free spins round or climbing progressively with each consecutive win during a bonus.

Gates of Olympus is a well-known example at MONOPOLY Casino, with multipliers that can accumulate during spins and tumbles in the regular games and free spins rounds.

Cascading Reels

Rather than the reels spinning and stopping, cascading mechanics remove winning symbols from the grid and replace them with new ones falling from above, giving you the chance to land consecutive wins from a single spin.

Gonzo's Quest brought cascading reels to mainstream attention. Its Avalanche feature, as NetEnt called it, introduced a multiplier that grew with each consecutive cascade. Bonanza Megaways built on the mechanic years later, pairing it with an unlimited win multiplier during free spins that made cascades feel more dynamic than ever.

Re-Spins

A re-spin gives you an additional spin on the reels - or on specific reels - without using a separate stake. They’re triggered in different ways, like landing a particular symbol, depending on the game.

A number of games feature this mechanic, including those in the Money Train series (Money Train 2, Money Train 3 and Money Train 4) and Slots O' Gold, which is built around its Rainbow Re-Spin feature.

Hold and Spin

A close relative of the re-spin, hold and spin features lock certain symbols in place while the remaining reels spin again. The round continues until no new locking symbols land, at which point the values of all held symbols are collected and paid out.

It’s a mechanic that builds gradually, with each new symbol adding to what is already locked on the grid. You can find it across titles like Big Bass Hold & Spinner Megaways at MONOPOLY Casino.

Mystery Symbols

Mystery symbols appear on the reels as a concealed tile, so you don’t know what they will reveal until they transform. When they do, the Mystery symbols on the grid change into the same revealed symbol, which can create winning combinations that would not otherwise have been possible.

Razor Shark uses Mystery symbols – known in-game as Mystery Stacks - prominently, with hidden symbols capable of triggering further bonus features.

Cluster Pays

Traditional slots pay along fixed lines running left to right. Cluster pays slots work slightly differently. Wins are formed by groups of matching symbols connected horizontally or vertically across the grid, regardless of payline structure. The larger the cluster, the bigger the win.

This format pairs naturally with cascading mechanics, since removing winning clusters creates space for new symbols to drop in and potentially form further wins. Jammin’ Jars and its sequel Jammin’ Jars 2, both available at MONOPOLY Casino, combine cluster pays with multiplier Wilds that move around the grid during free spins.

Megaways

Megaways is a reel modifier mechanic, so it’s not a bonus feature in itself, but it changes the way bonus features work drastically enough that it’s worth understanding separately.

Developed by Big Time Gaming, Megaways slots feature reels that display a variable number of symbols on each spin, meaning the number of ways to win changes constantly, up to a maximum that varies by game (normally 117,649).

The mechanic changes free spins rounds considerably, with cascading reels and climbing multipliers combining with the shifting grid to create the chance for larger wins. At MONOPOLY Casino, you will find Megaways titles across a range of themes and providers, including Bonanza Megaways, Extra Chilli Megaways and Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways.

Progressive Jackpot Features

Some slots carry a jackpot feature that sits above the standard bonus round. Progressive jackpots grow with every spin placed across the network of players on that game, building until one player claims the full amount, at which point it resets and starts climbing again.

These features are typically triggered randomly, meaning any spin may activate the jackpot round regardless of what appears on the reels. Once inside, a secondary game - usually a wheel spin or pick feature - determines which jackpot tier is won.

At MONOPOLY Casino, jackpot titles include Mega Moolah, Eye of Horus: Jackpot King and MONOPOLY Gameshow Jackpots.

Slot Bonus Features at MONOPOLY Casino

MONOPOLY Casino is home to a range of branded slots that carry the board game’s DNA into the bonus rounds themselves. Here is a quick look at what each one brings to the reels.

MONOPOLY Gameshow Jackpots: a slot built around collecting tokens to unlock prize pick bonuses, with Wild reels in the base game and three progressive jackpots - Mini, Major and Grand - available in the bonus rounds.

MONOPOLY Bank It!: set a target, collect Hotel Wild symbols across 12 free spins and decide whether to cash out or hold on.

MONOPOLY Rising Riches: a cascading reels slot where each successive win in a chain pushes the multiplier higher, up to 20x at the top end, with coins added along the way.

MONOPOLY Paradise Mansion: two distinct bonus rounds - a Property Card pick feature and a Community Chest picker - keep things varied, with the highest award in the base game sitting at 10,000x your coin size.

MONOPOLY City Spins: the Board Bonus sends your token around the MONOPOLY board to collect property cards, each carrying its own free spin feature or interactive game to be played out afterwards.

Things to Keep in Mind About Slot Bonus Features

Slot bonus features help make modern online slots interesting. But there are a few things worth knowing before you start spinning.

Why You Might Enjoy Them

Bonus features are where a slot’s personality really comes through. The free spins rounds, the escalating multiplier, the hold and spin mechanic help give the games a distinct feel.

The most significant potential payouts in most modern slots tend to be found within the bonus features rather than the base game.

The range of feature types is wide enough that there is a style of slot for most preferences, like high-volatility re-spins, Cluster Pays and more.

Why You Might Prefer Something Different

Triggering a bonus feature is always a matter of chance, and some features may land more regularly than others

Landing the feature does not guarantee a substantial win. The outcome of a free spins round or re-spin feature is determined by the same random processes as every other spin.

Higher-volatility slots with considerable maximum wins pay out less frequently. So, if you prefer more frequent, smaller returns, lower-volatility games may suit you better.

FAQs: What Are Slot Bonuses?

What is a slot bonus feature?

A slot bonus feature is a mechanic built into the game that activates under certain conditions - usually by landing Scatter symbols - and offers free spins, altered reels or special symbols beyond the standard base game. They vary significantly from slot to slot.

Are slot bonus features the same as casino bonuses?

No. Slot bonus features are part of the game itself, things like free spins rounds and multipliers built into the slot by the developer. Casino bonuses are promotional offers from the operator, such as welcome bonuses or free spins promotions.

Which bonus feature appears most commonly in online slots?

Free spins is the most widely used bonus feature across online slots. Most modern slot games carry some version of it, often combined with additional mechanics such as multipliers, expanding Wilds or sticky symbols.

Do bonus features guarantee a win?

No. Triggering a bonus feature does not guarantee a win. Slot games are games of chance and the outcome of every spin - including those within a bonus round - is determined by a random number generator.

Can I try slot bonus features for free?

Many slots here at MONOPOLY Casino are available in demo mode, which lets you explore a game’s mechanics and its bonus features without placing a real-money bet. It’s a useful way to get familiar with how a game works before playing for real.