Bonanza in South Africa: Megaways, Mine Carts and the GOLD Free Spins
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Betway SA
Licensed in the Western Cape and Mpumalanga
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SuperSportBet
Licensed in the Western Cape
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BetXchange
Licensed in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape
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Lowest bet we saw: R2 a spin at Interbet
Bonanza is the 2016 gold-mine slot from Big Time Gaming, the Australian studio that made the Megaways mechanic. Six reels land up to seven symbols each, a row of mine carts adds one more symbol to reels 2 to 5, and every win clears away to let new symbols fall in. Spell GOLD with four scatters for 12 free spins, where the win multiplier starts at 1 and climbs after every reaction. The game's rules give a 96.00% RTP.
RTP (return to player): the share of bets the game pays back over time, as Big Time Gaming publishes it.
Figures from provider data, September 2026. The RTP is the figure the studio publishes; check the ranking and the game's own info screen before you deposit.
On this page
Try Bonanza before you deposit
-
Betway SA
Licensed in the Western Cape and Mpumalanga
Visit
-
SuperSportBet
Licensed in the Western Cape
Visit
-
BetXchange
Licensed in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape
Visit
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What Bonanza looks like
2 more images
Images: Big Time Gaming, official game page (bigtimegaming.com).
Six reels, a row of carts and up to 117,649 ways
The game's own help opens with one sentence: 'Bonanza is a six-reel video slot with reacting wins featuring Big Time Gaming's unique Megaways.' In the rules' words, 'Each reel alone or with a cart can have up to 7 symbols. Each spin can have up to 117649 Megaways to win!' Seven to the sixth power is 117,649, by our arithmetic.
The carts run along a track above the reels, and the help says 'Each cart adds a symbol to the reel it is above for reels 2, 3, 4 and 5.' The count for the spin stands in the panel at the top: Big Time Gaming's own screenshots show 4320, 3600, 7350 and 6000 MEGAWAYS on four different spins.
A win is 'matching consecutive symbols, regardless of height, from left to right starting from the leftmost reel', and all winning combinations are added together.
Reactions: symbols fall from the top and from the right
Big Time Gaming calls its cascades reactions. The help: 'Every winning symbol is part of a reaction and is replaced by symbols coming from above on the reels and from the right in the carts.'
The studio's page names the system 'DUELREACTION', a cascade 'that allows the reels to cascade in both directions'. The rules give a win multiplier only to the free spins; for the base game they name none, so there a reaction pays at the stake.
What Bonanza's symbols pay
Values from the game's PAYS screen, which says 'Payouts are multiplied by stake'. The rand column is our arithmetic for six of a kind at a R2 stake, an example amount, not a bet any casino sets.
| Symbol | 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 of a kind | Six at R2 (our sum) |
|---|---|---|
| Diamond (also pays for 2) | 5 / 10 / 25 / 50, and 2 for two | R100 |
| Red gem | 1 / 2 / 2.5 / 7.5 | R15 |
| Blue gem | 0.25 / 1 / 1.5 / 2 | R4 |
| Green gem | 0.25 / 0.5 / 0.75 / 2 | R4 |
| A and K | 0.2 / 0.4 / 0.6 / 1.75 | R3.50 |
| Q | 0.2 / 0.25 / 0.6 / 1 | R2 |
| J | 0.15 / 0.25 / 0.5 / 1 | R2 |
| 10 | 0.15 / 0.25 / 0.5 / 0.9 | R1.80 |
| 9 | 0.1 / 0.2 / 0.4 / 0.8 | R1.60 |
Dynamite wilds and the four GOLD letters
The wild is a bundle of dynamite, and it has a fixed place: 'Wilds substitute every symbol except Scatter. Wilds are only present in the carts.' So a wild only helps on reels 2 to 5.
The scatters are gold blocks carrying the letters G, O, L and D. 'The Scatter icon can appear in any of the reels. Get four GOLD Scatters to win 12 Free Spins. Any extra Scatter adds an extra five Free Spins.' Five scatters would give 17 free spins and six would give 22, by our arithmetic from that rule.
Free spins: a win multiplier with no top
Inside the free spins the reactions start to count. The help: 'During Free Spins there is an unlimited win multiplier which starts at 1 and is increased by 1 after each reaction.' The intro screen of the game sums it up as 'UNLIMITED WIN MULTIPLIER'. As we read the rule, the multiplier is not reset between free spins: each reaction of the round moves it one step higher. Big Time Gaming's own screenshot from the round shows x11 WIN MULTIPLIER with 10 free spins played.
More spins come from a second kind of scatter, a cart full of gold bars. 'The Free Spin Scatter icon can appear in the carts during Free Spins. 3 Scatters = 5 extra Free Spins. 4 Scatters = 10 extra Free Spins.' The stake that triggered the round is used for every free spin, and at the end the total is shown, credited to the account, and regular play resumes.
Bonus Buy, where the casino offers it
The official demo carries a Bonus Buy button, and its help says: 'You may buy 12 Free Spins for 90 times the Free Spins Stake.' The rules add that 'Bonus Buy may be limited or unavailable in your jurisdiction'.
At a R2 free spins stake the price would be R180, by our arithmetic. The rules screen gives the bought round its own return: 'Overall RTP: 96.00%' and 'Bonus Buy RTP: 96.11%', and calls both values the 'maximum expected RTP'.
Big Time Gaming's figures, and Evolution's
Big Time Gaming's About page says that 'The launch of Bonanza in 2016 marked a pivotal moment' for the studio, and that Evolution acquired it in 2021; Evolution's own page on the studio also dates 'the launch of Bonanza in 2016'. The studio's game page lists RTP 96.00% and 117,649 ways, as the rules screen does.
Evolution's games site adds what the studio's page does not: volatility 'High' in the facts box and 'very high volatility' in its description, 'a maximum win of 26,000x of the original bet' and a maximum stake of €100. The 26,000x is Evolution's figure, not a promise for any spin; the game's rules state no win cap. On a R1 stake it would be R26,000, by our arithmetic. The same site gives 2019 as the release year in its facts box, while the studio itself names 2016; our facts panel follows the studio.
Bonanza RTP and volatility
Big Time Gaming gives Bonanza's return to player as 96.00%.
Volatility is high: long quiet stretches between the wins that matter.
Paying for Bonanza in rand
Bonanza is in the lobby at 5 operators we list: all of them take cash vouchers and cards; 4 take Ozow; 2 take Capitec Pay.
The smallest first deposit for Bonanza among them is R5, at Interbet.
Bonanza winnings are paid by EFT to an account in your own name, after FICA.
Get FICA done first (the ID and address check every licensed site runs) · How to deposit in rand · Every payment method
Is Bonanza legal in South Africa?
Bonanza is a slot. In South Africa you find it at licensed bookmakers, next to their sports markets.
All 5 operators we list for Bonanza hold a South African provincial licence.
Before you play with real money
Set your Bonanza budget and a deposit limit before the first round, not after a losing one. If it stops being fun, the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation helpline is free on 0800 006 008.
Pros, cons and verdict
- The free spins multiplier has no top and grows by 1 with every reaction
- The cart row adds a symbol to reels 2 to 5 and brings the wilds
- Gold-bar scatters in the carts add 5 or 10 free spins during the round
- The rules name no multiplier for the base game
- Wilds land only in the carts, never on reels 1 and 6
- Evolution's games site describes the game as very high volatility
Bonanza is the game Big Time Gaming launched Megaways with in 2016: a six-reel grid with a cart row on top, cascades it calls reactions, and free spins in which every reaction lifts the multiplier one step with no upper limit. The base game pays at flat value, so much of the weight sits in four GOLD letters; choose a rand stake that can wait out long runs between bonus rounds.
Bonanza FAQ
Who makes Bonanza?
Big Time Gaming made it. Evolution, which owns the studio, calls it the creator of Megaways, and the studio's About page calls the 2016 launch of Bonanza a pivotal moment. Bonanza Falls, Bonanza Billion and Megaways slots by other studios are different games, so check the studio's name on the casino's tile.
How do you trigger the free spins in Bonanza?
Land the four GOLD scatters, the letters G, O, L and D, anywhere on the reels for 12 free spins. Any extra scatter adds five more, by the game's help. During the round, three gold-bar scatters in the carts add 5 spins and four add 10.
How does the free spins multiplier work?
It starts at 1 and goes up by 1 after each reaction, a win clearing away for new symbols, and the help calls it unlimited. At x11 a R1 win pays R11, by our arithmetic. The rules name no multiplier for the base game.
What is Bonanza's RTP?
The rules screen of the official demo gives 'Overall RTP: 96.00%' and 'Bonus Buy RTP: 96.11%', and Big Time Gaming's game page also lists 96.00%. Check the figure in the game's help at your casino before you play.
What is the max win on Bonanza?
Evolution's games site says the game offers 'a maximum win of 26,000x of the original bet'. The game's own rules state no cap. On a R1 stake 26,000x would be R26,000, by our arithmetic; it is not what a spin is likely to pay.
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Where to play Bonanza in South Africa
Licensed South African operators we have found carrying Bonanza, each with its licence and our score, and the date where we saw the game in the lobby ourselves. Ordered by that score. How we score Offers checked September 2026.
Betway SA
4.9
/5
SuperSportBet
4.9
/5
BetXchange
4.9
/5
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