Funky Time in South Africa: 64-Segment Wheel, Four Bonus Games and RTP by Bet
Funky Time is Evolution's disco-themed live game show, launched on 24 May 2023. A presenter spins a 64-segment wheel, and on every spin random multipliers land on random segments. You back the number 1, any of the 12 letters in PLAY, FUNK and TIME, or one of four bonus games: Bar, Stayin' Alive, Disco and VIP Disco. Evolution's rules give an RTP for each bet, from 95.38% to 95.99%.
On this page
What Funky Time looks like
Images: Evolution, official game site (games.evolution.com).
How a Funky Time round works
The presenter spins a vertical wheel of 64 segments. By Evolution's game page and launch release, 24 are letter segments spelling PLAY, FUNK and TIME, and the rest are a series of number 1s and the bonus game segments. You bet on the 1, a single letter or one of the four bonus spots.
As the wheel is spun, multipliers are generated and put on random segments, and the flapper at the top marks the winner. If a winning 1 or letter segment carries a multiplier, it multiplies the payout: in Evolution's example a 20x turns the 1's 1 to 1 into 20 to 1, so R10 would win R200 (our sum). A letter pays 25 to 1 before any multiplier. On a bonus segment the multiplier is carried into that bonus game.
Evolution's game page lists two shortcuts: BET ON 12 LETTERS "places a bet on all 12 letters at once (12 bets in one)", and BET ON 4 BONUSES is, by the same page, "4 bets in one". Everyone can watch a bonus game, but only a bet on that spot plays it.
Funky Time bet spots: payouts and the RTP of each bet 📊
From Evolution's rules. By our division, both main-game payouts top out at 50 times the default. The RTP figures leave out the table's payout cap.
| Bet spot | Payout in Evolution's table | RTP of the bet |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:1 to 50:1 | 95.99% |
| Any letter (P, L, A, Y, F, U, N, K, T, I, M or E) | 25:1 to 1,250:1 | 95.49% |
| Bar | Bonus game, up to the table limit | 95.98% |
| Stayin' Alive | Bonus game, up to the table limit | 95.49% |
| Disco | Bonus game, up to the table limit | 95.51% |
| VIP Disco | Bonus game, up to the table limit | 95.38% |
The Bar bonus: three glasses and a garnish 🎁
Only a bet on Bar plays it.
- Pick a glass. Choose one of three glasses; with no choice in time, or after an interruption, one is picked for you at random.
- The pour. The robot bartender pours, and each glass gets a random multiplier from 2x to 20x.
- The garnish. A single reel spins to reveal an extra 2x to 5x for one glass, which multiplies its value: 5x with a 5x garnish makes 25x, in Evolution's example. By our arithmetic, at most 20 x 5 = 100x in one glass before a wheel multiplier.
- The wheel multiplier. A multiplier on the Bar segment multiplies all three glasses before the game ends.
The Stayin' Alive bonus: a ball machine and a 20-level ladder 🎁
A machine of 90 coloured balls decides how far your team climbs.
- Pick a team. Choose green, pink or orange (the game page's colours); with no choice in time, one is picked at random. Everyone starts on the 5x level with four lives.
- The balls. A 1-step ball in your colour moves you up one level, a 2-step ball two. A black STOP ball takes a life from every player, and nobody moves. With no lives left, you are paid at your colour's level.
- The ladder. From the bottom: 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 30x, 40x, 50x, 60x, 70x, 100x, 150x, 200x, 250x, 300x, 500x, 600x, 700x, 800x and 1,000x.
- Wheel multiplier and the cap. A multiplier on the segment multiplies every level: with 10x the ladder would run from 50x to 10,000x (our arithmetic). Any level pushed past 10,000x is replaced with 10,000x.
Disco and VIP Disco: Mr Funky on the dance floor
Evolution's rules give both the same mechanics; VIP Disco has a bigger floor and starting Regular squares up to +500.
- Floors and moves. Disco has 37 squares and VIP Disco 63. From the middle, Mr Funky moves where the presenter's mini wheel of eight sectors (up, down, left, right) points, until he falls off the floor.
- Regular multipliers. They add up: a 2 and a 10 make 12x, in Evolution's example. They start at +1 to +100 in Disco and +1 to +500 in VIP Disco.
- Floor multipliers. They double five random Regular squares.
- Empty squares. A collected square stays empty for two moves, then resets to its starting type and value.
- Wheel multiplier and the cap. A multiplier on the segment multiplies every Regular square before the dance. Both games are capped at 10,000x, and the game ends when players reach it.
What each bet costs, by Evolution's RTP 📊
The percentages are Evolution's; rand amounts are our arithmetic, long-run averages rather than a forecast.
- The 1 and Bar lead. 95.99% on the 1, Evolution's optimal RTP, and 95.98% on Bar: about R4.01 and R4.02 kept per R100 staked.
- The rest sit close. Disco returns 95.51%, a letter and Stayin' Alive 95.49%, VIP Disco 95.38%: about R4.49, R4.51 and R4.62 kept per R100. Best to worst is 0.61 of a point (our subtraction).
- The shortcut buttons. Every letter bet returns 95.49%, so BET ON 12 LETTERS does too, by our reading. Spread evenly over the four bonus spots, a stake would return 95.59%, by our average of the four bonus figures.
- Maximum bets. Those figures leave out the round cap. For players betting the maximum, Evolution gives 94.96% on a letter, 95.40% on Bar, 94.85% on Stayin' Alive, 95.20% on Disco and 94.81% on VIP Disco.
- No system changes the price. Doubling after a loss or chasing a bonus that seems due changes none of these figures; no staking pattern or system beats the house edge.
Where Funky Time came from
Evolution named Funky Time among its ICE London premieres in February 2023 and announced its launch on 24 May 2023, calling it "the company's biggest new game show since Crazy Time". Its Chief Product Officer, Todd Haushalter, described the DigiWheel as "a big vertical revolving wheel with an electronic LED centre". Crazy Time has its own page and rules.
Evolution's news of 9 September 2026 announced Disco Balls, a separate ball-drawing game "inspired by the energy and style of Funky Time" whose multipliers can carry into Disco and VIP Disco bonus games: check the tile's name.
Funky Time RTP and volatility 📊
Evolution gives Funky Time's return to player as 95.38% - 95.99% depending on the bet.
Paying for Funky Time in rand
Funky Time is in the lobby at 10 operators we list: all of them take cash vouchers and cards; 9 take Ozow; 6 take Capitec Pay.
The smallest first deposit for Funky Time among them is R5, at Interbet.
Funky Time winnings are paid by EFT to an account in your own name, after FICA.
Get FICA done first · How to deposit in rand · Every payment method
Is Funky Time legal in South Africa? 📜
Funky Time is a live dealer game, which licensed bookmakers carry under their provincial betting licences.
All 10 operators we list for Funky Time hold a South African provincial licence.
Before you play with real money ⚠️
Set your Funky Time 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 ⚖️
- Evolution's RTP for every bet lies between 95.38% and 95.99%
- Wheel multipliers reach the 1, the letters and the bonus games
- Four bonus games: glasses, a ball ladder and two dance floors
- At maximum bets the round cap lowers the return
- The rules give no odds for the balls or the dance moves
- Stayin' Alive, Disco and VIP Disco are capped at 10,000x
Funky Time prices its bets evenly: Evolution's six figures sit between 95.38% and 95.99%. The multipliers and bonus games are already inside those figures; at maximum bets the cap takes a little more. Set a budget first.
Funky Time FAQ ❓
What is the RTP of Funky Time?
It depends on the bet: from 95.38% on VIP Disco to 95.99% on the 1, which Evolution names the optimal return. These figures leave out the table's payout cap, which lowers the return at maximum bets.
Do I need a bet on a bonus spot to win in the bonus game?
Yes. Everyone sees the bonus game, but only a bet on the spot the wheel stopped at takes part, so a Disco bet does not play VIP Disco.
What is the biggest win in Funky Time?
Evolution's page and rules name no single maximum win. They cap Stayin' Alive, Disco and VIP Disco at a 10,000x multiplier, and every table limits what one round can pay, with the details in its Bet Limits table.
Is there a strategy that beats Funky Time?
No. Every bet carries a house edge, from 4.01% on the 1 to 4.62% on VIP Disco by our subtraction from Evolution's figures; no staking pattern or system removes it.
Where to play Funky Time in South Africa
Licensed South African operators we have found carrying Funky Time, 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.
Also carrying Funky Time. Bonus, payment and payout terms for each are on its review.