What is Megaways?
On a Megaways slot the reels don't have a fixed size. Each of the six reels drops in with anywhere from two to seven symbols on most games, and the ways counter at the top is those heights multiplied, so it changes every spin. Big Time Gaming came up with it. Wins still pay left to right across neighbouring reels, any row.
Where the ways number comes from
Take a spin where the six reels come up 3, 5, 7, 4, 6 and 2 symbols tall. A path that picks one symbol on each reel, moving left to right, is one way. Multiply the heights and you get 5,040 ways for that spin. The next spin draws new heights, so the counter above the reels jumps every time you press the button.
| Reel heights | Ways |
|---|---|
| 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 | 64 |
| 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 | 729 |
| 3, 5, 7, 4, 6, 2 | 5,040 |
| 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 | 15,625 |
| 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 6 | 100,842 |
| 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7 | 117,649 |
How often each ways count shows up
Most spins land far below the banner figure. If every height is equally likely, a normal spin gives you somewhere around five thousand ways, and two spins out of three come in under the average because the rare tall ones drag it up.
| Ways on the spin | Share of spins | About 1 spin in |
|---|---|---|
| 64 to 999 | 6.48% | 15 |
| 1,000 to 4,999 | 40.89% | 2 |
| 5,000 to 9,999 | 25.17% | 4 |
| 10,000 to 24,999 | 21.76% | 5 |
| 25,000 to 49,999 | 4.98% | 20 |
| 50,000 to 99,999 | 0.71% | 142 |
| 100,000 to 117,648 | 0.01% | 7,776 |
| 117,649 (all six reels at 7) | 0.002% | 46,656 |
Own calculation, script megaways_ways_sim.py. Median 5,184, mean 8,303.8; the 1,000,000-spin check gave mean 8,309 and 25 full-height spins. Real games weight reel heights through their reel strips and do not publish those weights, so a given title can sit above or below this model.
So if you sit down hoping for six full reels outside the bonus, you'll be waiting tens of thousands of spins even in a friendly model. The ways that matter most are the ones on the first three reels. A tall reel 1 with three of the same high symbol does more for you than a tall reel 6.
Counting a Megaways win
Wins read from reel 1 to the right on adjacent reels, and the row never matters. Two wolves on reel 1, one on reel 2 and three on reel 3, with none on reel 4, is a three of a kind paid 2 x 1 x 3 = 6 times. The win log usually shows it on one line with a small ways figure next to it.
Reel 2 is where a lot of Megaways spins die. You can have five wolves stacked on reel 1 and get nothing for them if reel 2 shows none. Most of these games also run a sideways reel across the top of reels 2 to 5 that gives each one an extra symbol, and some stop at six rows. The rules of your game list its maximum.
The Megaways slots Stake players actually spin
- Titles with Megaways in the name, plus Bonanza
- 147
- Wagered on them
- $211.2 million
- Share of all Stake slot wagering
- 1.78%
- Pragmatic Play share of that Megaways wagering
- 91.6% (68 titles)
- Big Time Gaming share
- 6.1% (11 titles)
- Titles under $10,000 wagered in the month
- 49
| Game | Studio | RTP Stake runs | Wagered | Share of Megaways wagering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Lions Megaways 2 | Pragmatic Play | 96.50% | $41.0m | 19.4% |
| Lucky Phoenix Megaways | Pragmatic Play | 98.00% | $31.0m | 14.7% |
| The Dog House Megaways 1000 | Pragmatic Play | 96.50% | $24.5m | 11.6% |
| 5 Lions Megaways | Pragmatic Play | 96.50% | $13.5m | 6.4% |
| Buffalo King Megaways | Pragmatic Play | 96.50% | $12.1m | 5.7% |
| Bonanza | Big Time Gaming | 96.00% | $10.5m | 5.0% |
| The Dog Mansion Megaways | Pragmatic Play | 98.00% | $9.4m | 4.4% |
| The Dog House Megaways | Pragmatic Play | 96.50% | $7.2m | 3.4% |
| Madame Mystique Megaways | Pragmatic Play | 98.00% | $7.0m | 3.3% |
| Lucky Phoenix Megaways 2 | Pragmatic Play | 98.00% | $6.1m | 2.9% |
Source: bonushunt.gg provider analytics games API, window "month", fetched 12 Nov 2026 21:14 UTC, third-party data built from Stake game statistics. Search term "megaways" plus Bonanza, which Big Time Gaming describes as a Megaways game. Shares are our own calculation. Raw file stake-megaways-month-2026-11-12.json.
Megaways is a niche on Stake. It takes under 2% of slot wagering, and almost all of that goes to Pragmatic. Bonanza, BTG's 2016 hit, still takes more money than the other ten BTG titles put together but ranks only 162nd among Stake slots for the month. Four of the top ten run at 98.00% there, so check those first if the format suits you.
Megaways next to other ways of paying
| Format | How a win is found | Count changes per spin |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed paylines | Symbols on set lines, usually from the left | No |
| Fixed ways (243, 1,024) | Adjacent reels from the left, any row | No |
| Megaways | Adjacent reels from the left, any row | Yes, from random reel heights |
| Cluster pays | Groups of touching symbols anywhere | No, grid is fixed |
| Pay anywhere | Enough of one symbol anywhere on screen | No |
What to read before you play
Before you put a real session into one, tap the info button and scroll down to where the bonus is explained. Does the multiplier go up with every cascade and stay there till the bonus ends, or drop back to x1 on each spin? With the first kind the base game is mostly a wait for the feature, and that's normal for these. Note the RTP while you're in there.
Megaways is a trademark of Big Time Gaming. Not affiliated with Big Time Gaming, Pragmatic Play or any studio named here. Names belong to their owners.
Questions
What does Megaways mean in slots?
Each reel shows a random number of symbols per spin. The number of ways to win is all reel heights multiplied together. Wins pay on adjacent reels from the left in any row.
Who invented Megaways?
Big Time Gaming, founded in Sydney in 2011. Bonanza came out in 2016, BTG licenses the mechanic to other studios, and Evolution bought BTG in 2021.
How often do you get 117,649 ways?
In a model where every reel height from 2 to 7 is equally likely, once in 46,656 spins. Real games set their own height odds and rarely publish them.
What are the most played Megaways slots on Stake?
In the month up to 12 November, by amount wagered: 5 Lions Megaways 2, Lucky Phoenix Megaways and The Dog House Megaways 1000, in bonushunt.gg figures.
Do more ways mean a better RTP?
No. The ways count changes how often small wins land. Return and top prize are set by the paytable and the game math, and both are listed with the rules.
Sources
- Big Time Gaming: About. founded 2011, Bonanza 2016, Megaways up to 117,649 ways, licensed to other developers, Evolution 2021 Checked 12 November 2026
- Big Time Gaming: Bonanza. "patented MEGAWAYS system", up to 117,649 ways Checked 12 November 2026
- bonushunt.gg provider analytics (games, month window). 147 Megaways titles on Stake, wagered, configured RTP, rank; third-party data Checked 12 November 2026
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