Big Bass Return to the Races Slot (Pragmatic Play)

The Big Bass Return to the Races slot has 5 reels, 3 rows and 10 fixed paylines. As you would expect from a paylines game, you need a certain number of matching symbols to land on successive reels, starting from the leftmost reel and across any of the paylines. Most symbols require 3 or more with the highest-value symbol requiring 2 or more.

Bets-wise, you can spin away from as little as 10p a spin. The maximum bet is £250 per spin but this will be limited at most slot sites. Changing your bet is simple: use the plus and/or minus buttons. If you’re not in the UK, you can opt for Autoplay (up to 1,000 auto spins) and Turbo/Quick Spin modes.

The Big Bass Return to the Races RTP rate is 96.07% which is in line with the online slot game average of 96%. As to be expected, Pragmatic Play has created 95.07% and 94.07% RTP alternative settings. At your chosen gambling side, open the Paytable and check which RTP rate you’re playing with. The Bass Return to the Races demo and the majority of all demo slot games at OLBG use the highest RTP setting where possible.

Very high on the volatility front (5/5), winning combinations will land every 7 spins (so a hit frequency rate of 14.29%). Triggering either of the free spins features will occur every 1 in 113 spins.

When it comes to win potential, Big Bass Return to the Races comes with 5,000 times bet max wins. The max win probability is 1 in 3,378,378 spins with the chances of winning 1,000 times your total bet or higher 1 in 62,459 spins.

With a horse racing theme, the Big Bass Return to the Races slot sees you head back to the winning enclosure. The 24^th game in the Big Bass slots series and the follow-up game to Big Bass Day at the Races (released in March 2024).

With a racecourse the setting, it’s all very jolly and pleasant. For fans of the Big Bass series, you’ll notice the soundtrack is the exact one used in Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake which is a little odd as it has an Athurian Legend twist. That said, it does feel a little bit ‘Irish’ which is synonymous with horse racing.

On the reels, there are colourful A, K, Q, J and 10 royals. The higher value symbols include Horse Money, binoculars, pints of beer, picnic boxes and champagne buckets. The champage bucket symbol is the most lucrative awarding 200 times your total bet for 5 across any payline.

Not appearing in the base game, there is a Wild symbol which appears on all reels during the free spins and substitutes for all paying symbols. Wilds also collect Horse Money symbols (more information on this below). Finally, there is a Scatter symbol which is key triggering the free spins. Below is a list of symbol payouts and functions:

• Q/J/10: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.2, 1 or 5 x bet
• A/K: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.2, 2.5 or 10 x bet
• Horse Money: 3, 4 or 5 = 1, 5 or 20 x bet
• Pint of Beer/Binoculars: 3, 4 or 5 = 2, 10 or 50 x bet
• Picnic Box: 3, 4 or 5 = 3, 15 or 100 x bet
• Champagne Bucket: 2, 3, 4 or 5 = 0.5, 5, 20 or 200 x bet
• Wild: Substitutes for all symbols above & collect Horse Money symbols during free spins
• Scatter: 3+ triggers Free Spins feature

Big Bass Return to the Races Mobile

Like with all Pragmatic Play slots, HTML5 technology is used. This means Big Bass Return to the Races can be enjoyed on mobile, tablet and desktop devices. If you’re a smartphone player, it’s optimised to adapt to iOS and Android mobiles. The only difference is the game appears in Portrait Mode to make better use of the vertical setup.

The Big Bass Return to the Races slot has 5 bonus features. In the Free Spins feature, the aim is to land Wild and Horse Money symbols where Wilds collect Horse Money values (up to 5,000 x bet). Every 4^th Wild gives you more free spins and increases the Horse Money multiplier up to 10x. In the Golden Cup Free Spins, there are only blanks, Wilds and Horse Money symbols. In both games, there are plenty of random modifiers.

Free Spins

Big Bass Return to the Races focuses on the Free Spins feature which is played when you land 3 or more Scatter symbols anywhere during a base game spin. 3, 4 or 5 Scatters will reward you with 10, 15 or 20 free spins, respectively.

If 2 Scatter symbols land during a base game spin, there is a chance the Hook feature may be triggered randomly. A third Scatter is brought onto the screen to trigger the free spins. Also, if the Scatters can move down 1 position, the reels with Scatters can respin which can result in another Scatter landing.

Once in, you pick a card from 12 cards on the screen. If you reveal a Bonus card, you’ll play the regular Free Spins feature. Revealing a Golden Cup card will see you play the Golden Cup Free Spins feature instead (more details below).

During the regular free spins, Wild symbols collect the values of the Horse Money symbols on the reels. These are worth between 2 and 5,000 times your total bet each. Every 4^th Wild symbol collected retriggers the feature with 10 extra free spins awarded. The multiplier for the Horse Money symbols collected also increases up to 10x:

Golden Cup Free Spins

To play the Golden Cup Free Spins feature, you need to unveil a Gold Cup card when you trigger the regular Free Spins feature. You’ll notice that symbols fade away with an empty grid remaining. These special reels will display Horse Money and Wild symbols as well as blanks.

With 10 free spins awarded, all paylines or winning combinations with Horse Money symbols are awarded with every Wild symbol that lands collecting the value of Horse Money symbols in view.

Every 4^th Wild symbol collect retriggers the feature with 10 free spins awarded. The multiplier for Horse Money symbols increases to 2x, 3x and finally 10x.

Random Extras

With both free spins games, there are number of random modifiers that can help you win more. These include:

• When Wilds appear with no Horse Money symbols, Horse Money symbols can be randomly added to random positions.
• When you see Horse Money symbols with no Wilds, a lasso appears to pull up a random reel to bring a Wild onto the screen.
• When Wilds appear with no Horse Money symbols, a curtains animation appears to change all the symbols (except Wilds).

Ante Bet 

Want a higher chance of landing Scatter symbols? This an Ante Bet feature which is enabled by using the Ante Bet button to the side of the reels. Your bet will increase by 50% with the RTP rate remaining the same. There is a chance of 3 Scatter symbols landing randomly when 2 Scatters appear.

Buy Free Spins

Players outside the UK can buy their way into the free spins features. With the RTP rate remaining the same, here is how much it will cost:

• Free Spins feature: 100 x your total bet
• Golden Cup Free Spins feature: 270 x your total bet

Big Bass Return to the Races Slot

Rating: 2.8/5

Big Bass Return to the Races is a clone of Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake with no new features, modifiers or extras added. Unfortunately, it doesn't add anything new or exciting for fans of the Big Bass slot game series.

Chris Taylor

The Big Bass Return to the Races slot is the 24^th game in the popular series. Yes, 24^th! Fully expecting a sequel to Big Bass Day at the Races, it’s a horse-racing themed version of Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake.

With a regular Free Spins feature where Wilds collect Horse Money symbol values, collecting 4 Wilds will see you win more free spins and increase the Horse Money multiplier up to 10x. Yawn.

In the Golden Cup Free Spins feature, blanks, Horse Money and Wilds appear. I’m not sure if this increases your chances of winning big or not.

With 5,000 times bet max wins, Big Bass Return to the Races is a clone of Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake. The only difference (apart from visuals) is the hit frequency rate which is higher in this version (14.29% vs 11.76%). Comparing to Big Bass Day the Races, the latter offers double the win potential but the max probability is also significantly higher:

In summary, the Big Bass Return to the Races slot is just another in a long line of Big Bass slots. I do believe Pragmatic Play do need to push the boat out a lot more and introduce new bonus features, higher max win potential and new themes/visuals.

If you’re a fan of Big Bass slots, I would opt for Big Bass Splash or Big Bass Bonanza which are the 2 most popular in the series. You’ll also find lots of no wagering free spins offers which you can find in OLBG’s dedicated guide:

ALSO READ Best Free Spins No Wagering Offers 2025

If you want to know the ins and outs of every Big Bass game, check out OLBG’s comprehensive guide to Big Bass slots:

ALSO READ Ultimate Guide to Big Bass Bonanza Slots

The Big Bass Return to the Races slot review was written by Chris Taylor from our OLBG Expert team who has written over 10,000 slot game reviews in an iGaming career spanning over 2 decades. It was then verified/checked by Jenny Mason, our prime slot reviewer who has 17+ years working in online gambling, top UK brands. 

Chris Taylor

The king of slots

Chris Taylor is an industry veteran originally from Gibraltar. Having worked in the online gambling industry since 2004, Chris loves slots and has reviewed over 10,000 online slot games. Running a slots-focused website for 13 years, Chris is the go-to guy for everything slots-related.