Starburst Slot (NetEnt)

Along with the likes of Book of Dead (Play ‘n GO) and Big Bass Splash (Pragmatic Play), you’ll find lots of Starburst free spins offers at UKGC-licensed casinos as part of the welcome offers. We’ve cherry-picked 5 offers for you:

The Starburst slot is played with 5 reels, 3 rows and 10 fixed paylines. Typically, landing 3 or more matching symbols from left to right on any payline and beginning with the leftmost reel will result in a winning combination. Starburst uses Win Both Ways technology meaning winning combinations can begin from right to left (across any payline and beginning from the rightmost reel). Only the highest win per payline is paid each time.

Starburst can be played from as little as 10p a spin to as much as £100 per spin. Bet limits do vary at different online casino sites with the max bet sometimes capped at £10, £20 or £50 per spin. You can change your stake by choosing your level (1-10) and the Coin Value (0.01 to 1.00).

Players located outside the UK have a few more gameplay options. There’s Auto Play which allows up to 1,000 auto spins with limits. You also have a Quick Spin setting.

The maximum Starburst RTP rate is 96.09%. Just above the industry RTP average of around 96%, 68.69% of that RTP is attributable to the base game whilst 27.4% is for the Starburst Wild re-spins.

Furthermore, there are 6 different RTP settings. All NetEnt slots have multiple RTP versions though with the most popular games (like Starburst) having more. The other RTP settings are 95.05%, 94.05%, 93.05%, 92.05% and 90.05%. To check which version you’re playing, head to the Paytable at the casino you’re playing at.

The volatility is in the low bracket meaning smaller and more frequent payouts. That said, Starburst comes with a 22.7% hit frequency rate meaning a winning combination will land every 4.4 spins on average. Landing a Starburst Wild symbol (which awards re-spins) will occur every 11.9 spins (8.4% frequency).

Lastly, the Starburst slot can award maximum wins of 500 times your total bet. In fact, it’s 250 times your total bet but the Win Both Ways technology doubles this amount.

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. 

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Chris’ online gambling career has spanned more than 2 decades. This includes working for online casino sites, consulting for software/slot providers and running his own slots portal. 

With a passion for slots, Chris reviews games from an honest and blunt point of view to give readers an accurate portrayal of the slots they might play. The slot games are just the start as Chris deep dives into the slot sites to provide factual and insightful information as to where to play the games he so loves. 

With a space theme, the Starburst slot is mesmerising and dazzling visually. Visually superb despite being released in 2012, it mixes vibrant colours and brilliantly lit jewels against a dark background sprinkled with starry particle effects.

Remastered a few times by NetEnt, this timeless classic looks just as good today as it did when first released. You’ll notice the sights and sounds of bygone arcades with sounds that are electric as well as relaxing and soothing. The arcade-like atmosphere intensifies as you land winning combinations and Starburst Wilds.

On the reels, you’ll come across 5 gem symbols (purple, blue, orange, green and yellow) as well as a 7 Sphere and BAR Sphere. The latter pays the most awarding 25 times your total bet for 5 in combination. Win Both Ways technology means a 50 times bet payout too.

Then you have the most important symbol of all, the Starburst Wild. Appearing on the 3 central reels, the wild substitutes for all standard symbols to create winning combinations where possible. Importantly, it expands to reward you with a fully wild reel and a subsequent re-spin. More details on this can be found below. Here’s a list of all symbol payouts and functions:

• Purple Gem/Blue Gem: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.5, 1 or 2.5 x bet
• Orange Gem: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.7, 1.5 or 4 bet
• Green Gem: 3, 4 or 5 = 0.8, 2 or 5 x bet
• Yellow Gem: 3, 4 or 5 = 1, 2.5 or 6 x bet
• 7: 3, 4 or 5 = 2.5, 6 or 12 x bet
• BAR: 3, 4 or 5 =5, 20 or 25 x bet
• Starburst Wild: Substitutes, expands + award a re-spin

Starburst Mobile

Originally designed for desktop use, Starburst has been remastered using HTML5 technology. Available to play on tablet and smartphone devices (that use iOS and Android operating systems), there’s a mobile version called Starburst Touch. It’s simpler than the desktop version and just as impressive visually. Make sure to have sounds on to get the full experience.

With just the one bonus feature, the Starburst game is rather simple compared to new online slots. However, the Starburst Wilds feature is rather engaging awarding up to 3 wild reels and 3 re-spins.

Starburst Wilds 

With no traditional free spins or bonus rounds, Starburst focuses entirely on the Starburst Wilds feature. When a Starburst Wild symbol lands on any of the 3 middle reels (i.e. 2, 3 and/or 4), it expands to award a fully wild reel.

A subsequent re-spin is then awarded with the wild reel locked in place. If another Starburst Wild lands, it also expands and gives you a further re-spin. This can occur a third time for 3 wild reels and 3 re-spins in total. If no Starburst Wild symbol lands, the feature ends.

Combining Starburst Wild reels with the standard symbols, there are wins of up to 500 times your total bet available. Below is the maximum amount you can win per symbol:

• Purple Gem/Blue Gem: 50 x bet
• Orange Gem: 80 x bet
• Green Gem: 100 x bet
• Yellow Gem: 120 x bet
• 7: 240 x bet
• BAR: 500 x bet

The Starburst slot is one of the oldest games you’ll come across. That said, it has achieved legendary status. Offering simple gameplay, the mesmerising visuals and arcade-like light effects when you land a win keep players coming back for me.

With just the one bonus feature, there are no free spins but the expanding Starburst Wilds can lead to 3 wild reels and up to 3 re-spins. Yes, 500 times bet maximum wins per spin or re-spin isn’t exactly game-changing but the low volatility and simplicity of the gameplay makes it a firm favourite with thousands of avid fans.

Always featured prominently in slot site lobbies, Starburst was one of the first slot games where free spins promotions were available. This catapulted Starburst’s popularity even further.

With an RTP of up to 96.09%, there are 5 other RTP settings which, unfortunately, are used by many casino sites. If you love this classic game, make sure you do your homework and check the RTP with the game’s Paytable.

In conclusion, Starburst is an iconic slot game which is amongst the most popular ever. Still loved as much as when it was released, this simple game has a way of keeping you coming back for more.

With a sequel demanded by fans for years, NetEnt eventually released Starburst XXXtreme in July 2021. Very similar in appearance, it offers re-spins and expanding wilds as well as random multipliers up to 450x on the 3 middle reels (up to 150x per reel). With a 96.26% RTP rate, max wins can reach 200,000 times your total bet!

For reference, other legendary slot games include Book of Dead (Play ‘n GO), Immortal Romance (Stormcraft Studios) and Bonanza Megaways (Big Time Gaming).

The Starburst slot review was written by Chris Taylor from our OLBG Expert team who who 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. 

Jenny Mason

Slots content manager

Jenny Mason has more than 17 years of experience in the online gambling industry and has worked for some of the UK’s top betting brands. She started at OLBG in 2014 and her role involves creating great content and looking after the marketing activity. Jenny is knowledgeable in all areas of online sports betting and has an interest in slots and bingo.

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🎰🍒🍀 Jenny has become an expert with online slots completing hundreds of our various new slot reviews and creating and writing some of the slot articles found on site. She has become a firm fan of NoLimitCity and Hacksaw gaming slot in this process and always awaits the new releases with much anticipation