Starburst

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Starburst is NetEnt’s most recognisable slot, first released in 2012 and still one of the most-played games at online casinos worldwide. It runs on a 5-reel, 3-row grid with 10 fixed paylines and a 96.09% RTP.

The game pays both ways – left to right and right to left – which effectively doubles the number of winning combinations on each spin. Below you’ll find casinos where Starburst is available, followed by a full breakdown of the game’s mechanics, features, and how it compares to its sequels.

How Starburst Plays

The setup is simple. Five reels, three rows, ten paylines. You pick a bet level and coin value to set your stake anywhere from 0.10 to 100 per spin, then hit the green button. Symbols land, and any matching combination of three or more across a payline triggers a payout.

What sets Starburst apart from most slots is the Win Both Ways mechanic. Winning combinations count from the leftmost reel to the right and from the rightmost reel to the left. On a standard slot you’d need matching symbols starting on reel 1 – here, a line starting on reel 5 pays just the same. That single rule doubles your effective payline count to 20.

The pace is fast. There are no complex bonus rounds, no pick-and-click mini-games, no free spins mode. Starburst’s appeal comes from its simplicity and its one standout feature: the expanding wild.

Expanding Wilds and Re-Spins

The Starburst Wild is a multi-coloured star symbol that only appears on reels 2, 3 and 4. When it lands, it expands to fill the entire reel, substitutes for all other symbols, and locks in place while the remaining reels re-spin once for free.

If another wild lands during that re-spin, the same thing happens again – it expands, locks, and triggers another re-spin. You can chain up to three consecutive re-spins this way, with up to three full reels of wilds locked on screen. That’s the game’s peak moment: three locked wild reels with two regular reels spinning alongside them.

The maximum win from a single spin sequence is 500x your total stake. That ceiling is low by modern standards, but the wild re-spins hit regularly enough to keep the balance ticking over.

RTP, Volatility and Hit Rate

Starburst’s default RTP is 96.09%, which sits slightly above the industry average. The hit frequency is 22.6%, meaning roughly one in every four to five spins produces a win of some kind. Most of those wins are small – often less than your stake – but the frequency keeps sessions from draining quickly.

The volatility is rated low. In practical terms, that means longer playing sessions with smaller swings. You’re unlikely to hit a huge payout in a single spin, but you’re equally unlikely to burn through 50 spins without a single return. It’s a session slot rather than a jackpot chaser.

Symbols and Payouts

The paytable has seven regular symbols plus the wild. The lower-value symbols are coloured gems in purple, blue, orange and green. The higher-value symbols are a gold bar (BAR) and a red seven. Five matching BAR symbols across a payline pay 25x your line bet, but with Win Both Ways active, a five-of-a-kind BAR can pay 50x when counted from both directions.

There are no scatter symbols and no bonus trigger symbols. Everything runs through the base game and the expanding wild mechanic.

Starburst vs Starburst XXXtreme vs Starburst Galaxy

NetEnt has released two follow-ups that share the Starburst name but play quite differently:

Starburst XXXtreme keeps the 5×3 grid and expanding wilds but adds Random Wilds on any spin and a Bonus Buy option where you can pay 10x or 95x your stake to guarantee wilds on the next spin. The volatility jumps to high and the max win increases to 200,000x. It’s the same theme rebuilt for players who want bigger risk and bigger reward.

The original remains popular because it fills a different role. Low volatility, predictable sessions, and no decision-making beyond setting your stake. Most online casinos carry both versions, so the choice comes down to whether you prefer steady play or high-variance swings.

Why Starburst Still Gets Played

Starburst launched in 2012 and has outlasted thousands of slots released since. The reasons are practical rather than sentimental. The game loads quickly, the rules take seconds to understand, and the session length is predictable thanks to low volatility. Casinos use it as a default free spins game because it’s familiar to almost every player and the low max win limits their exposure.

The visual design has aged better than most games from that era. The gem symbols are clean, the space background doesn’t distract from the reels, and the soundtrack – a rising electronic pulse during wild re-spins – still works. NetEnt hasn’t needed to overhaul the graphics because the original art style was simple enough to hold up.

For new players, it’s the slot most casino guides recommend as a starting point. For experienced players, it’s often the game they return to between higher-volatility sessions. That range of use is why it still appears on virtually every operator’s game library.

Game Specifications

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