What is wild in casino games?

A wild is a slot symbol that substitutes for other symbols to complete a winning line. It usually can’t replace scatters or bonus symbols, and some wilds add extras such as multipliers or expanding to fill a reel. The paytable lists exactly what it covers. See how to play slots and our paylines entry for how lines are counted.

Usually not, since most slots exclude scatters and bonus symbols from substitution. That keeps free spins and bonus rounds triggering at their designed rate. A few games bend the rule, so read the paytable before relying on a wild to complete a feature. Our scatter entry explains what scatters do and why they work differently from wilds.

A multiplier wild completes a win and multiplies it, often by 2x or more. In RTG’s Megasaur, the red dinosaur wild on reel 4 doubles wins it helps form, according to VegasSlotsOnline. If two multiplier wilds land on one line, the game’s rules decide whether they add or multiply. Read our multiplier entry and the Megasaur review.

In video poker, a wild card can stand for any card to make the best hand. Deuces Wild makes all 2s wild, Sevens Wild makes 7s wild, and Joker Poker adds a joker. The pay table is adjusted to account for the extra strong hands. Compare versions on our Deuces Wild page and in how to play video poker.

No, wilds don’t make a slot pay better than its RTP says. Their effect is already built into the game’s return, so a slot full of wild features can still have a lower RTP than a plain one. Wilds change how wins arrive, not the long-run cost. Compare with how slot RTP works and our volatility entry.

A sticky wild is a wild that stays locked in place for a set number of spins or respins, so it can help complete wins more than once. Each later spin is still random; the sticky wild just keeps one position covered. Third-party catalogs list sticky wilds in RTG titles including Shadow Gods, Escape the North, Alien Wins and T-Rex Lava Blitz, often tied to respins or free spins. Shadow Gods is listed at 96.25% RTP. The help screen says how long a wild sticks and in which modes. Read our Shadow Gods review and Escape the North review.

An expanding wild is a wild that grows to cover its whole reel when it lands, turning one wild position into three or more. That can connect several paylines or ways at once. Third-party catalogs list expanding wilds in RTG’s Twister Wilds, which is rated high volatility, and in Alien Wins, while Egyptian Gold is described with a super expanding wild. Expanding wilds feel big when they land, but their effect is already part of the game’s RTP. See our Twister Wilds review and Alien Wins review for how each version plays.

A walking wild is a wild that moves one reel across the grid after each spin or respin, giving it several chances to complete wins before it walks off the edge. The direction and the number of moves depend on the game. RTG titles with walking wilds, according to third-party catalogs, include Ronin: Quest of Honor, T-Rex Lava Blitz, Rudolph Unleashed and Icy Hot Multi-Game. Respins with a walking wild cost nothing extra, but they don’t raise the slot’s RTP. Read our Ronin: Quest of Honor review and Rudolph Unleashed review.

A random wild feature adds wilds to the reels at random during a spin, on top of any that land normally. Some games turn whole reels wild; others drop wilds onto single positions. Catalog listings show Witchy Wins with random wild reels and random multiplier wilds, Mardi Gras Magic with bursting random wilds, and Mega Monster and Monster Spins with random wilds; Monster Spins is listed at 96.25% RTP. Trigger rates for these features aren’t published, so don’t expect one at any set point. See our Mardi Gras Magic review and Monster Spins review.

A stacked wild is a wild that lands as a column of two or more wild symbols on one reel, so it covers several rows at once instead of one. A full stack works much like an expanding wild, connecting every line or way that passes through that reel. Stacked wilds with wild multipliers appear in RTG’s Rave Riches, which third-party catalogs list at 96.25% RTP and 243 ways. Stacks can make wins arrive in bigger clumps, which adds to the swings of a session. Our Rave Riches review covers the game, and ways to win explains how stacks connect across reels.

On the published figures, yes: SlotCatalog lists RTG’s Sevens Wild at 93.15%, while GamesHub puts Deuces Wild at 97% to 99% and SlotCatalog lists Loose Deuces at 99.07%. At $1.25 a hand and an assumed 600 hands an hour, $750 goes through the machine each hour. That works out to about $51 an hour on average at Sevens Wild, against about $7 at Loose Deuces, both assuming perfect strategy. The wild card is only one part of each pay table. Compare the rules on our Sevens Wild and Loose Deuces pages.

Yes, RTG wild slots generally run in a mobile browser at the casinos that carry them. Silver Oak’s own mobile casino page names T-Rex II, Storm Lords and Cash Bandits 3, all slots with wild symbols. Feature details are easier to miss on a small screen, so open the paytable on your phone and check what the wild substitutes for and whether it multiplies. Lobbies vary by casino, so check before depositing. Our Silver Oak mobile page covers the site, and the mobile casino guide explains browser play on iPhone and Android.