What Are Slot Machine Wild Symbols and How Do They Work?

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Reviewed By: Daniel
Updated: 13 Feb 2023

how do wilds work online slots

New to playing slots online and want to know how slot machine Wild symbols work? Our expert blog post explains how these special features can benefit your play. Despite their dangerous name, slot machine Wild symbols are always a welcome sight when you’re spinning the reels for huge cash prizes. Why? Because they substitute any symbol on the reels to give you a winning combination.

Although this special feature helps you win, how slot machine Wild symbols work vary. Scroll down to learn about different types of Wilds before claiming your exclusive new free spins no deposit bonus to enjoy them today.

What Is A Wild Symbol?

How the Wild symbol looks depends on the slot machine. For example, the Wild symbol for Disco Diamonds is, you’ve guessed it, a disco ball. Whereas, the Rabbit Hole Riches slot has three: the queen of Hearts, towers and a Cheshire cat.

Every Wild symbol works by filling in for a missing symbol of a winning payline. For instance, if you need three symbols to form a winning payline and you only have two, a Wild symbol can pitch in for the missing symbol to give you a win.

When Does A Wild Symbol Not Work?

Unfortunately, Wilds don’t work to substitute bonus symbols that unlock such free spins or scatters. However, Wild symbols can give you a win by substituting for the casino game’s regular symbols to make a winning combination.

Different Types of Wilds

Expanding Wilds

Expanding Wilds multiply to occupy more than one space. When they ‘expand’ up or down, they fill the whole reel to give you one row or column of wilds to help you convert losing paylines into winning ones. Like the sound of this Wild? Our experts think NetEnt’s Starburst slot machine is the best example of an Expanding Wild casino game.

Multiplier Wilds

This exciting slot game feature multiplies your final win. When you land five symbols and a 10X Multiplier Wild, your payout will be ten times bigger. Depending on the bet you place, this could reward you with a huge cash prize.

Sticky Wilds

When a Sticky Wild appears it ‘sticks’ to the reels for your when you spin again. Also known as, Frozen and Locked Wilds, they remain on the reels to help you bag a winning payline sequence on the next spin.

Spreading Wilds

Spreading Wilds grow out to cover other reels. If you land a Spreading Wild on the third reel, it will ‘spread’ to substitute a symbol adjacent to it to create a winning payline.

Duplicating Wilds

Also known as Replicating Wilds, Duplicating Wilds change regular symbols into Wild icons. This could apply to random icons or symbols in adjacent positions. Again, this increases your chances of bagging a winning payline.

Colossal Wilds

True to their name, these can give you huge wins. Colossal Wilds cover multiple reel positions – two, three or four – to increase your chances of landing paylines.

Random Wilds

Random Wilds appear at irregular times during a base game or bonus feature to substitute icons. As is the case with all these symbols, the probability of them falling on your reels depends on the slot’s volatility

Now you know how slot machine wild symbols work, check out and play the newest slot machines to try and trigger these in-game features to win big today.