Starburst is NetEnt's space-themed slot released in 2012, one of the best-known titles in the industry for its simplicity and expanding-wild feature. Per NetEnt's own game page, it carries a 96.08% RTP, a 23% hit frequency, 10 fixed paylines, and a maximum win of 800x the stake on a 5x3 grid. Nearly fifteen years after launch, it remains one of the most widely distributed slot titles among NetEnt-carrying operators worldwide, and its mechanics have influenced dozens of later releases that reuse the same expanding-wild idea.
Verified facts
- RTP: 96.08%
- Hit frequency: 23%
- Paylines: 10
- Maximum win: 800x the stake
- Grid: 5x3
- Bet range: —
- Volatility: —
Verified official source: netent.com (2026-07-06)
Verified facts about Starburst
Official RTP: 96.08%. Hit frequency: 23%. Paylines: 10, fixed (not adjustable). Maximum win: 800x the stake. Grid: 5 reels by 3 rows. These figures come directly from the game page at netent.com (verified 06/07/2026) — not from a third-party aggregator.
NetEnt's own page publishes a bet-range figure in euros; we do not carry that euro figure over as a Pennsylvania/USD bet range, because we have not verified the specific dollar stake limits a PGCB-licensed operator configures for its own real-money build of the game. Bet ranges, minimum coin values, and total-stake ceilings are typically set by the operator, not the studio, and can vary from one Pennsylvania casino to the next even when the underlying game is identical.
Important: the RTP figure above is the studio-level figure published by the game's own provider. Slot providers commonly certify more than one RTP configuration for the same title (this is standard, documented industry practice across regulated US markets, not specific to Pennsylvania), and a PGCB-licensed operator may run a different certified configuration than the one shown here. Always check the live RTP disclosed in the game's own paytable or info panel (the "i" icon) inside the operator where you actually play — do not assume the provider's headline studio figure is the one running at every Pennsylvania casino.
How Starburst plays
Starburst runs on an expanding-wild mechanic: when the multi-coloured Starburst wild symbol lands on reels 2, 3, or 4, it expands to cover the whole column and triggers a free re-spin with that reel locked as a wild. This can chain up to three consecutive re-spins within a single round, since a new wild landing during a re-spin can itself trigger another expansion.
Because it has 10 fixed paylines that pay both ways (left-to-right and right-to-left), Starburst carries a relatively high hit frequency (23%, per NetEnt) compared with many higher-volatility modern titles — meaning wins land more often, though at typically smaller relative size than a high-volatility title like Bonanza or Gates of Olympus. There is no separate bonus round beyond the wild re-spin sequence; the entire game loop is built around this one mechanic, which is part of why it has stayed simple to learn across a wide range of player skill levels.
RTP and hit frequency: what they mean in practice
The 96.08% RTP (Return to Player) is a statistical average calculated over millions of simulated spins by the certification lab, not a prediction about any single session. The 23% hit frequency means that, on average, just under one spin in four produces some payout, however small — a distinct figure from RTP that helps anticipate the pace of play, not profitability.
NetEnt does not publish a text volatility label (low/medium/high) for Starburst on this page. With a 23% hit frequency and a moderate 800x maximum win, the game's mathematical design corresponds to what the industry commonly describes as low-to-medium volatility, though that specific text label does not appear in the verified official documentation. In practical terms, this design tends to produce a steadier bankroll curve over a session than a high-volatility title, with fewer large single hits but more frequent small-to-moderate ones.
How Starburst compares to the other titles on this list
Against the five other verified titles covered on this site, Starburst sits at the low-volatility end of the spectrum: its 800x maximum win is the smallest of the group by a wide margin (compare Bonanza's 26,000x or Sweet Bonanza's 21,175x), and its 23% hit frequency is the only one of the six for which a provider-published figure exists at all. That trade-off — smaller peak wins in exchange for more frequent, more predictable smaller ones — is a deliberate design choice by NetEnt, not a limitation, and is one reason the title is often recommended to players who are new to online slots or who prefer a steadier session over one built around chasing a rare large multiplier.
If you are specifically looking for a game with a documented shot at a very large multiplier, the Pragmatic Play and Big Time Gaming titles on this site (Gates of Olympus, Sweet Bonanza, Bonanza) publish materially higher maximum-win ceilings and explicit high/very-high volatility labels — Starburst is simply built around a different mathematical profile.
Availability at Pennsylvania online casinos
We have not been able to confirm this specific title against any PGCB-licensed Pennsylvania operator's own official game library. Operator game libraries are JS-rendered, require a live account, and are geo-gated to Pennsylvania IP addresses, which means a remote verification pass cannot confirm a live title list without hands-on access from inside the state. Third-party listings claiming a given casino carries this game are common online, but we do not treat those as sufficient sourcing under our verify-gate policy — only an operator's own official library or an official provider/PGCB source counts. This does not mean the game is unavailable in Pennsylvania; it means we have not yet verified it against a source that meets our bar.
The most reliable way to confirm whether a specific PGCB-licensed casino carries this title today is to log into the operator's own account (a free account is typically enough to browse the lobby, even before depositing) and search the slots library by name or by filtering on the provider. Because operators periodically rotate their catalogues — adding new releases, and occasionally dropping older ones as content deals change — a listing we could verify in the past would not necessarily still be accurate today, which is another reason we do not carry forward a stale claim rather than re-verify it. If you cannot find the exact title inside one operator, checking two or three PGCB-licensed casinos in turn is a quick way to build your own current shortlist; see our Pennsylvania casino reviews for the full list we track.
Frequently asked questions
What is the RTP of Starburst?
The official RTP published by NetEnt is 96.08%. PGCB-licensed operators may run a different certified configuration — always check the game's own paytable inside the casino where you play.
What is the maximum win on Starburst?
The official maximum win is 800x the stake, per NetEnt's game page.
Is Starburst a high- or low-volatility slot?
NetEnt does not publish a text volatility label for Starburst. With a 23% hit frequency and a moderate maximum win (800x), the design corresponds to what the industry usually calls low-to-medium volatility.
How does the expanding wild feature work?
When the wild symbol lands on reel 2, 3, or 4, it expands to fill the entire column and awards a free re-spin with that reel locked in place as a wild. A new wild landing during the re-spin can trigger another expansion, chaining up to three re-spins per round per NetEnt's published mechanic description.
Is Starburst available at Pennsylvania online casinos?
We have not been able to confirm this title in a specific PGCB-licensed operator's own official game library. Check the live slots library inside your chosen casino account for current availability.
How does Starburst compare to higher-volatility slots like Bonanza?
Starburst's 800x maximum win is far smaller than Bonanza's 26,000x or Sweet Bonanza's 21,175x, reflecting a deliberately lower-volatility design: more frequent, smaller wins rather than rare large ones.