Slots can be tough. And we’ve documented how they’ve been getting tougher, but some players are noticing things and wondering if they’ve always been a thing. One example:
Have slot manufacturers changed in how they pay out on bonuses? It seems years ago when you got a bonus, you knew you were in the money. Lately when you get a bonus now, oftentimes you get nothing or zero on your bonus win. Example 7 or 15 free spins ends up with 0 wins. I don’t recall that happening years ago.
Loretta B.
Here’s the crazy part: Not only was it a thing years ago, but one manufacturer actively tinkered with ideas after players expressed frustration with those bonuses!
One slot maker, WMS, which was absorbed into what is now Light & Wonder somewhere around a decade ago, released a line of slots that was pushing the envelope at the time around volatility.
One aspect to their slots is that $0 bonuses weren’t necessarily unusual, and given how tough the games were to begin with, some were turned off.
When their next generation of games came out, they introduced something called the Bonus Guarantee. If you didn’t win at least 10x (some games had 5x, but most had 10x when it debuted), you’d be given the difference, so you never had less than a 10x bonus.
But players disliked it for a different reason – it rang a loud bell, slapped a giant image that said Bonus Guarantee, and basically rubbed it in our faces that the bonus wasn’t good. So, over time, the feature continued to be deployed, but in more and more subtle ways.
Of course, many manufacturers have also aimed to dodge this altogether by simply paying out for the triggering of the bonus to begin with.
Lightning Link and Dragon Link can deliver no wins during the free spins, but you still get 2x for getting three bonus symbols – not exactly amazing, but better than nothing.
Lightning Link is a 10 year old game series now (can you believe it) and the games with the 0 bonus came out more than 15 years ago.
So it’s definitely been out there. But it’s fair to say as bonuses get harder (but potentially more lucrative when things go the right way) that more slots have the risk of no wins than before. And it depends on the type of bonus – Hold and Spin bonuses generally have a guarantee built into them since you collect coins upfront, regardless of if any more even land.
But with free spins, it’s certainly possible to simply have no wins.
Have a question? Submit yours here!
in my experience, the buffalo games are the worst! No line hits and maybe a 2x bonus.. so many empty spins. I’m not playing them anymore.
We feel that Kathy – Buffalo games give you a little something for triggering the bonus, but it still feels frustrating when that’s all you get.