Slots With Wilds — How Do They Work?

Ian John Published 01/10/2026

If you have ever played slot games online, then you will have come across one of their most common bonus features — the Wild symbol. They are probably the most commonly-used bonus symbol in the slots industry, but what are they? What effects do they have and why are they so beneficial for players?

In this explainer post, we will take a look at how the slot machine Wild symbol works, and some of the many different variations of Wild symbols that you will find in almost all the most popular slot games in the world today.

But let’s first begin with a basic definition of the standard slot machine Wild symbol.

What Is A Wild Symbol?

A standard Wild symbol is a symbol that appears on a reel that can be used as a substitute for other symbols on the reel. Usually, this means the lower value and higher value standard symbols only. Wilds tend not to substitute for other symbols (such as Scatter symbols) but there are a small number of games where this may be the case.

In gameplay, when you land a Wild in a position on the reel, it serves as any of the lower or higher value symbols. This means it is easier to make one, or more, winning lines across the reels. The more Wilds that land on a spin, the better your chances are of landing a win, especially if they land on the first two or three reels.

This standard Wild symbol is still widely used in slots today, but there have also been plenty of other types of slots developed over time that feature special Wild symbols. Many of which have special properties, alongside being able to substitute for the standard symbols on the reels.

Slots With Wilds — Common Non-Standard In-Game Symbols

Slot providers love including this mechanic in their games — let’s take a closer look at some of the most common of these and highlight a game where you can experience how each type of Wild works.

Divine Fortune Gold slot

Expanding Wilds

Expanding Wilds are Wilds which, when landed on the reels, will expand in size usually to cover the whole reel it landed upon. However, in some games, the Wild may also expand across the reels for a set number of positions, although this is much less common.

Often used in both the base game and in bonus rounds, such as Free Spins, Expanding Wilds are often paired with a free respin of the reels, which means if your Expanding Wild doesn’t land a win on a first spin, you may land a win on the free respin.

Expanding Wilds are particularly effective when landed either together on a single spin, or when consecutive expanding Wilds are landed on the reels on a free respin. You will commonly see slots with Wilds from NoLimit City with this.

Slot Games with Expanding Wilds – Starburst, Super Elephant, AFK Airport Security, True Grit Redemption 2, Gonzo’s Quest II and Divine Fortune Gold.

Sticky Wilds

Sticky Wilds can appear in the base game, but they are most commonly used in bonus rounds, especially Free Spins bonuses. When triggered, a Sticky Wild will appear in a position on a reel and then stay in that position for a set number of spins, or until the bonus feature has completed.

Alongside the usual benefit of a Wild symbol, Sticky Wilds have an additional benefit in that they remain in place for a set period of time, meaning you can add more Sticky Wilds into other positions on the reels to try and create more winning lines and higher value wins. As you can see from the list below, Sticky Wilds are commonplace in Pragmatic Play titles.

Slot Games with Sticky Wilds – Irish Party, XtremeO, Rhythm Nights, Reactoonz Blitzways, The Dog House Megaways 1000, Fruit Shop Grand Re-Opening and Dead or Alive.

Stacked Wilds

Stacked Wilds are when there are more than one Wild Symbol stacked on top of each other on one or more reels. In some games the Stack of Wilds is capped at the number of spaces on the reels (usually 3), but in some games, the Stacks of Wilds can be much larger than the number of spaces shown on the reels.

The big benefit to Stacked Wilds is that they increase the chances of landing a win, as well as the chances of landing a win across multiple paylines.

However, unlike Expanding Wilds, you can land a partial part of a Stacked Wild on a reel, which means you could see one or two Stacked Wilds on the reels, but the other space may be taken by another symbol.

Slot Games with Stacked Wilds – Cosmic Invaders, The Great Blue, Dolphin Quest, Royal Masquerade, Flux, Jurassic Park, The Three Musketeers.

Walking or Moving Wilds

Walking Wilds (sometimes called Moving Wilds, Wandering Wilds, Shifting Wilds or similar) are Wild symbols which when landed on a reel will remain in place for at least that spin, but may then move onto another position.

Usually, the Walking Wild will move right or left across the reels on consecutive spins before it lands on the first (or last) reel for that spin before disappearing off the reels.

However, for some games, Wilds may be able to move up or down the reels either instead of, or along with, moving left and right across the reels. The more Walking Wilds a player can land on a single or consecutive spins, then the more chance there is of landing a bigger value win.

Slot Games With Walking Wilds – Jack and the Beanstalk, Punk Rocker 2, Raging Rex, El Paso Gunfight, Roadkill, Raging Winds and Narcos.

Harvest Moon grave profits slot screenshot

Multiplier Wilds

These are Wild symbols that also come with a built in multiplier, which increases the value of a win by that multiplier.

When several Multiplier Wilds land together, their values are often combined, either by adding them together, or better still, multiplying them, to create a larger multiplier to apply to the win.

Slot Games with Multiplier Wilds – The Dog House Megaways, Sweet Punks, Fluffy Favourites, Harvest Moon Grave Profits, Wild Moose Bonanza and Gold Blitz.

☑️ Editor’s Take

Multiplier Wilds are both commonplace and potentially profitable in combination with high volatility. Many of the largest streamer payouts in our Big Wins Tracker include this very combination.

Ben Boland – Lead Editor

Less Common Wild Symbol Features

Alongside these more common Wild symbol features, there are a number of less common Wild symbols with other features which we have outlined briefly below.

Raining or Random Wilds – When a predetermined number of Wild symbols are triggered by an in-game event, which means these Wilds then fall onto the reels for that spin.
Exploding Wilds – Often used in newer Cluster Pays slots, Exploding Wilds refers to a Wild which explodes on the reels, turning more Symbols into Wilds and creating additional wins.
Transforming/Duplicating Wilds – A Wild symbol that has the ability to turn other symbols on the reels into additional Wilds.
Wild Scatter – A Wild symbol that also doubles up as a Scatter symbol.
Grouped Wilds – Similar to a stacked Wild, but a grouped wild is stretched across two or three reels and moves as a single unit on those three reels.

As you can see, Wild symbols are an important part of the modern online slot mechanic and they are one of the key reasons why slot games remain unfailingly popular at all crypto casinos.

Featured image credit: NoLimit City/Roobet

Ian John

About Ian John

Ian John has been reviewing and writing about online casinos, poker, sports betting and more for over 20 years – with the last 7 spent diving deep into esports betting. A specialist in covering newly released slot titles, Ian brings sharp, informed analysis to every review. His favourite casino games are blackjack and poker.

View full profile