Big Bass Bonanza: RTP 96.71%, free spins and the retrigger ladder

Key facts

Big Bass Bonanza is a Pragmatic Play pokie made with Reel Kingdom, announced on 14 December 2020: a 5x3 reel set with a listed RTP of 96.71%.
Three, four or five scatters award 10, 15 or 20 free spins. In the feature, fish carry cash values up to 2,000x and the fisherman wild collects every visible fish.
Every fourth wild collected adds 10 spins and lifts the multiplier to 2x, then 3x, then 10x. In our calculation, a five-scatter trigger can run to 50 free spins.
Bigger Bass Bonanza and Big Bass Splash list the same 96.71% RTP; Big Bass Bonanza Megaways lists 96.70%.
Online pokies cannot legally be offered to people in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.

Big Bass Bonanza in one paragraph

Big Bass Bonanza is a 5x3 online pokie from Pragmatic Play, made in partnership with the studio Reel Kingdom and announced on 14 December 2020. The base game is a straightforward five-reel slot; the action is in the free spins, where fish symbols carry cash values and the fisherman wild reels them in. Pragmatic Play lists the RTP at 96.71%. For the company behind it, see our Pragmatic Play pokies guide.

The official rulebook

Item	Pragmatic Play's description
Released	Announced 14 December 2020, with Reel Kingdom
Layout	5x3
Free spins trigger	3, 4 or 5 scatters for 10, 15 or 20 free spins
Money symbols	Fish with values up to 2,000x in the bonus game
Wilds in the feature	Collect all visible money symbols
Retriggers	Every fourth wild adds 10 spins: 2x multiplier, then 3x, then 10x on the third retrigger
Dynamite	If no fish land but the fisherman does, he can throw dynamite to replace symbols with fish (launch release)
RTP	96.71%

How a free spins round unfolds

The trigger. Scatters decide your starting spins: 10, 15 or 20.
Fish land. Each fish shows a cash value. On its own, a fish pays nothing.
The fisherman lands. A fisherman wild collects the value of every fish on screen at that moment.
The collection meter. Each wild collected counts towards the next retrigger.
Retriggers. The fourth wild adds 10 spins and a 2x multiplier, the eighth adds 10 more at 3x, and the twelfth adds 10 more at 10x.

The design means the same fish can be worth very different amounts depending on when the fisherman arrives. Our pokies bonus features guide compares money-collect designs like this with free spins and respins elsewhere.

The retrigger ladder, worked through

Here is the ladder in numbers, in our calculation:

Wilds collected	Spins added	Multiplier on collections from then on	Most spins possible after a 5-scatter start
0 to 3	none	1x	20
4	+10	2x	30
8	+10	3x	40
12	+10	10x	50

Now a worked example. Three fish worth 2x, 5x and 10x your bet are on screen when a fisherman lands:

When the fisherman lands	Collection	At a $1 bet
Before any retrigger (1x)	17x	$17
After the first retrigger (2x)	34x	$34
After the second retrigger (3x)	51x	$51
After the third retrigger (10x)	170x	$170

The jump from 3x to 10x is the big one. That is the shape of the game's volatility: most rounds end on the lower rungs with modest totals, and a small share climb to 10x, where the large wins are concentrated. The launch release put it simply: players can "level up" the bonus, "adding more spins and more multipliers", with a multiplier of up to 10x.

Pundit tip: a long run of fish with no fisherman is the normal way a round ends small. The fish values on screen are only potential until a wild collects them.

What 96.71% RTP costs

RTP describes the long-run average across every player and every spin, not a session. Expected loss is turnover multiplied by (100% minus RTP). In our calculation, $1,000 of total bets on Big Bass Bonanza costs $32.90 on average; on Big Bass Bonanza Megaways at 96.70%, $33.00. The 10 cent difference is noise.

Session reality is wider. A base game where most of the value sits in a feature means you can play a long time between features, and a feature that collects little. Turnover adds up fast: 300 spins at $1 is $300 bet, even if you never had more than $50 in at once. Run your own figures in the pokies calculator, and see pokies hit frequency for why how often a game pays is a separate question from how much.

The Big Bass family

Pragmatic Play has turned the fisherman into a series. These are the official figures for the main follow-ups:

Game	Layout or change	Money symbol cap	RTP listed
Big Bass Bonanza	5x3, the original	2,000x	96.71%
Bigger Bass Bonanza	4x5 edition	4,000x	96.71%
Big Bass Splash	Up to five random modifiers before the feature, such as extra fish, wilds or spins	5,000x	96.71%
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways	3 to 6 scatters for 10 to 25 spins	4,000x	96.70%

Every one keeps the same retrigger ladder: 2x, 3x and finally 10x. For a Pragmatic Play design where multipliers add up inside a tumble instead, see Sweet Bonanza. The bigger caps raise the ceiling, not the average, since the listed RTPs are almost identical. The Megaways edition uses the reel system explained in our Megaways pokies guide.

Big Bass Bonanza and Australian law

No online casino can legally offer Big Bass Bonanza to people in Australia. The Interactive Gambling Act 2001 makes online pokies a prohibited interactive gambling service here, and ACMA has offshore sites that offer them blocked. The Act's offences fall on the operator, so playing is not a crime, but it puts your money with a business no Australian regulator supervises. If it refuses a withdrawal, there is no Australian body to complain to, and you cannot confirm the game is running Pragmatic Play's published 96.71%.

Pragmatic Play's own page carries a free demo for adults, which is enough to see how the collect feature and the ladder behave. If you gamble anywhere, decide the amount first, and visit our gambling help page if it is getting away from you.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the RTP of Big Bass Bonanza?

Pragmatic Play's game page lists 96.71%. Bigger Bass Bonanza and Big Bass Splash also list 96.71%, and Big Bass Bonanza Megaways 96.70%. In our calculation that is about $32.90 lost per $1,000 bet over the long run, with big swings either way in any one session.

How do you trigger free spins on Big Bass Bonanza?

Land 3, 4 or 5 scatter symbols for 10, 15 or 20 free spins. During the feature, wilds collect the values of all money symbols on screen, and every fourth wild retriggers 10 more spins with a higher multiplier.

What is the max multiplier on Big Bass Bonanza?

The win multiplier in the free spins goes 2x after the first retrigger, 3x after the second and 10x after the third. Pragmatic Play's launch release also said players can trigger a multiplier of up to 10x in the round. Separately, single fish can carry values up to 2,000x.

Who makes Big Bass Bonanza?

Pragmatic Play released it in partnership with Reel Kingdom, and announced it on 14 December 2020 as the newest addition to its Reel Kingdom range.

Can I play Big Bass Bonanza pokies in Australia?

Not on any legal Australian site. Online pokies are prohibited services under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, so no operator can lawfully offer them to people here. Playing is not an offence for you, but ACMA blocks these sites and you would have no Australian recourse.