Sticky Wilds Slots: Respins, Free Spins and Game Comparisons

Sticky wilds stay on the reels between spins instead of disappearing after one result. Some remain for an entire free-spins round; others belong to a shorter respin sequence. This guide compares the different triggers, reel positions and reset rules, including the choice in The Dog House Megaways and the symbol-holding feature in Respin Circus.

How sticky wilds work

Starting the feature: a wild may lock when it lands, when it contributes to a win or only after a separate bonus trigger. Landing an ordinary wild in the base game does not necessarily start a sticky sequence.
Reel positions: some games permit wilds only on the middle reels; others put them on the outer reels. A locked symbol still has to meet the game’s substitution and winning-combination rules.
Duration and reset: read the remaining-spin counter alongside the wilds. A new wild can stay without adding another spin. Other features continue only when more qualifying symbols land.
Multipliers: a value attached to one wild may affect only wins using that symbol. It is different from a multiplier applied to the entire spin, and different games combine multiple wild values differently.
Cost of the next spin: distinguish an awarded respin or bonus spin from a paid mode that charges to retain positions. The word “sticky” describes the symbol’s behaviour, not the price of continuing.

Which sticky-wild games are compared here?

The five profiles below cover distinct approaches to retained symbols. The Dog House Megaways offers a choice between sticky and newly placed wilds; Respin Circus holds groups of matching symbols during respins. Potion Factory keeps potion wilds throughout awarded free spins, while Playboy Gold separates its central jumbo symbols from wilds on the outside reels. Reel Heist belongs in the comparison because its police chase shows why a persistent character is not necessarily fixed in one position. The wider catalogue includes historical releases and related features, so inclusion is not a current-availability or payout ranking.

Game rules and feature descriptions

Last checked: 11 July 2026. The links within the game profiles describe the relevant editions. The regulatory sources above explain game-information and random-outcome requirements; they do not establish an individual slot’s wild positions, free-spin count or RTP.

Affiliate disclosure: SlotsLike may receive commission from marked operator links. Commercial relationships do not determine mechanic classifications or factual conclusions.

Using historical game reviews

11 July 2026: catalogue reference date. Older reviews can help identify a game and its feature names. A later release with a similar title may change the bonus, reel layout or payout rules; compare the complete game title before carrying those details across.

The catalogue below includes Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail, Respin Circus, Release The Kraken, Reel Heist, Lost Boys Loot, The Phantom Of The Opera, Playboy Gold, Potion Factory, The Wild 3, Curious Cabinet, The Dog House Megaways, Wild Swarm 3 Chocolate Eggs, Wild Swarm Triple Hive and Rocket Fellas Inc. Use the individual comparisons further down to distinguish fixed positions, moving characters and other held-symbol features. These names are routes into the archive, not a claim that every title has the same bonus or is currently offered by a casino.

Barnyard Bash Egg-streme

Athena Ascending

Bangkok Hilton

Anubis vs Horus Twin Titans

Wild Swarm Triple Hive

Sticky Bandits Thunder Rail

Respin Circus

Release The Kraken

Reel Heist

Lost Boys Loot

The Phantom Of The Opera

Playboy Gold

Potion Factory

The Wild 3

Curious Cabinet

The Dog House Megaways

Wild Swarm 3 Chocolate Eggs

Rocket Fellas Inc

Sticky Wilds Slots Casinos

Where to play Sticky Wilds slots? You can play Sticky Wilds feature slot games at the below online casinos.

Comparing sticky-wild features

Sticky wilds are also called locked or frozen wilds. They usually substitute for regular paying symbols, with exceptions set out in the paytable. What sets them apart is that they remain while other positions spin again.

Start with the feature you want to understand: an awarded free-spin round, a sequence extended by more matching symbols, or a reel feature with restricted wild positions. The five examples below explain those differences. A larger number of wilds or free spins is not enough to decide which game will return more money.

Reel Heist
Reel Heist builds its feature around a police chase across the reels. Evolution’s game page describes robbers appearing on the reels and a chase starting when the Wild Cop arrives. Capturing a robber awards its bounty. The character’s movement is part of the feature, rather than a promise of a fixed wild position across a free-spin round.

Compare that with Potion Factory, where the retained position itself is the important rule. In Reel Heist, follow the cop and robber; in Potion Factory, follow the cells already occupied by wilds. Neither a cop appearing nor a wild remaining establishes that the next result will be the game’s largest win. The supplier lists a 96.06% RTP configuration, but that figure should not be transferred to every casino version without checking its information screen.

The Dog House Megaways
The Dog House Megaways has up to 117,649 ways to win, with wilds carrying 2x or 3x multipliers on reels two to five. Three to six scatters trigger a choice of two free-spins features.
In Sticky Wilds, the award is 7–20 free spins, and the locked wilds change size with the Megaways reels. Raining Wilds instead starts with 15–30 free spins and can place new wilds in random positions on each spin. Choose the Sticky Wilds feature if you want the version with locked symbols. These ranges are listed on Pragmatic Play’s game page.

The two bonus choices therefore change more than the starting counter. Sticky Wilds retains positions as the round develops; Raining Wilds places wilds afresh. A longer starting allocation in Raining Wilds does not by itself make it the better-paying choice. Keep the full Megaways title in mind when comparing it with other Dog House releases, whose layouts and bonus rules can differ.

Respin Circus
Respin Circus uses 64 ways to win and builds its respins around a growing group of matching symbols. A winning line of three or more identical symbols starts the feature, holding the triggering symbols in place. Further matching symbols and wilds can enlarge the group and keep the respins going. A win made from higher-value symbols upgrades the held group; lower-value wins are paid without locking those symbols. The rabbit wild also stays during a respin and can apply a multiplier or expand to cover a reel. That makes this a useful contrast with The Dog House Megaways: the Circus sequence continues through additions to its held symbols, while the Dog House Sticky Wilds option keeps wild positions throughout its awarded free spins. ELK describes the respin and symbol-upgrade rules.

Potion Factory
Potion Factory’s historical free-spins help screen gives three award ranges: five to eight spins at level one, eight to eleven at level two, and twelve to fifteen at level three. During those spins, a Sticky Wild Potion remains in the position where it appeared until the round ends. The same position can therefore contribute to several results during the round.

This makes the free-spin counter and the occupied positions useful to read together. An early wild can be present for more of the round than one arriving near the end. Each subsequent spin still needs a paying combination to award a prize. The same help screen shows a five-wild paytable award of 500. A symbol-table number is not automatically a 500x-total-stake jackpot: its betting units matter. Use the payout rules of the actual edition to convert it into cash. Compare the potion’s fixed position and the number of awarded spins with the held-symbol sequence in Respin Circus.

Playboy Gold
Playboy Gold separates the four middle reels from the two outside reels. The published game rules describe Jumbo Blocks spanning the central four. A complete block in the base game can trigger a multiplier, a credit award or respins. That does not mean every full block starts the same wild feature.

The Playboy logo is the wild, appearing on reels one and six during free spins and respins. It does not substitute for the wheel scatter. Three wheel scatters instead start a separate wheel bonus, which can award cash, a matching game or ten free spins. Those free spins cannot retrigger in the documented edition.

When comparing this with Dog House Megaways, look at the allowed positions first: the outside reels here have a different role from Dog House’s middle-reel wilds. Also distinguish the central block award from the scatter-triggered wheel. The six-reel, 100-line layout does not make all its bonus routes interchangeable.

A sticky-wild sequence, step by step

Consider an illustrative bonus with five free spins, fixed wild positions and no retriggers. A wild lands on reel two during the first spin. It stays for spins two, three, four and five. A second wild arrives on reel four during spin three, leaving two occupied positions for the last two spins. Both clear when the fifth spin finishes. This is an explanation of a possible rule set, not the exact bonus of every game in the catalogue.

The second wild did not restart the counter in that example. Its arrival changed the available substitutes, while the number of spins continued to fall. In a feature that awards another respin when a qualifying symbol joins the held group, the same-looking event can also extend the sequence. That is why “new wild landed” and “extra spin awarded” must be read separately.

Position matters as well as quantity. If a game pays left to right from reel one, wilds on reels two and four still need a suitable starting symbol and a valid combination through the intervening reels. Two retained wilds do not count as two guaranteed wins. A wild’s own paytable award, if it has one, is another separate rule.

Does keeping a wild cost another bet?

A respin awarded within a feature and a paid hold are different. Wild Gambler is a useful example: its Lock & Spin rules describe a separately priced spin with selected wild positions. The quoted cost changes with their arrangement. Its eight-spin free bonus is a different route to retaining wilds. Check the displayed stake before continuing in a paid mode; an attractive arrangement does not make that price recoverable or the next spin profitable.

Sticky, expanding and walking wilds: what is the difference?

A sticky wild is defined by persistence between spins. An expanding wild is defined by covering additional positions. A shifting or walking wild moves between positions. A game can combine these behaviours: an expanded reel may stay during a respin, or a retained character may move before the next result.

Describe each part separately when comparing games. “Expands to a full reel and stays for the remaining free spins” answers both size and duration. “Moves one reel after each respin” describes movement but still needs an ending condition. A single feature label cannot supply all three answers.

Do sticky wilds always last for the whole bonus?

No. They may stay for a set number of respins or for the remaining free spins. Some games clear them when a sequence finishes. Check the reset rule, especially when comparing a respin game with a free-spins game.

Do sticky wilds guarantee a win?

No. The other symbols still need to form a paying combination under the game’s rules. A locked wild is useful for understanding the feature, but it does not tell you what the next spin will pay.