Narcos Slot Review, Walking Wilds, Drive-Bys and the Locked Up Bonus

Slots similar to Narcos include The Sopranos and Ferris Buellers Day Off. Narcos is a slot from Net Ent (Evolution) with an RTP of 96.23% (some operators run lower variable configs, check before playing), played on a 5-by-3 grid and 243 ways to win (fixed, no adjustable lines) ways to win. On the bonus side you get free spins, sticky wilds, increasing multipliers and improving symbols. Specifically you get walking wilds, drive-by symbol transforms, locked up re-spins and progressive multipliers. It leans towards larger wins without going to extremes, with a reasonable balance of risk and reward. That 96.23% (some operators run lower variable configs, check before playing) RTP is a long-run average rather than a per-session guarantee. You can stake from £0.20 to £400 a spin.

Narcos casinos

Play the Narcos slot game at these top casinos.

Narcos Pros and Cons

Reviewed by Brian Taylor
Published: September 2018

Pros

• The Locked Up feature is the highlight: Pablo’s mugshot triggers three re-spins where golden lock-up symbols add 2x-3x multipliers and reset the spin count, so a single trigger can snowball into a long, climbing round.
• Walking Wilds shift one reel left each spin and stick for up to five spins, so a wild that lands on reel five can pay across multiple spins as it marches across the grid.
• The Drive-By can fire on any base-game spin, spraying the reels and converting high-pay character symbols into wilds, it is the moment that turns an ordinary spin into a sudden cluster of wins.
• At 96.23% the RTP is above average for a branded slot, where licence fees often push returns lower, and the comic-book art makes it one of the better-looking TV tie-ins.

Cons

• The 1,506x stake max win is the real weak point, NetEnt caps it there by choice, and it is low for a medium-high volatility slot where you would expect a bigger reward for the risk.
• During the Drive-By, the top-paying character symbols frequently fail to convert to wilds, which players flag as a teasing, anticlimactic moment far more often than a payday.
• The 10 free spins can feel short unless Walking Wilds are still on screen when they end, and the round often delivers modest returns rather than the big hit the build-up promises.
• Operators can run lower variable RTP versions, so the 96.23% figure is not guaranteed everywhere, check the info screen before committing a bankroll.

How Narcos Works

Narcos is a 5-reel, 3-row slot using NetEnt’s 243-ways model: wins form when matching symbols land on adjacent reels from the leftmost reel, regardless of vertical position, so there are no fixed paylines to set. The four features all interlock, Walking Wilds and the Drive-By can fire in the base game, three car scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5 launch the Free Spins, and the Golden Lock-Up symbol triggers the Locked Up re-spin bonus. The hit frequency is around 27%, so the reels stay active between the bigger feature moments.

Symbols and Paytable

The high-value symbols are stylised versions of the show’s cast, Escobar and the DEA agents, drawn as comic-book art rather than photographs. Card royals fill the low end. The best base combination pays around 15x stake, which is why the features, not the symbols, carry the win potential. The car is the scatter that opens the free spins.

Narcos Features

Walking Wilds

When a Wild takes part in a win it locks and “walks” one reel to the left on each following spin, staying for up to five spins. The further right it first lands, the longer it lingers, so a reel-five Wild is the one to hope for, it can stitch together a run of wins as it crosses the board.

Drive-By

A random base-game event where a car sprays the reels and turns high-pay character symbols into Wilds. It is the slot’s signature flourish and the clearest “big spin incoming” signal, though, honestly, it teases as often as it pays, because the top symbols don’t always convert.

Locked Up Bonus

The standout feature. Land the Golden Lock-Up symbol and you enter three re-spins where lock-up symbols stick, carry 2x-3x multipliers and reset the spin counter each time a new one lands. A hot Locked Up round is where Narcos delivers its most satisfying mid-range wins, players routinely report 80x-100x hits here.

Free Spins

Three car scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5 award 10 free spins with the Drive-By active on every spin. Walking Wilds carry over, and if any are still on the reels when the spins run out you keep spinning until they leave, the one route to the slot’s larger payouts.

Narcos Demo Play

Games like Narcos

Narcos best matching slots based on all features are The Sopranos, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Megaways and The X Factor Platinum.

Developed by Playtech, The Sopranos carries a Hollywood theme. You spin a 5×3 grid with 5 paylines in play. Return to player sits at 94.00% and counts as medium-low overall. Treat it as a guide to long-run payback rather than a promise for any one session. The feature set covers free spins. In play that shows up as raid bonus feature, stolen goods bonus symbol, bada bing bonus feature and crime family free games feature. You can bet from 0.01 to 50 per spin, leaving room for cautious and bigger play alike. It plays at medium volatility, which means you get a balanced pace, with wins that are neither tiny nor rare. It is frequently grouped with Three Stooges. If you liked Narcos, The Sopranos is an easy one to try next.

Ferris Buellers Day Off is a Hollywood slot from Cryptologic. You spin a 5×3 grid with 25 paylines in play. You can bet from 0.2 to 100 per spin, leaving room for cautious and bigger play alike. The feature set covers pick a prize bonus, doubled wins, increasing multipliers, level up feature and improving symbols. Return to player sits at 94.50% and counts as medium-low overall. That figure is a long-term average rather than something to expect back each session. Expect medium-low volatility here, so wins land fairly regularly and tend to be modest, which keeps sessions steady. It is frequently grouped with Three Stooges Brideless Groom. If you liked Narcos, Ferris Buellers Day Off is an easy one to try next.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Megaways is a slot built by Big Time Gaming (Evolution). It is played across a 6-reel, 7-row grid with 117649 ways to win, so there are lots of winning combinations on offer. The RTP is 96.24% (some operators run variable configs, check before playing), which is medium-high for the market. That figure is a long-term average rather than something to expect back each session. It plays at very high volatility, which means payouts come less often yet hit bigger, meaning longer gaps between wins and the chance of a sharp spike. Bets start at £0.20 and reach £50 (some operators cap at £20) a spin, covering most bankrolls. On the bonus side you get free spins, no win respins, cascading wins, gamble feature and increasing multipliers. In play that shows up as free spins multiplier. It is frequently grouped with Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and Bloopers. Choose it if you enjoyed Narcos but want bigger swings.

The X Factor Platinum is a slot built by Ash Gaming. It is played across a 5×4 grid with 40 paylines. Headline features include free spins, random feature, random wilds and improving symbols. In play that shows up as random wild. Volatility is medium, so you get a balanced pace, with wins that are neither tiny nor rare. The RTP is 94.00%, which is medium-low for the market. In practice that means the game pays back around that share of stakes over a long run of spins, not in any single session. You can bet from 0.4 to 400 per spin, leaving room for cautious and bigger play alike. It is frequently grouped with Big Win 777. It sits close to Narcos in feel, making it a natural follow-on.

THE SOPRANOS:- Playtech’s slot based on the HBO mob drama runs a Raid feature plus Stolen Goods, Capo and Crime Family bonuses across a 5×3 grid. It is the closest mob-themed cousin to Narcos if you want organised-crime atmosphere over cartel action.

FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF:- Cryptologic’s film tie-in is a gentler, lower-volatility 25-line slot with pick-a-prize and level-up bonuses. It shares the licensed-entertainment theme with Narcos but plays far more casually.

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE MEGAWAYS:- Big Time Gaming’s quiz-show Megaways slot offers up to 117,649 ways, cascades and free spins at very high volatility, a much swingier branded experience than Narcos’s steady medium-high maths.

THE X FACTOR PLATINUM:- Ash Gaming’s talent-show slot runs 40 lines with substitution, random wild and free spins features at medium volatility, another TV tie-in for fans of slots like Narcos, with a lighter tone.

Narcos slot critic’s reviews

Online-Slot.co.uk: The Narcos slot is the official game for the gripping TV series of the same name. If you haven’t seen the original Netflix series, here’s a quick primer on the Narcos back story.

VegasSlotsOnline.com: Narcos is one of the biggest Netflix shows and has now become the basis of an online game from NetEnt. This Narcos slot review will take you back to Columbia in the 1970s, when Pablo Escobar ran his vast drugs empire and the DEA set out to bring him down.

AskgGmblers.com: If you’re a huge fan of the Narcos Series you’re going to love this but actually the game can still cater for those who haven’t watched the show.

CasinoBloke.com: As we said in the beginning, lots of people went mad for the Narcos TV series and we were among them. We waited for this moment for a long time and finally, NetEnt developed a video slot that is worthy of its name. Action, drama, lots of shooting, piles of cash and some gorgeous chiquitas is all we want in a good slot.

CasinoWhizz.com: Narcos from Net Entertainment has a lot of moving parts by this we mean it’s a beast that comes with polished visuals, different coin denominations, superb theme with lots of bonus rounds which makes it a glorious and ambitious slots.

Slots similar to Narcos

Narcos is mainly a Tv Show themed slot with related themes of Guns, Cash and Wild West themes.

Standout Tv Show themed games

Narcos is based on the Netflix crime drama of the same name, not a film, tracing the DEA’s pursuit of Pablo Escobar’s cartel, so its theme blends crime, guns and cash rather than the slot’s old “Wild West” tag. NetEnt rendered the cast as stylised comic-book characters rather than using photo stills, which is part of why it stands out among branded slots. If you like slots like Narcos for the licensed-TV angle, the titles below, Friends, Rick and Morty Megaways and Big Win 777, share the TV-tie-in idea, though none use the Walking Wild and Locked Up mechanics that define Narcos.

Narcos is a Tv themed online slot game. Other Tv themed online slots include Friends Slot, Rick And Morty Megaways, Big Win 777 and Friends.

More slots like Narcos, by NetEnt

Narcos was made by NetEnt, the Swedish studio founded in 1996 and acquired by Evolution AB in 2020, whose games are UK Gambling Commission licensed. NetEnt is one of the more selective developers of branded slots, alongside Narcos it has produced licensed titles such as Vikings, Knight Rider and Street Fighter II, and it is known for turning licensed characters into bespoke artwork rather than stock photos. Other NetEnt slots include Crusade Of Fortune, Double Stacks, Evolution and Trollpot 5000.

Here are the best Net Ent slots, these slot games are all developed by the same provider as Narcos, the slots are Crusade Of Fortune, Double Stacks, Evolution and Trollpot 5000.

Top casinos to play Narcos

Sloto Cash

Sloto Cash runs a code-activated first-deposit match plus a rota of regular reload offers. As with any code bonus, enter it at deposit and check the wagering window before playing Narcos with bonus funds, the terms are stated up front on the cashier page.

Boom Casino

Boom Casino is operated by Hero Gaming and carries a clean, fast interface with a broad NetEnt selection that includes Narcos. Its strength is a streamlined lobby and quick load times rather than a sprawling promotions list.

Lucky Days

Lucky Days pairs a large slots library with a live-dealer section, and stocks Narcos among its NetEnt titles. It suits players who want both reels and live tables in one place rather than a slots-only site.

Las Atlantis

Las Atlantis leans on a strong visual theme and offers support across live chat, phone and email. Promotions are reasonable and the layout is easy on the eye, so it suits players who value presentation and responsive help while spinning Narcos.

Party Casino

Party Casino is a long-running brand (part of Entain) with a well-optimised, uncluttered lobby that makes finding Narcos quick. It is an established big-brand operator, so the slot sits within a deep, varied catalogue.

Narcos, Key Stats

Narcos slot information last reviewed: May 2026

Here is a table of all the key information for Narcos.

Narcos Screenshot

Narcos Bonus Features

Games with the same features as Narcos

Narcos has features and bonuses including: Free Spins, Sticky Wilds, Increasing Multipliers and Improving Symbols.

Games with Free Play Demo

The top slots with Free Spins are Northern Sky, Titanic, Euphoria and Gingerbread Lane.

Online slots with Sticky Wilds

The top slots with Sticky Wilds are Midas Golden Touch and Wilderland.

Slot games with Increasing Multipliers

The top slots with Increasing Multipliers are Midas Golden Touch and Wilderland.

Slot games with Improving Symbols

The top slots with Improving Symbols are China Shores and Moon Princess.

Narcos FAQs

What is the Narcos slot RTP?

Narcos has an RTP of 96.23%, slightly above the 96% average. Some operators run lower variable configurations, so check the in-game info screen first.

What is the maximum win on Narcos?

The Narcos max win is 1,506x your stake, a cap set by NetEnt rather than the maths itself. It is modest for a medium-high volatility slot and the game’s main drawback.

How does the Locked Up feature work?

Landing the Golden Lock-Up symbol starts three re-spins where lock-up symbols stick, carry 2x-3x multipliers and reset the spin count each time a new one lands. It is the slot’s most rewarding feature.

How do you trigger free spins in Narcos?

Land three car scatter symbols on reels 1, 3 and 5 to win 10 free spins, with the Drive-By feature active on every spin and Walking Wilds carrying over.

Is Narcos based on the Netflix series?

Yes. Narcos is a NetEnt slot licensed from the Netflix crime drama about Pablo Escobar’s cartel, with the cast redrawn as comic-book characters. It is the series, not a film.

When was Narcos released?

Narcos was released by NetEnt in May 2019. A sequel, Narcos Mexico, later added Daily Drop progressive jackpots.

What slots are like Narcos?

Games like Narcos include the sequel Narcos Mexico, NetEnt’s other branded-TV slots such as Vikings, and gangster-themed titles like The Sopranos and Stakelogic’s El Patron.

Our Verdict on Narcos

Narcos is one of the best-looking and best-built branded slots NetEnt has made, and the Locked Up bonus gives it a genuinely distinctive feature that pays off more reliably than the headline Drive-By. It is held back by a 1,506x stake ceiling that feels stingy for its volatility, so it suits atmosphere-led players who enjoy the show and the features more than jackpot hunters. If you like slots like Narcos, the sequel Narcos Mexico adds Daily Drop jackpots, NetEnt’s Vikings offers a similar branded-TV build, and Stakelogic’s El Patron covers the same cartel territory with a bigger top end.

SlotsLike rating: 7/10