NetEnt publishes builds down to 90.05% and casinos pick one; the paytable inside the game shows which build you are on.
WHAT IT IS
Starburst in short
Starburst is the slot every online casino has had in its lobby since June 2012. NetEnt built it as a low volatility, 5 reel, 3 row, 10 line game with jewels on a space background and wins paid both ways. It has no free spins, no bonus buy and a 500x cap. It is also the game most often handed out in free spins offers.
Canadians look for it because it is gentle. The published RTP on the default build is 96.09%, wins land every few spins, and a C$20 deposit at C$0.20 a spin lasts most of an evening. If you want a slot that does not punish you for having a small balance, this is the one. If you want a feature that can change your week, it is not.
HOW IT PLAYS
Base game and symbols
Ten fixed lines on a 5 by 3 grid, and wins pay from the left or from the right, so a three-symbol line on reels 3, 4 and 5 counts. That is why the game feels busy. Three of a kind pays on every symbol, with the bar and the seven at the top of the table and the coloured gems at the bottom.
The wild is the Starburst itself and it only lands on reels 2, 3 and 4. When it does it expands to cover the whole reel, holds in place, and the other reels respin once. A new wild on another middle reel during that respin expands too and you get another respin, up to three in total. Three expanded wilds on reels 2, 3 and 4 with matching symbols on 1 and 5 is the dream, and the 500x cap sits at the end of that.
There is no scatter and nothing else to trigger. The pace is quick and your balance moves like a tide, up a bit, down a bit, rarely far either way. Most casino bonuses cap the stake at C$5 to C$7 a spin and there is no bonus buy, so Starburst sits inside the bonus rules without you thinking about it.
Features
Wins pay left to right and right to left
Expanding wild on reels 2, 3 and 4 covers the reel and holds
Each expanding wild gives a respin, up to 3 in a row
No scatter and no free spins
No bonus buy
THE FEATURE
Bonus round
The expanding wild respin is the only feature. A wild on reel 2, 3 or 4 spreads over the reel, locks, and the rest of the grid spins again for free. A second wild during that respin locks and gives a third spin; a third wild gives a fourth. The line wins through a full wild reel both ways add up, and a respin with two locked wild reels and a row of bars is a good afternoon.
A dead feature is one wild on reel 3 and a respin of low gems that pays 2x your stake. That is most of them. Because the cap is 500x and most respins pay a few times the stake, the game never gives you the kind of round people clip and share, and it does not pretend to.
OUR TAKE
Should you play Starburst?
Play it if you are using a free spins offer, clearing a low-stake bonus, or you want 30 minutes of spinning without the stress. It suits a C$20 balance better than almost anything else in a lobby. Skip it if you are looking for a feature, a multiplier or a ceiling; there is none of that here. Fire Joker is the other quick one with a little more punch, and Gonzo's Quest is the NetEnt game to pick if you want a real bonus round.
WHERE TO PLAY
Starburst at Canadian casinos
Sites on our list that carry NetEnt games.
4 of 15
These casinos named NetEnt on their provider list or in their lobby when we checked, so Starburst should be in the search box. Lobbies change; type the name before you deposit. Rank is our overall ranking.
8.6/10
#1 · Biggest CAD welcome pack
Rolling Slots
Biggest Canadian-dollar pack on our list, but it takes four deposits and the cashier is a mystery until you register.
WELCOME OFFER310% up to C$5,800+ 800 Free Spins
Good
Interac, Skrill and crypto with a C$20 minimum; Skrill and Bitcoin payouts in 0 to 2 days
3,000+ games including 200+ live tables, weekly reloads and 10% cashback
casino.guru Safety Index 9.4, fair terms, no unresolved complaints
Watch out
Withdrawals capped at C$750 a day and about C$15,000 a month
45x wagering on the welcome bonus, 7 days to clear it, table games count 0%
Trustpilot 2.4/5: payout waits of days to weeks and KYC taking around 5 days
Because it is low volatility with a 500x cap and no bonus buy, so a casino can hand out 50 spins at C$0.10 and know roughly what it will cost. For you that means a predictable, small return from those spins, not a shot at a big number.
02Can I play Starburst with a bonus in Canada?
Yes, and it is one of the safer picks for wagering. Keep the stake under the casino's cap, usually C$5 to C$7 a spin, and you are fine. Expect slow progress through wagering, because the wins are small and frequent rather than large and rare.
03Does Starburst have free spins or a bonus buy?
No free spins and no bonus buy. The only feature is the expanding wild respin on reels 2, 3 and 4, which gives up to three respins. Some casinos run a lower RTP version; the paytable inside the game shows which build you are on.
RTP, max win and release date checked against gambling.com, olbg.com in October 2026. Casinos can run a different RTP build; the game's own info page shows the one you are on.
CANADIAN CASINOS, CHECKED BY HAND
