5 Lions Gold

Q: What is the RTP of 5 Lions Gold?

Pragmatic Play publishes a default return to player of 96.50%. As across most of its catalogue, alternative builds dropping to around 95.6% are offered to operators. The only figure that concerns you is the one displayed in the game's help pages at the casino where you open the session, and it is worth thirty seconds of checking.

7.6/10

Release May 2019· Updated August 2026

Seven selectable free spins configurations, three fixed jackpots up to 2,000x and a 7,342x ceiling: the 5 Lions sequel hands you the risk dial and lets you set it.

RTP

96.5%

Volatility

High

Max Win

7 342x

Grid

5 reels, 3 rows

Bonus Buy

243 façons de gagner7 configurations de tours gratuits au choixGolden Reels Jackpot (Minor 15x / Major 250x / Grand 2 000x)Caishen Random AwardWild lion à multiplicateur jusqu'à 40x

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BetsRank Verdict

Hands-on testing by Alexandre Dubois — bonus tested, multiple sessions

On paper, the seven-option menu in 5 Lions Gold looks like a marketing gimmick. In practice it is the best idea in the game — provided you understand what it does and what it does not. It does not change your expected return: all seven settings are calibrated to give back the same amount over time. What it does change, completely, is the texture of the session. Picking 25 spins at 2x/3x/5x means accepting that you will often walk away with 20 or 30x the stake. Picking 6 spins at 15x/30x/40x means signing up for a binary outcome, where the overwhelming majority of attempts end in disappointment and the remaining minority pays for the whole evening. The rest is more conventional. The fixed jackpots do their job without excitement: the Minor at 15x the stake is a barely visible consolation, and only the Grand at 2,000x genuinely moves the needle. The real contribution, quieter, is the wild multipliers up to 40x in the base game. Pragmatic Play has rarely made a base game this tense; here an ordinary combination can turn into a three-figure win without going through any feature at all. Where it hurts is the volatility. Rated 5 out of 5, that is not a selling point but a warning. The game does not forgive short bankrolls, and the absence of a bonus buy leaves you no alternative: you wait, spin after spin, for three scatters to line up on reels 2, 3 and 4. Finally, a word on the RTP. The reference figure is indeed 96.50%, but builds dropped to around 95.6% exist, and on a game that will walk you through long deserts, that point of difference is not an abstraction. Checking it is the first reflex to have before you stake.

Strengths

+Choosing between seven free spins modes gives real leverage over the shape of a session, rare at this level of detail
+A 7,342x maximum win, nearly triple that of 5 Lions Dance and well above the original 5 Lions
+Wild multipliers up to 40x make the base game genuinely alive, which is not the Pragmatic Play norm
+Three fixed jackpots indexed to the stake: the amount is predictable and does not depend on a network pool
+96.50% default RTP, the studio's house figure, which is respectable for a jackpot title

To consider

−Volatility rated 5 out of 5: without free spins the balance drains fast and the dry runs are brutal
−The Minor at 15x the stake is close to insulting, barely refunding a few spins
−Seven free spins options sound great, but the expectation is identical across all of them: the choice is cosmetic in return terms
−No bonus buy option, even though the trigger is what the entire game hinges on
−Throttled builds around 95.6% RTP circulate, and a full point matters heavily on a game this volatile

What drives 5 Lions Gold

The idea behind 5 Lions Gold fits in one sentence: the game does not pick your risk level, you do. Released in 2019 as a direct sequel to 2018's 5 Lions, it keeps the classic five-reel, three-row grid with 243 ways to win, but hands the player a decision most machines keep to themselves. When three scatters land on reels 2, 3 and 4, a menu opens with seven free spins configurations. At one end, 25 spins with 2x, 3x or 5x multipliers: the long, calm mode where wins stack slowly. At the other, just 6 spins but multipliers of 15x, 30x or 40x, so everything is decided in a handful of rotations and the punishment is immediate if the reels refuse to cooperate. Five intermediate steps fill the space between, and a seventh option lets chance decide for you. Every configuration is balanced to return statistically the same amount; what changes is the shape of the distribution, not its expectation. On top of that sits a jackpot layer. The Golden Reels Jackpot feature fires when golden reels appear: three golden reels pay the Minor at 15x the bet, four pay the Major at 250x, five pay the Grand at 2,000x. These are fixed jackpots indexed to your stake, not progressive pools fed by a network — the distinction matters because it keeps the maths legible. The Caishen Random Award completes the setup: it can appear at random, in the base game as well as during free spins, to award free spins or send you straight to the coin-matching jackpot mini-game. In the base game the lion acts as wild and arrives carrying a random multiplier that can climb to 40x. That gives the base game an edginess that is unusual for Pragmatic Play: a plain line of dragons paired with a 40x wild can change a session outright. The numbers worth keeping: 96.50% default RTP, with throttled builds dropping to around 95.6% at some operators. High volatility, rated 5 out of 5 by specialist databases. Stakes from 0.18 to 90, an odd-looking range that falls out of the 243-ways bet structure. And a win ceiling of 7,342 times the stake — not a round figure, which tells you it was computed from the paytable rather than imposed as an arbitrary cap.

Features in detail

▸Seven selectable free spins configurations after the trigger, from 25 spins with 2x/3x/5x multipliers down to 6 spins with 15x/30x/40x multipliers, plus a mystery option.
▸Free spins triggered by three scatter symbols landing on reels 2, 3 and 4, with no other positions counting towards the trigger.
▸Golden Reels Jackpot: three golden reels pay the Minor at 15x total bet, four reels pay the Major at 250x, five reels pay the Grand at 2,000x.
▸Caishen Random Award, firing at random in the base game and during free spins alike to award free spins or the jackpot mini-game.
▸Lion wild carrying a random multiplier from 1x to 40x, active on every spin rather than only inside the feature.
▸243 ways to win across five reels and three rows, with stakes running between 0.18 and 90 per spin.

❓Frequently asked questions about 5 Lions Gold

What is the RTP of 5 Lions Gold?▾

Pragmatic Play publishes a default return to player of 96.

50%. As across most of its catalogue, alternative builds dropping to around 95. 6% are offered to operators. The only figure that concerns you is the one displayed in the game's help pages at the casino where you open the session, and it is worth thirty seconds of checking.

What is the maximum win on 5 Lions Gold?▾

The ceiling is 7,342 times your stake.

At the maximum bet of 90, that comes to a little over 660,000. The fact that the number is not rounded indicates it derives from the paytable and the most favourable multiplier combination, rather than being an arbitrary cap set by the studio.

How do the seven free spins options work?▾

Once free spins are triggered, a selection screen offers seven settings.

They range from 25 spins with 2x, 3x or 5x multipliers down to only 6 spins with 15x, 30x or 40x multipliers. A seventh option lets the game draw a setting at random. The fewer the spins, the higher the multipliers, and the greater the variance of the feature.

How much are the 5 Lions Gold jackpots worth?▾

Three fixed jackpots are in play through the Golden Reels Jackpot feature: the Minor at 15x total bet for three golden reels, the Major at 250x for four reels, and the Grand at 2,000x for five reels.

These are amounts proportional to your stake, not progressive pools shared between casinos.

How do you trigger the free spins in 5 Lions Gold?▾

You need three scatter symbols landing simultaneously on reels 2, 3 and 4.

Reels 1 and 5 take no part in the trigger. The Caishen Random Award is the only other way in: it can award free spins at random, with no scatter combination required.

Can you buy the bonus on 5 Lions Gold?▾

No.

The game dates from 2019, before Pragmatic Play rolled out feature buys across its catalogue, and no such option has been retro-fitted. Both the free spins and the jackpots have to trigger during play. On a title this volatile, that is a constraint to build into your bankroll management.

What is the difference between 5 Lions Gold and 5 Lions?▾

Both share the 5x3 grid with 243 ways and the Asian theme, but 5 Lions Gold adds three layers the original lacks: the choice between seven free spins configurations, the three fixed jackpots, and wild multipliers up to 40x in the base game.

The win ceiling rises from under 2,600x to 7,342x, and volatility climbs a clear notch.