Balloon Race
Balloon Race is a slot and a live game show joined together. You play a five-reel, three-row slot with 10 fixed winlines to qualify, and qualifying puts you into a shared live bonus where coloured balloons race upward as balls are drawn. The two halves work quite differently and it pays to understand which one you are in.
Qualifying
The slot round is the entry. You need three matching symbols — scatters or Expanding Wilds — to qualify for the bonus. Scatter symbols can carry multipliers of up to 10x, and those multipliers travel with you into the bonus.
Three spin modes are available: Normal, XXXtreme and Super XXXtreme. The more aggressive modes cost more per spin and change how readily you qualify, so the mode is the main decision in the game.
The top-up phase
Between qualifying and the race there is an optional round that boosts your multiplier before the bonus starts. You release between three and six balloons, each carrying a bonus value that adds to your total.
It is optional, and it is a separate cost. Whether it is worth taking depends on what you have already carried in from the qualifying round — a large scatter multiplier is worth protecting, a small one less so.
The race itself
The bonus is a ball-drawing machine holding 80 balls in four colours — yellow, purple, green and red, twenty of each. Balls are drawn one at a time, and each draw moves the balloon of that colour up one step.
After five draws, the first balloon to reach the top wins, and that result sets the multiplier for everyone in the round. Because the colours start with equal numbers of balls, no colour is favoured going in — the race is genuinely even at the start.
Your final payout combines all three phases: the scatter multipliers from qualifying, anything added in the top-up, and the race result.
Where it sits
The qualify-then-join structure is shared with Crazy Coin Flip, which gates its live round the same way. If you want a wheel show you can bet into directly with no qualifying, Crazy Time or Dream Catcher are the alternatives.
Count qualifying spins, not just races — the spend that reaches the bonus is easy to lose track of. Everything settles in rand.
Frequently asked questions
How do you qualify for the Balloon Race bonus?
By landing three matching symbols — scatters or Expanding Wilds — in the five-reel slot round. Scatter symbols can carry multipliers up to 10x, and those travel with you into the bonus round.
How does the balloon race work?
A machine holds 80 balls in four colours, twenty each of yellow, purple, green and red. Each ball drawn moves that colour's balloon up a step, and after five draws the first balloon to the top wins, setting the multiplier for everyone in the round.
Is any balloon colour more likely to win?
No. All four colours start with twenty balls each, so the race is even going in. No colour carries an advantage and past races tell you nothing about the next one.
What are the three spin modes?
Normal, XXXtreme and Super XXXtreme. The more aggressive modes cost more per spin and change how readily you qualify for the bonus. Choosing between them is the main decision the game asks of you.
18+. Gambling involves risk and can be addictive. Play responsibly. National Responsible Gambling Programme 0800 006 008.