Starburst (NetEnt): Slot Review

How Starburst plays

Starburst is a line pokie with one feature: a wild that fills its reel and gives a respin. The grid has 5 reels and 3 rows, and NetEnt’s game page gives 10 lines. NetEnt describes the symbols as “dazzling gems, golden bars, and lucky sevens”.

The lines work in two directions. Evolution, which owns NetEnt, says on its games site that the game has “10 fixed paylines”, “all of which pay out both ways”. That means a line can pay from the leftmost reel to the right and from the rightmost reel to the left. You cannot switch lines off.

The wild is the Starburst symbol. NetEnt’s page says it “substitutes for all paying symbols”, and when it lands it “fills the entire reel and triggers a Respin”, another spin of the remaining symbols. NetEnt’s page does not say on which reels the wild lands or how many respins can follow.

There is no free-spins round. NetEnt lists two game features, Expanding Wilds and Respins, and calls the respins “free Respins”. There is no feature buy either. So the Starburst slot machine has no bonus game to wait for: every win comes from the lines and the wild.

RTP, volatility and hit frequency

NetEnt’s game page lists a 96.08% RTP, medium volatility and a 23.00% hit frequency (17 October 2026). RTP, return to player, is an average over a very long run: at 96.08%, A$96.08 for every A$100 staked across all play, not in one session.

Hit frequency is how often a spin lands a win of any size. NetEnt’s 23.00% means that, on average, 23 of every 100 spins land a win; that is our arithmetic from the studio’s figure. Volatility describes how unevenly the wins come. NetEnt gives only the word “medium”, with no scale. Our online pokies guide explains volatility, hit frequency and max win.

The two NetEnt sites do not agree. Evolution’s games site gives Starburst an RTP of 96.09% and rates its volatility “Low / Mid”; its text calls it a “Low Volatility” slot. Some review sites print other figures again.

We use the studio’s own page because it is the developer’s page for the game and gives the full set of figures: release date, RTP, volatility, hit frequency, max payout and bets. Its RTP, volatility and hit frequency were the same when we read it on 11 October 2026. These are the studio’s figures; NetEnt’s page shows one RTP and does not say which version a casino runs. Starburst also appears with 96.08% and medium volatility in our list of higher-RTP pokies.

Max win, bets and the newer versions

NetEnt puts the maximum payout at 800 times the bet, with bets from EUR 0.10 to EUR 100.00 a spin. Max payout is a multiple of the stake: at A$1 a spin, 800x is A$800. Several review sites we found on 17 October 2026 give 500x, which does not match the studio page.

NetEnt has released two newer games under the name. Their figures belong to those games and do not carry over to the original.

Euro amounts as NetEnt prints them; we do not convert them to A$. Both newer games have a feature buy; the original does not.

NetEnt calls Starburst Galaxy “the cosmic sequel to Starburst”. It plays on a 5x5 grid that can grow to 7x7, so its mechanics differ from the 5x3 original.

Free play and the Starburst apps

NetEnt’s own demo of Starburst is restricted from Australia. On 17 October 2026 its game page showed “Restricted access” in the demo block in two checks, and the play link led to a page saying it is “restricted in your location”. Evolution’s games site sent the same connection to a page reading “Sorry, this website cannot be accessed from your region”.

From Germany two minutes later, NetEnt’s demo block showed “Playin Coins”, the play credits of its site. Evolution’s games site, opened from Germany, said “free play demo mode is not available in your jurisdiction”. We did not see the game itself load from either connection.

The apps named Starburst are not NetEnt’s. On Google Play, “Starburst” is listed under the developer name “NetEnt.Starburst”, and the company behind it is HACKNEY EYECARE LTD of London. The listing says “All gameplay uses virtual credits with no real-money payout”; it was updated on 26 May 2026. On Uptodown, “Starburst Slots” version 1.1 is by Mega Games Unlimited, dated 19 June 2016. We do not link to either. Other free options are covered in our free pokies guide.

Can you play it at casinos that take Australians?

Not at the ones we checked. On 17 October 2026, through an Australian connection, none of the nine casino lobbies we searched listed Starburst, or Starburst Galaxy. We searched by title twice, about six minutes apart, with the same result.

The search itself worked: the control title, Elvis Frog, showed up in all nine lobbies from Australia. From Germany the same day, 8 of the 9 listed Starburst and the ninth only Starburst Galaxy. A tenth lobby is left out of the count: its search returned nothing even for the control title, from either connection.

We read the lists without an account and did not open the game; a title in a list does not mean it plays. Lobbies change. We do not name these casinos; all are offshore, and none is licensed in Australia.

This matches the studio level. NetEnt said it phased out game deliveries to Australian operators during 2017, as quoted by CasinoBeats; the detail is in our NetEnt page. On 11 October 2026 none of the ten lobbies we checked from Australia listed NetEnt at all.

Is it legal to play Starburst in Australia?

Offering it online is not. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) says the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 “makes it illegal for gambling providers to offer some online services to people in Australia”, and online casinos are among the banned services (page updated 21 August 2026, read 17 October 2026).

The law is changing. ACMA says Parliament passed the Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 on 19 August 2026, and most of the reforms commence on 1 January 2027. Our guide sets out what the law means for the player.

Starburst FAQ

Sources and method

• NetEnt, Starburst game page, netent.com/games/starburst: release date, 5x3 grid, 10 lines, RTP 96.08%, volatility, hit frequency, max payout, bets, game features, demo status, footer licence statement; read from Australia and from Germany, 17 October 2026 (same RTP, volatility and hit frequency read 11 October 2026)
• NetEnt, game pages for Starburst XXXtreme and Starburst Galaxy, netent.com/games/starburst-xxxtreme and netent.com/games/starburst-galaxy, 17 October 2026
• Evolution, Starburst page on games.evolution.com/slots/starburst: RTP 96.09%, volatility “Low / Mid”, 10 fixed paylines paying both ways, demo note; read from Germany, 17 October 2026 (from Australia it redirected to a blocked-region page)
• Google Play, “Starburst” listing in the Australian store, and Uptodown, “Starburst Slots” page: developer, company, description and dates, 17 October 2026
• Australian Communications and Media Authority, About the Interactive Gambling Act (updated 21 August 2026), read 17 October 2026
• CasinoBeats, NetEnt issues Q4 results warning, 16 January 2018, quoting a NetEnt statement (trade press; original release not found; read 11 October 2026)
• Our lobby check: title search for Starburst in nine offshore casino lobbies through an Australian connection and from Germany, two runs, 17 October 2026, without an account, with a control title; a tenth lobby’s search did not work and is not counted. Casinos not named; none is licensed in Australia
• The A$ examples and “23 of every 100 spins” are arithmetic from NetEnt’s figures

Written by: Helene Berner · First published: 18 October 2026 · Last checked: 17 October 2026