Animal slots are some of the most popular themed games on the top UK slot sites, so we have produced this guide to the eight best animal slots on the market right now.
Our eight recommendations for the best animal slots are ranked by RTP, with additional information on volatility, slots bonus features and maximum win.
In addition, players will find information on why animal slot artwork can mislead, what the theme covers and the studios behind it, while beginners can find out how slot games work for new players.
Best animal slots
Slot | Provider | RTP | Max win |
|---|---|---|---|
Big Bad Wolf | Quickspin | 97.35% | 1,225x stake |
The Dog House Megaways | Pragmatic Play | 96.55% | 12,305x stake |
The Dog House | Pragmatic Play | 96.51% | 6,750x stake |
Wolf Gold | Pragmatic Play | 96% | 2,500x stake |
Raging Rhino | Light & Wonder | 95.91% | 6,250x stake |
Piggy Riches Megaways | Red Tiger | 95.71% | 10,474x stake |
Fluffy Favourites | Eyecon | 95.4% | 5,000x stake |
Great Rhino Megaways | Pragmatic Play | 94.69% | 20,000x stake |
The animal slots to start with
For those players who are new to animal slots, Wolf Gold is good for a player who wants the game the theme is built around, while Fluffy Favourites is a solid pick for someone who wants the picking mechanic rather than a spin round. In addition, The Dog House is good for a player who wants a bonus that holds its wilds in place.
Of the eight games, five are safari and wildlife games with a conventional bonus round, and three are built on something else entirely, which the sections below unpack.
The tables below carries published RTP, volatility and max win for all eight recommendations.
Best animal slots to play
Below, players will find our eight picks for the best animal slots in the UK. They are ordered by the UK demand behind each title, which puts the theme's best-known games first.
In each entry, players will find information on RTP, volatility, maximum wins and bonus features, as well as recommendations on who the game might suit.
Note that two of these games – The Dog House and The Dog House Megaways – share a name and differ only in their grid, and another pair are the same game from two studios.
1. Big Bad Wolf
Provider: Quickspin
Game detail | Figure |
|---|---|
Reels | 5 |
Paylines (ways to win) | 25 |
RTP | 97.35% |
Volatility | Medium |
Max win | 1,225x stake |
In-game features | Free Spins, Jackpot, Wilds |
Quickspin's Big Bad Wolf slot is the highest-RTP entry on our list, at 97.35%. It uses five reels and 25 paylines, with a three little pigs theme where the wolf blows down the house to move the game to its next stage. The game moves through stages and the multiplier grows with them, so the base game is a build-up rather than the point.
The slot has a medium volatility and a maximum win of 1,225x stake, and it is the pick for a player who wants a narrative round (though remember that the stage structure asks for patience).
2. The Dog House Megaways
Provider: Pragmatic Play
Game detail | Figure |
|---|---|
Reels | 6 |
Paylines (ways to win) | up to 117,649 |
RTP | 96.55% |
Volatility | High |
Max win | 12,305x stake |
In-game features | Free Spins, Multipliers, Wilds |
The Dog House Megaways is the megaways version of Pragmatic Play’s ‘The Dog House’, which we cover below. This version uses six reels and up to 117,649 paylines, and its RTP is set at 96.55%.
The Megaways grid means that the symbols per reel vary spin by spin, so the ways to win change with them, and both the multiplier behaviour and the volatility rise with it.
As a result The Dog House Megaways slot game is a high volatility title, with a top win of 12,305x stake. The choice between this and the classic version is a choice purely about volatility.
With that in mind, players who found the first version too tame should try this one, and players who want a gentler session are recommended to stay with the original.
3. The Dog House
Provider: Pragmatic Play
Game detail | Figure |
|---|---|
Reels | 5 |
Paylines (ways to win) | 20 |
RTP | 96.51% |
Volatility | High |
Max win | 6,750x stake |
In-game features | Free Spins, Multipliers, Wilds |
Pragmatic Play's The Dog House is a kennel-themed slot with five reels and 20 paylines. It uses a sticky wild mechanic in the free spins round that holds wilds in place once they land and remains there for the duration of the remaining free spins. When these wilds share a payline, the multipliers compound.
This is a high volatility title with an RTP set at 96.51%, while the maximum win is 6,750x stake. Remember that is the more gentle of the two Dog House titles on our list.
Overall, The Dog House slot suits players who want a more predictable and calm slot game that still offers the chance for high max wins.
4. Wolf Gold
Provider: Pragmatic Play
Game detail | Figure |
|---|---|
Reels | 5 |
Paylines (ways to win) | 25 |
RTP | 96% |
Volatility | Medium |
Max win | 2,500x stake |
In-game features | Bonus Games, Free Spins, Jackpot, Wilds |
Wolf Gold is our penultimate title from Pragmatic Play, with five reels and 25 paylines. It is the game most UK players mean when they think of animal slots, and its published RTP is among the better figures on this list at 96%.
The game has a wolf and desert theme, with a money respin round and the fixed jackpots as standout features. The respin is the reason it is worth playing, with three scatter symbols awarding three additional spins with no limits on the number of retriggers.
The Wolf Gold slot is a medium volatility title with a max win of 2,500x stake, and it is the sensible first port of call for a player new to the theme, because the mechanic is easy to follow and the figures are among the strongest here.
5. Raging Rhino
Provider: Light & Wonder
Game detail | Figure |
|---|---|
Reels | 6 |
Paylines (ways to win) | up to 4,096 |
RTP | 95.91% |
Volatility | High |
Max win | 6,250x stake |
In-game features | Free Spins |
Raging Rhino is a long-running title produced by Light & Wonder. It is the oldest game on the list, and the one that set the template the others followed.
The game uses six reels and up to 4,096 paylines, with an RTP of 95.91% and a top win of 6,250x stake. It is yet another high volatility title, and it’s another game that uses free spins with wild multipliers.
This game makes the list because of overall demand and popularity, as UK players still search for it more than for most of the newer safari games. To that end, it will suit people who are new to animal slots, as well as players looking for a classic title.
6. Piggy Riches Megaways
Provider: Red Tiger
Game detail | Figure |
|---|---|
Reels | 6 |
Paylines (ways to win) | up to 117,649 |
RTP | 95.71% |
Volatility | High |
Max win | 10,474x stake |
In-game features | Free Spins, Multipliers, Wilds |
Piggy Riches Megaways is the comedy option, with Red Tiger producing a game that provides six reels and up to 117,649 ways to win.
The game has a wealth-and-piggy-bank theme with the same Megaways structure as other games in this list, including free spins and their multiplier. It is a high volatility title with an RTP at 95.71%, with a top win of 10,474x stake.
Note that a player comparing this with The Dog House Megaways should compare the multipliers rather than the themes. Overall, this game suits a player who wants the Megaways grid without the safari setting.
7. Fluffy Favourites
Provider: Eyecon
Game detail | Figure |
|---|---|
Reels | 5 |
Paylines (ways to win) | 25 |
RTP | 95.4% |
Volatility | High |
Max win | 5,000x stake |
In-game features | Free Spins, Wilds |
Fluffy Favourites is the odd one out on this list in a good way. The animals are soft toys rather than wildlife in this title, which is a more standard slot with five reels and 25 paylines.
The game operates a picking bonus, where the player selects toys to reveal prizes, so the round is a series of decisions rather than a spin sequence. To that end, this is the one game on the list whose bonus round a player can influence.
The Fluffy Favourites slot itself is another high volatility option with an RTP of 95.4%, while the max win is 5,000x stake. Overall, a player who likes choosing their own bonus should start here.
8. Great Rhino Megaways
Provider: Pragmatic Play
Game detail | Figure |
|---|---|
Reels | 6 |
Paylines (ways to win) | up to 200,704 |
RTP | 94.69% |
Volatility | High |
Max win | 20,000x stake |
In-game features | Free Spins |
Great Rhino Megaways is an African savannah entry and the final Pragmatic Play title on the list. It uses six reels and up to 200,704 paylines, with tumbling reels – where a round either builds or fizzles – as well as free spins.
It’s another high volatility title and the most volatile-leaning game on this list, so it suits experienced slot players.
The RTP is supposedly set around 94.96% – though remember to check the info panel in the game too – and the maximum win is 20,000x stake.
Why animal slot artwork can mask volatility
Be mindful that this is the one theme where the artwork actively misleads players, because the animals are drawn soft and several of the games concentrate their wins in a bonus round that may not arrive for hundreds of spins.
Regulated animal slots are not rigged, and each spin comes from a tested random number generator, which is why the theme cannot make a game kinder or harsher. With that in mind, a player should read the volatility before playing.
You can find out more about what the volatility column is telling you with our dedicated guide.
Jungle, safari and wildlife slots: What the theme covers
There are three main types of theme a player will meet when using animal slot games, which are African safari games, jungle games and the animals-as-characters games (such as the dogs and the pigs).
All three types of game behave differently. The safari strand dominates, because the animals carry the multipliers and a theme with five or six high-paying symbols writes itself.
The strand is also a rough guide to volatility, since the safari games tend to be the ones that concentrate their wins in a round, while the character games are more even.
The theme extends well past this list though, and these eight recommendations are the ones with confirmed figures rather than the only ones worth playing.
The studios that dominate this theme
Pragmatic Play is the dominant studio in our list of the best animal slots, with the popular developer acting as the name behind four titles, as well as many more of the most popular animal-themed slot games in the UK.
Elsewhere, studios such as Quickspin, Red Tiger and Eyecon also produce popular animal slots.
Some of the slots on this list were released in the 2010s, though new releases also regularly prove popular, with new artworks and different bonus triggers, including bonuses, often attracting users.
Playing animal slots without depositing
Demo versions of games are the simplest route to playing without depositing, and nearly every game here has one. Simply put, a demo behaves exactly like the paid game, apart from the money-staking aspect.
Trying a game in demo is genuinely useful in this theme, because two of these games look alike and behave very differently, so a player can test the difference for nothing.
Readers can also sometimes play games for free thanks to no deposit slot bonuses.
Before playing any game or demo, remember to check that you are using a named operator with a UK licence. Only download apps from their respective app store listings.
Animal slots vs movie-themed slots
The main difference between these two themes is that animal themed slots are built from scratch around the symbols, while a movie or branded slot is licensed and usually carries a fixed scene it cannot stray from.
In practice, that means that animal slots tend to have more freedom in their bonus design, while branded ones tend to have more restrictive maths.
As a beginner, start with a character game like the dog or the piggy one, because the round is easier to follow than a safari game's multiplier ladder. Finally, remember that the theme runs identically in an app and a browser.
Choosing an animal slot that fits your budget
Remember that gambling is only legal for people aged over 18 in the UK. Gamble responsibly at all times when using animal themed slots – this means setting a budget early, never chasing losses and never betting more than you can afford.
Animal themes are often where budgets break, because the soft artwork invites a bigger stake than the volatility of the game underneath justifies.
To that end, jackpot chasers and anyone drawn to the safari games should be particularly careful, since those are the picks that concentrate their wins in a round that may not arrive for a long time.
Remember that the RTP figures in this article are long-run averages, which is why no game on the list can be described as due a win.
All licensed casinos in the UK must offer a range of responsible gambling tools, including deposit limits, loss limits, time-outs and self-exclusion.
A deposit limit applies from the moment it is set while an increase takes time to take effect, which is deliberate, while a self-exclusion gives you a longer-lasting option to block play entirely.
GamStop also sits alongside the self-exclusion on all licensed sites, so users who want a full break can exclude themselves from all licensed online UK gambling sites for any period of time.
There are also several charities and healthcare providers in the UK that can provide free, confidential support and information if you want direct help with gambling-related issues. Useful sites include:
Best animal slots - FAQs
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