Carnival Joker from game studio Slotmill shows that you don’t always need to reinvent the wheel to create an entertaining online slot; often, it’s enough to reuse what others have done before you.
The base game isn’t the most exciting one, though; instead, you want to see three bonus symbols or 6 coins on the reels to trigger one of the bonus games. Yes, similar to Legion Gold Victory and other games.
Hmm, this feels all too familiar, and on further investigation, I noticed that Carnival Joker is also a reskin of Raging Riches.
Carnival Joker is planned for release at UK casinos on September 8, 2026, and it offers a max win of 5,533x the bet.
Carnival Joker UK Free Demo
You can try Carnival Joker for free right here and test the slot’s features, theme, and bonus rounds before deciding if you want to play it on a real money version.
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The visuals in Carnival Joker should be easily likeable for a big crowd, mixing a classic look with the Joker/Circus theme.
We find the circus tent in the background, and the overall graphics create a positive vibe.
How to Play Carnival Joker
Carnival Joker is played on a 5-reel and 4-5-5-5-4 row game area with 2,000 ways to win.
The many ways to win come from wins when 3 or more matching symbols land on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost one. So, no need to keep an eye on any fixed paylines in this game.
You can play Carnival Joker with bets from 20p up to £5 when playing at UK slot sites.
Max bets per age group in the UK:
Aged 18-24: Maximum stake of £2 per spin.
Aged +25: Maximum stake of £5 per spin.
RTP, Volatility & Max Win
Carnival Joker is a medium- to highly volatile slot, so it’s not as risky as slots with the biggest max wins. However, you can still win big with a max win of 5,533x the bet.
It’s released in two payout versions, averaging an RTP of 94.11% or 96.08%.
Why RTP is important when playing slots
Whether we like it or not, the Return to Player, or RTP, of a slot significantly impacts a lot of crucial elements that come with playing slots.
The RTP is another term for the average percentage that a slot pays back for each stake. So, when a slot has a 96% RTP, it will pay back, on average, 96p for each pound staked. As you can imagine, the higher the RTP, the better it is for you, the player, as this will result in:
More spins before your money runs out
More spins = more chances to win
Increased playing time for the player
More value for money for the player
A lower profit margin for the casino
History of RTP and online slots
In the “old days”, all online slots had a default RTP, meaning the Return to Player was the same for each slot, no matter which online casino you played it in. However, since around 2020, due to regulations, increased Gambling Taxes and rising costs, online casinos started pressuring slot providers to release slots with different RTP configurations.
In effect, the online casino now had a choice: it was now able to offer its players a lower-paying RTP version. You could be playing a specific slot with a 96% RTP at casino A, and play the same slot with a 94% RTP at casino B, without even knowing it. The slot may look and feel the same, but the maths model underneath, which is the heart and soul of a slot, may be different, with all the negative consequences that come with it.
An example in real numbers
To illustrate the difference between playing a high-RTP slot versus playing the same slot but with a lower RTP, we have done some calculations.
Let’s take, as an example, one of the most popular online slots ever made: Book of Dead by Play’n GO. It has five possible RTP configurations: 84.18%, 87.25%, 91.25%, 94.25%, and 96.21%. Of course, other slots have different payout percentages, so results will vary.
We have calculated for Book of Dead, per RTP configuration, how many spins it takes to run out of money, based on theoretical losses (house edge) per spin, a starting balance of £100 and a stake of £1 per spin.
Book of Dead RTP
Theoretical Playtime
House Edge
96.21%
2,612 spins
3.79%
94.25%
1,721 spins
5.75%
91.25%
1,131 spins
8,75%
87.25%
776 spins
12.75%
84.18%
625 spins
15.82%
As you can see in our calculations, there are huge differences in the number of spins when you compare the different RTP configurations. The difference between the 96.21% RTP and the 94.25% RTP version is over 900 spins!
Conclusion
Playing with a higher Return to Player increases your chances of winning and playing time. So, when you want to play an online slot, always try to find a casino that offers it at the highest payout setting.
Why RTP is important when playing slots
Playing with a higher Return to Player increases your chances of winning and playing time.
Slot Features & Bonus Rounds
The base game offers no special features; instead, it focuses on triggering the two bonus games.
Free Spins
Landing 3 or more bonus symbols triggers the free spins, and landing an additional 2 or more bonus symbols during the bonus game adds more spins to your total.
3 Bonus Symbols: 8 Free spins
4 Bonus Symbols: 10 Free spins
5 Bonus Symbols: 12 Free spins
Wild symbols will have a x2 or x3 multiplier during the free spins, and the UP symbol will increase the reel length by 1 row, increasing the ways to win.
Increasing a reel length to 7 rows adds +2 spins.
Hold & Win Bonus
Landing 6 or more coins triggers the Hold & Win Bonus, which starts with 3 spins but resets each time a new coin lands.
Coins can have values from 0.5x to 10x the bet, or even a fixed jackpot.
Fixed Jackpots
The Fixed Jackpot Coins can have the following values:
Grand: 5,000x and pays when all 25 positions are filled with coins
Major: 250x the bet
Minor: 50x the bet
Mini: 20x the bet
Symbols & Payouts
The symbols in Carnival Joker consist of 11 regular pay symbols.
Low-paying symbols can pay up to 1.50x the bet for five As on adjacent reels.
High-paying symbols can pay up to 3.5x the bet for five joker symbols.
CasinoWizard’s verdict: Carnival Joker reuses what has worked for others (6 out of 10)
One or two added features to the base game wouldn’t have hurt, but Carnival Joker is really about the bonus games, and they are as straightforward as they can be.
The Hold & Win bonus is about landing coins, and as you play, you follow your progress toward landing all 25 of them to reach the game’s Grand Fixed Jackpot of 5,000x the bet.
In the Free Spins, you want to see plenty of those multiplier wilds and UP symbols that increase the ways to win.
That’s it? Yes, add an enjoyable soundtrack and a likeable theme that can appeal to a wider audience, and that is Carnival Joker.
Carnival Joker is one of those online slots where what you see is what you get. No more and no less. Yes, exactly like in Raging Riches.
No extra features in the base game.
A classic Hold and Win bonus game with the Grand jackpot as the extra kicker.
Free Spins with Multiplier Wilds and the possibility to expand the reels.
Carnival Joker doesn’t add anything new, but that doesn’t mean many players won’t enjoy it.
Final verdict: 6 out of 10.
Carnival Joker is officially released on September 8, 2026.
FAQs about Carnival Joker
What is the max win on the Carnival Joker slot?
You can win up to 5,533x the bet.
When is Carnival Joker officially released?
September 8, 2026.
Where can I try the Carnival Joker demo?
Visit CasinoWizard.com and the Carnival Joker slot review to access the free demo version.
Find more high-RTP slots
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