Last updated: 13-07-2026
Book of Ra is old enough that plenty of AU punters learned to play pokies on it, and that history is exactly why the RTP question matters here more than on most titles. Novomatic's Egyptian classic has been reissued and reconfigured across operators since 2005, and the version you land on can run anywhere from 92% up to 96.21% — the same game, meaningfully different math depending on where you're spinning. I checked the paytable before writing this. Here's what I found, including where the modern Book of Dead comparison actually matters and where nostalgia alone is doing the heavy lifting.
Nearly two decades on, Book of Ra still shows up in most Novomatic-carrying casino libraries, and it's one of the more-played slots in European casino history by volume. That longevity is part of why so many operator-specific reconfigurations exist — a title this widely licensed inevitably ends up with variations across jurisdictions and platforms, which is exactly the situation that makes checking your specific build worthwhile before you settle in for a session.
How Book of Ra plays at Star
It's a 5x3 grid with 9-10 fixed paylines — no adjustable lines, no cluster mechanics, no Megaways. The Book symbol does double duty as both wild and scatter, which is unusual and worth understanding: it substitutes for other symbols in winning combinations, and landing three or more anywhere on the grid triggers 10 free spins regardless of payline position. Bet range runs A$0.09 to A$45 per spin.
During free spins, one symbol is randomly selected and expands to cover entire reels for the duration of the bonus — this is where most of the game's return is concentrated, which is part of why long dry spells between triggers can feel rough on a limited bankroll. The bonus is retriggerable, and a gamble feature (50/50 double-or-nothing) is available after any win if you want to push a small payout further, though that's a separate risk decision from the base game itself.
The RTP range — why it matters here specifically
Book of Ra Deluxe's RTP sits at 95.1% as the standard figure, but the wider Book of Ra family spans 95.02% to 96.21% depending on which operator and which specific build you're on — some configurations run as low as 92% on the original (non-Deluxe) version. Unlike a lot of modern Pragmatic titles that display RTP directly in an in-game info panel, older Novomatic builds don't always make this easy to check at a glance. If the paytable menu on your version doesn't show a clear RTP figure, that's worth treating as a signal to look elsewhere before committing real stakes.
High volatility compounds this. With a max win of 5,000x stake and most of the return sitting inside the bonus round, a low-RTP build combined with a long gap between free-spin triggers is a rough combination for a small session bankroll — you can go a long stretch without the bonus round that's carrying most of the game's value.
| Pokie | Provider | RTP | Max win | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book of Ra Deluxe | Novomatic | 95.1% | 5,000x | Wider family ranges 92%-96.21% by operator build |
| Book of Dead | Play'n GO | 96.21% | 5,000x | Same mechanic family, modern visuals, higher standard RTP |
| Eye of Horus | Blueprint | Unknown | Unknown | Egyptian expanding-symbol alternative, check paytable directly |
Seeing these three side by side makes the RTP gap easier to judge than the table alone.
Author's tip from John Hart, Casino Review Analyst: "Check the paytable's info screen before your first spin, not after a losing session. If Book of Ra Deluxe on your account doesn't clearly state an RTP near 95.1%, spin the demo first and see if the info panel discloses a number at all — no disclosure is itself useful information."
Demo mode and the gamble feature — testing before you commit
Book of Ra is available in demo mode at Star, and given the RTP variability across builds, it's genuinely useful here — not just for testing whether you enjoy the mechanic, but for watching how the free-spin trigger frequency feels on the specific build you've been served. Demo balances don't carry over to real play and can't be withdrawn, but the underlying RNG and paytable behave the same as the cash version on that build.
The gamble feature deserves a specific warning: it's a 50/50 double-or-nothing offered after any win, completely separate from the base game and the bonus round. It's easy to treat it as part of the same spin you just won on, but it's a fresh bet with its own outcome. Players chasing a loss back through repeated gambles on small wins tend to erode a session bankroll faster than the base game's volatility alone would explain — if you use the feature at all, treat each gamble as a deliberate, standalone decision rather than a reflex after every win.
Book of Ra vs Book of Dead — same bones, different math
Play'n GO's Book of Dead runs the identical core mechanic — expanding symbol wild/scatter, 10 free spins on 3+ scatters, high volatility, 5,000x max win — but with a standard RTP of 96.21%, over a full percentage point above Book of Ra Deluxe's 95.1%. If you like the mechanic and don't have brand loyalty to the original, Book of Dead is the mathematically stronger choice at standard settings.
What Book of Ra still has going for it: it's the original, the graphics carry a certain nostalgia for players who started on it, and it's genuinely one of the most-played slots in Europe's history. That popularity doesn't change the RTP gap, but for some players the familiarity of the mechanic outweighs a percentage point of theoretical return.
Sizing your bankroll for a high-volatility classic
Because most of the return sits in a bonus round you won't hit every session, a small bankroll on Book of Ra can run dry before the free spins ever trigger. A rough guide: treat your session bankroll as needing to survive at least 150-200 spins at your chosen bet size without a bonus trigger, since retriggers and bonus frequency vary and there's no guaranteed cadence. If your bankroll can't absorb that many dry spins at a comfortable bet size, either drop the bet size or accept that a short session without ever seeing the bonus round is a real possibility, not a rare one.
Author's tip from John Hart, Casino Review Analyst: "The gamble feature after a win is a separate bet, not an extension of your original spin. Treat 50/50 double-or-nothing as its own decision with its own bankroll impact — it's easy to turn a modest win into nothing by gambling it away out of habit."
Retriggers and the expanding symbol — what to expect inside the bonus
Once you're in the 10 free spins, landing 3+ Books again retriggers the bonus and adds another set of spins on top of what's remaining — there's no hard cap on how many times this can happen in a single bonus round, though it's not common to see more than one or two retriggers in a typical session. The expanding symbol is chosen randomly at the start of each set of spins (including after a retrigger), so a retrigger doesn't guarantee the same symbol keeps expanding — it's re-rolled, which means a strong first set of spins doesn't necessarily predict a strong retriggered set.
This randomness is part of why session results on Book of Ra vary so widely even among players hitting the bonus at similar rates — the same trigger frequency can produce very different payouts depending on which symbol gets picked to expand and how often it lands afterward. It's a genuinely different bonus experience each time, which is either part of the appeal or part of the frustration depending on how the session's gone so far.
Worth noting: because the expanding symbol is picked fresh at each set of spins, there's no pattern to track across a session and no version of "due for a good symbol" that has any bearing on the next trigger. Each set of spins is an independent event, regardless of what expanded last time or how long it's been since your last bonus round.
Book of Ra is available through offshore AU-licensed casinos carrying Novomatic/Greentube titles — access for Australian players isn't restricted under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which targets domestic operators rather than individual punters. Every build runs on certified RNG software regardless of which RTP configuration is active. If gambling stops being fun, Gambling Help Online (1800 858 858) is free and confidential.
Want a comparable high-volatility bonus round title with a much bigger ceiling? Check Big Bass Splash 1000, Gates of Olympus, or Gold Rush. Prefer a simpler, low-volatility classic instead? Try Starburst. Not sure what "volatility" or "RTP" means? The glossary explains it. See the full pokies list, start at the homepage, or go straight to login.
