Scatter Pays Scatter Pays (Pay Anywhere)
A payout method where a win counts whenever a set number of the same symbol or more appear anywhere on the screen, regardless of paylines or adjacent reels. Also called Pay Anywhere.
| English | Scatter Pays (Pay Anywhere) |
|---|---|
| Classification | Game Features |
| Other names | Pay Anywhere, scatter payout |
| Win condition | Any position, number of matching symbols |
| Common grid size | 6×5 (30 cells) |
| Common minimum count | 8 (based on Pragmatic Play's flagship games) |
| Often paired with | Tumbling, multiplier symbols |
| Featured games | Sweet Bonanza, Gates of Olympus |
Overview
Scatter Pays is a payout method where a win counts whenever a set number of the same symbol or more appear anywhere on the screen, even if they don’t line up on a payline or on adjacent reels. It’s also known as “Pay Anywhere.” The rule originally applied only to scatter symbols, but today the term more often refers to games that apply it to every regular symbol.
The basic idea of how wins work is covered briefly in Slot Basics. This article goes into detail on how scatter pays games calculate wins and what makes them distinct.
Two meanings
| Category | Applies to | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Payout rule for scatter symbols | Only scatter symbols are counted regardless of position, and the other symbols are calculated by paylines. | Scatters in most payline slots |
| Pay Anywhere games | All regular symbols are counted by number only, regardless of position. | Sweet Bonanza, Gates of Olympus |
There are in-between forms too. Play’n GO’s Book of Dead is a payline game, but in free spins the designated special expanding symbol counts as a win even when it isn’t on adjacent reels. It borrows the scatter rule for one specific symbol.
How is Pay Anywhere calculated?
Pragmatic Play’s games in this family often use a 6-reel, 5-row (30-cell) grid, like Gates of Olympus 1000 and Sweet Bonanza 1000. Eight or more of the same symbol anywhere on the grid is a win, and the more symbols you get, the higher the payout tier.
| Games | Win conditions (official description) | Top regular symbol payout |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet Bonanza | 8-12 or more of the same symbol | 50x |
| Gates of Olympus | 8-30 of the same symbol | 50x |
Winning symbols disappear and new symbols fall from above, so tumbling is almost always used alongside it. A common structure in this family: while a chain continues in one spin, the values of all multiplier symbols that land on screen are added up and applied to the total win when the chain ends. Sweet Bonanza has 2-100x multiplier symbols in free spins, while Gates of Olympus and Starlight Princess have 2-500x.
Comparison with other payout methods
| Method | Win condition | Position importance |
|---|---|---|
| Paylines | Consecutive from the left along a fixed line | Very High |
| Ways | Consecutive from the left on adjacent reels (row position doesn’t matter) | Medium |
| Cluster Pays | A group of symbols touching horizontally or vertically | Medium |
| Scatter Pays | Only the count across the whole grid matters | None |
With no position requirement, the number of symbols needed for a win is high, like 8. So low-payout wins hit often, while big wins need multiplier symbols and long chains to line up.
Scatter Pays games on AI Slot
| Games | Release | RTP | Max win |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet Bonanza | 2019.06 | 96.49% | 21,175x |
| Gates of Olympus | 2021.02 | 96.5% | 5,000x |
| Starlight Princess | 2021.09 | 96.5% | 5,000x |
| Gates of Olympus 1000 | 2023.12 | 96.5% | 15,000x |
| Sweet Bonanza 1000 | 2024.06 | 96.53% | 25,000x |
| Sweet Bonanza Super Scatter | 2025.07 | 96.51% | 50,000x |
All are Pragmatic Play games, and the RTP and max win figures are based on AI Slot’s game info. The “Super Scatter” in the name is a separate feature from scatter pays, covered in Super Scatter.
