Big Time Gaming

Big Time Gaming (BTG) is the Australian studio that changed how modern slots are built. Founded in 2011 in Sydney by industry veteran Nik Robinson — who previously founded New Tech Media, later part of OpenBet — the company operates from Surry Hills, NSW, and became part of the Evolution Group in 2021 after a EUR 450 million acquisition that placed it alongside NetEnt, Red Tiger and Nolimit City.

BTG's defining contribution is Megaways, the reel-modifier engine introduced in 2016 that randomizes the number of symbols per reel on every spin, producing up to 117,649 ways to win in its classic six-reel format. From 2017 the studio licensed the mechanic to other developers, and Megaways versions of games from Blueprint, Pragmatic Play, Red Tiger and dozens of others now fill casino lobbies — a rare case of one studio's invention becoming an industry-wide standard. BTG also pioneered the bonus-buy concept with its Feature Drop, letting players purchase the free-spins round directly.

The flagship is Bonanza (often listed as Bonanza Megaways), the 2016 mining-themed release that made the mechanic famous and remains a streamer staple thanks to its unlimited win multiplier during free spins. Extra Chilli added feature gambling, White Rabbit Megaways introduced extending reels, and Danger High Voltage, Lil Devil, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Monopoly Megaways round out a deliberately compact, quality-over-quantity portfolio of roughly 70-90 titles distributed to hundreds of casinos and aggregators.

For bonus hunters, BTG is a dependable pick: community-maintained provider lists consistently confirm that triggered bonus rounds are saved when you close the game, so you can collect a Bonanza or Extra Chilli bonus during the hunt and open it later in the payout phase. Be aware that many BTG games are high-volatility by design — unlimited multipliers mean long dry spells punctuated by occasional huge rounds — so results per bonus swing harder than with most providers. The studio holds approvals in major regulated markets including the UK and Malta under the Evolution Group umbrella.