Pragmatic Play · 2024 · Independent review
Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 Review: RTP, Max Win and Free Demo
Our score: 8.3/10
Quick verdict: Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 is Gates of Olympus 1000 under snow. Every rule we compared is identical: orbs up to 1,000x, a 15,000x cap, 96.50% top RTP. The one real difference is hidden: its lower RTP versions, 95.00% and 94.00%, sit below the 1000's. Check the rules screen before you play.
- RTP
- 96.50%Lower versions: 95.00% and 94.00%
- Volatility
- HighFree spins about 1 in 448 spins
- Max win
- 15,000x$3,000 at the $0.20 minimum bet
- Multipliers
- 2x–1,000xThe same 16 values as the 1000
What's in this review
Where to play Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000
These casinos hold Curaçao licenses and don't accept players from the UK or the US. Check that the casino accepts players from your country and that online gambling is legal where you live. With this game in particular, open the rules screen and confirm the RTP: the lower versions are lower than usual. Our RTP guide shows where to look.
Not paid placements: we have no commercial partners. How we are funded. 18+.
1win
License Curaçao Gates of Olympus Being checked: we haven't confirmed the lobby yet Offshore casino. Not licensed in the UK or the US; check the license in the site footer and whether your country is accepted before you sign up.
Melbet
License Curaçao Gates of Olympus Being checked: we haven't confirmed the lobby yet Offshore casino. Not licensed in the UK or the US; check the license in the site footer before you sign up.
Stake
License Curaçao Gates of Olympus Being checked: we haven't confirmed the lobby yet Operator Medium Rare N.V. Crypto casino. Not available in the UK or the US; check whether it accepts players from your country.
What is Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000?
Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 is Pragmatic Play's Christmas version of Gates of Olympus 1000, released on . Zeus wears a Santa hat and a red cape, snow sits on the reels and the gems, and the winning symbols burst into snowflakes instead of lightning. The scatter is Zeus in his Santa hat.
Underneath the decorations, it's the 1000 game. The 6x5 grid pays any 8 or more matching symbols anywhere, wins tumble, multiplier orbs from 2x to 1,000x land in any spin, and 4 scatters trigger 15 free spins with a running total multiplier. The cap is 15,000x the bet.
If you've played the 1000, there's nothing new to learn. The one thing worth knowing is about the casino's settings, not the game: see the RTP section.
Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 at a glance
| Provider | Pragmatic Play |
|---|---|
| Release date | |
| Grid | 6 reels × 5 rows |
| How wins pay | 8+ matching symbols anywhere; no paylines |
| RTP | 96.50% (also 95.00% and 94.00%) |
| RTP with Ante / buy | 96.50% / 96.49% |
| Volatility | High, as the rules screen says |
| Free spins | About 1 in 448 spins |
| Multipliers | 2x to 1,000x |
| Max win | 15,000x the bet |
| Bet range | From $0.20; the casino sets the maximum |
| Ante Bet | Yes, +25% to the bet |
| Bonus buy | 100x, where allowed |
RTP for each mode, volatility, multipliers, max win and bet limits from the game's rules screen (October 2026). Lower RTP versions and bonus frequency from BigWinBoard and AboutSlots.
Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 vs Gates of Olympus 1000
We compared the rules screens of both games page by page, at a $2 bet. The text is the same, line for line. Here's everything that is and isn't different.
| Feature | Gates of Olympus 1000 | Xmas 1000 |
|---|---|---|
| Lower RTP versions | 95.51% and 94.50% | 95.00% and 94.00% |
| Theme | Classic Olympus, lightning | Snow, Santa hat, snowflake bursts |
| Fifth orb design | Crystal orb | Purple snowflake star |
| Paytable and scatter pays | Identical: crown 10x to 50x, scatters 3x, 5x and 100x | |
| Multipliers and max win | Identical: 16 values from 2x to 1,000x; 15,000x cap | |
| Free spins, Ante, buy | Identical: 15 spins, +5 for 3 scatters, +25% Ante, 100x buy with 4 scatters guaranteed | |
| Top RTP and volatility | Identical: 96.50% (Ante 96.50%, buy 96.49%), High | |
Rules from the game screens. Lower RTP versions as listed by BigWinBoard and AboutSlots for Xmas 1000, and by BigWinBoard and SlotCatalog for the 1000.
Which should you play? If your casino runs both at 96.50%, it comes down to taste: the same game, a different coat of paint. If you can't see the RTP or it's lower than 96.50%, the 1000 is the safer pick, because even its worst version returns $0.50 more per $100 than the worst Xmas version.
Symbols, multipliers and tumbles
The paytable matches the original Gates of Olympus to the cent. Twelve or more crowns pay 50x your bet, the hourglass 25x, the ring 15x and the chalice 12x; the five gems pay from 10x for 12 red gems down to 2x for 12 blue ones. Eight or nine of a symbol is the lowest tier, ten or eleven the middle one. The Santa-hat Zeus scatter pays 3x, 5x or 100x for 4, 5 or 6. The full table is in our Gates of Olympus paytable.
Every win starts a tumble: the winning symbols burst into snow, the rest drop down and new symbols fall in, until no new win forms. Multiplier orbs can land on any spin or tumble, in the base game and the free spins. At the end of the tumbles, their values are added together and multiply the total win of that spin. An orb on a spin that doesn't win pays nothing.
- 2x
- 3x
- 4x
- 5x
- 6x
- 8x
- 10x
- 12x
- 15x
- 20x
- 25x
- 50x
- 100x
- 250x
- 500x
- 1,000x
All 16 values as listed on page 2 of the rules. Pragmatic Play doesn't publish how often each one appears; the top values are very rare.
Free spins and the total multiplier
Four or more scatters anywhere trigger 15 free spins after the scatter win is paid. Three or more during the round add 5 more spins, with no limit on retriggers. Special reels are in play during the round, the rules say.
How the total builds
The total multiplier sits on a column to the left of the grid and starts empty. When an orb lands on a spin that wins, its value joins the total, and the whole total multiplies that spin's win. It never resets during the round. A winning spin without a new orb pays its normal value.
Our screenshots show it step by step. With 14 spins left, a 6x orb lands with a win while the total is still empty. Two spins later the column reads 6x, and from then on any winning spin with a new orb is multiplied by at least that. A later screenshot from the round shows it at 9x.
One real round. In the round we captured at a $2 bet, bought for $200, the 15 free spins paid $477.20, or 238.6x the bet. That's a strong result, more than twice the price of the buy. It's one round, though, and it says nothing about the average: many rounds pay far less.
More on what to expect from the bonus in our free spins guide.
Ante Bet and bonus buy
Ante Bet. The "Double chance to win feature" switches the bet multiplier from 20x to 25x: a $1 spin costs $1.25, more scatters are placed on the reels and the chance of triggering free spins naturally is doubled. The bonus buy is locked while it's on. The rules give it the same 96.50% RTP as normal play.
Bonus buy. Where it's allowed, 15 free spins cost 100x the bet, and the triggering spin always shows 4 scatters. Its RTP is 96.49%, a hundredth of a point below normal play. Buys are switched off in the UK and the Netherlands.
Neither option changes what you get back over time. They change how fast you reach the bonus, and how much you spend getting there. Set the bet so that 100x is money you can afford to lose.
| Option | Cost | What you get | RTP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal spin | $1.00 | Free spins about 1 in 448 | 96.50% |
| Ante Bet spin | $1.25 | Twice the chance of free spins | 96.50% |
| Bonus buy | $100 | 15 free spins, 4 scatters guaranteed | 96.49% |
RTP figures for the 96.50% version, from the game's rules.
Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 RTP, volatility and max win
RTP: check it twice
At 96.50%, every $100 wagered returns $96.50 in theory. That's the version Pragmatic Play lists and the one our screenshots show. But casinos can also run Xmas 1000 at 95.00% or 94.00%, and those are lower than the 1000's alternatives of 95.51% and 94.50%. At 94.00% you lose an extra $2.50 per $100 wagered compared with the top version: $25 over $1,000 of spins.
The game looks identical in every version. The only way to tell is the rules screen, which states the RTP in the line "The theoretical RTP of this game is". If it doesn't say 96.50%, play the regular 1000 or another casino's copy. Our RTP guide shows the steps.
Volatility: high
The rules screen labels it High volatility. Independent trackers put the hit rate at about 28% of spins, roughly 1 in 3.5, and the free spins at about once in 448 spins. At $1 a spin, that's $448 wagered between bonuses on average, and gaps of 1,000 spins or more are normal.
Max win: 15,000x
The max win is 15,000x your bet: $3,000 at $0.20 and $15,000 at $1. If a round reaches it, the round ends at once, the win is paid up to the cap and any remaining features are forfeited. In the UK, at the £5 stake limit, the most you can win is £75,000. BigWinBoard and AboutSlots give the odds of the cap as about 1 in 2,749,771 spins.
| Version | Back per $100 wagered, in theory |
|---|---|
| 96.50% | $96.50 |
| 95.00% | $95.00 |
| 94.00% | $94.00 |
Bars start at 90% so the differences are visible. 96.50% from the game's rules; the lower versions as listed by BigWinBoard and AboutSlots.
Play the Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 demo
The demo is the full game with play money. We don't embed it here: the button takes you to our casino list, where you can open it in free-play mode. Pragmatic Play also offers a demo on its own website behind an 18+ check. In the UK, casinos must verify your age before any demo. Demos of the other Olympus games are on our free demos page.
Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 demo
The same game and the same math, with play money. Open it in free-play mode at a casino from our list. 18+.
Play the free demo at a casinoDemos don't always run the 96.50% version either. Open the rules screen in the demo and check page 4 before you judge the game.
Pros and cons
What we like
- The full Gates of Olympus 1000 game: orbs to 1,000x, 15,000x cap
- A cheerful winter look with snowflake tumbles and a Santa-hat Zeus
- 96.50% top RTP, the same with the Ante Bet
- Nothing new to learn if you've played the 1000
What we don't
- Lower RTP versions (95.00%, 94.00%) are worse than the 1000's
- A reskin: no new features beyond the decorations
- High volatility, with the bonus only about once in 448 spins
- The 100x buy makes it easy to spend fast
Slots similar to Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000
The closest relatives share the grid, the orbs and the running total. Each card says what changes.
Gates of Olympus 1000
The same game without the snow: identical rules, orbs and 15,000x cap, but lower RTP versions of 95.51% and 94.50% instead of 95.00% and 94.00%.
Gates of Olympus
The 2021 original: orbs up to 500x and a 5,000x cap at the same 96.50% top RTP. The calmer choice.
Gates of Olympus 2500
The same core game taken further: orbs up to 2,500x, four bonus types and special bets.
Starlight Princess 1000
Pragmatic Play's anime twin of the 1000 games, with the same grid, orbs and running multiplier.
Our verdict: is Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 worth playing?
Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000: the 1000 game in festive dress, with one catch.
As a game, Xmas 1000 is exactly as good as Gates of Olympus 1000: the same rules, the same 1,000x orbs, the same 15,000x cap and the same 96.50% top RTP. The winter makeover is well done, and if you enjoy the 1000, this is a pleasant change for December.
The catch is the casino's choice of version. Xmas 1000's lower RTP settings are lower than the 1000's, so an unchecked casino copy can cost you more over time. Confirm 96.50% on the rules screen and it's a fine pick; if you can't, play the regular Gates of Olympus 1000 instead.
| Bonus feature | 8.5/10 |
|---|---|
| Win potential | 9/10 |
| Gameplay | 8/10 |
| Design and sound | 7.5/10 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the RTP of Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000?
It's 96.50% in the standard version, the same with the Ante Bet, and 96.49% for the bonus buy. Casinos can also run 95.00% or 94.00% versions, lower than the regular 1000's. The rules screen shows the version you're playing.
Is Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 the same as Gates of Olympus 1000?
The gameplay is: the paytable, multipliers, free spins, Ante Bet, bonus buy, max win and top RTP all match. The differences are the winter theme and the lower RTP versions casinos can choose.
What is the max win on Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000?
It's 15,000x your bet: $3,000 at $0.20 and $15,000 at $1. The round ends as soon as the cap is reached, and any remaining features are forfeited.
How do the free spins work?
Four or more scatters give 15 free spins plus 3x, 5x or 100x. Every orb that lands on a winning spin joins a total multiplier that never resets during the round. Three more scatters add 5 spins.
Can you buy the bonus in Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000?
Yes, in most markets, for 100x your bet, with 4 scatters guaranteed on the triggering spin. It isn't available in the UK or the Netherlands, or while the Ante Bet is on.
Can I play Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 for free?
Yes. Many casinos offer it in free-play mode, and Pragmatic Play has a demo on its website. In the UK, casinos must verify your age before any demo.
How we checked the numbers
This Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 review is written by the Gates of Olympus Guide team. We start from the official Pragmatic Play game page and the game's own rules screens, which give the RTP for each mode, the volatility label, the multiplier values, the bet limits and the 15,000x cap rule. The release date comes from Focus Gaming News. The lower RTP versions, bonus frequency and max-win odds come from BigWinBoard and AboutSlots, which agree on them.
The screenshots come from the game itself, taken in a dollar session in October 2026 at a $2 bet, and we compared every rules page with Gates of Olympus 1000's. The one free spins round shown is a single captured result, not a test: we haven't run a recorded test session, and we never invent results. An editor reviews each AI-assisted draft before it goes live: see our editorial policy and review method.
Play responsibly
The holidays are a common time to overspend. Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000 is built around rare, big results, and most sessions end well below the headline numbers. Gambling is entertainment that costs money, not a way to earn it.
- Decide on a budget before you start and stop when it's gone.
- Use deposit limits, time reminders and self-exclusion tools at your casino.
- Never chase losses, with a bonus buy or anything else.
GamCare (UK, 0808 8020 133) · 1-800-MY-RESET (US) · ConnexOntario (1-866-531-2600) · Gambling Therapy (worldwide).
More tools and advice on our responsible gambling page. 18+ only.