Sweet Bonanza POP (Pragmatic Play): the candy classic shrunk to 3x5 with POP jackpots up to 25,000x
Published 20 October 2026. Pragmatic Play releases Sweet Bonanza POP today, a compact 3x5 remake of its 2019 candy hit and the flagship title of its new POP casual range. 97.05% RTP, medium volatility, 5+ scatter pays with tumbling reels, and three instant POP jackpots: Spark (50x), Snap (500x) and Burst (25,000x).
Screenshots: Pragmatic Play press materials via iGamingToday and Fruity Slots.
Key facts
| Provider | Pragmatic Play |
|---|---|
| Release date | 20 October 2026 |
| Grid | 3x5, scatter pays (5+ matching symbols anywhere) |
| RTP | 97.05% |
| Volatility | Medium |
| Max win | 25,000x |
| Bet range | 0.10 to 250 |
| Mechanics | Tumble feature, POP symbols (Spark 50x, Snap 500x, Burst 25,000x instant jackpots), multiplier symbols up to 1,000x, 10 free spins with unlimited retriggers |
| Theme | Candy, sweets, fruit |
The smallest Bonanza grid yet
The original Sweet Bonanza from 2019 ran on a 6x5 grid and needed 8 or more matching symbols anywhere to pay. POP squeezes the format down to 3x5, and now just 5 or more matching symbols on screen form a win. Wins tumble as before: paying symbols vanish, the rest drop down, and new symbols fall in until no new win forms. The paytable is flat - 5 of a kind pays 0.2x to 10x the bet, 9+ of a kind pays 2x to 50x - so the base game is mostly a waiting room for the features.
POP symbols are the whole game
Free spins trigger when any combination of 3 Scatter or POP symbols lands anywhere, awarding 10 spins to start. The twist is what those POPs are worth on the way in: one POP in the triggering mix pays an instant 50x Spark jackpot, two POPs pay 500x Snap, and three POPs pay the full 25,000x Burst prize, which is also the game's maximum win. Every POP trigger doubles as the bonus entry, so the same three symbols can pay a fixed jackpot and open the round. During the round, 2 more scatters add 5 spins and 3 or more add 10, with no limit on retriggers.
Bigger bombs than the original
The multiplier symbols are the main change from the 2019 original, whose bombs topped out at 100x. In POP, each multiplier takes a random value from a ladder of 2x up to 1,000x, stays on screen until the tumbling sequence ends, and then all on-screen values are added together and applied to the sequence's total win. The paytable does not place multipliers in the base game, and reviewers found them bonus-only. With a 97.05% RTP sitting above the industry average and medium volatility, the math is player-friendly by 2026 standards.
POP is Pragmatic's new casual label
Sweet Bonanza POP opens Pragmatic Play's POP range, introduced on 31 July 2026 after the rebranding of Fat Panda Studio, and aimed at casual players with simplified mechanics and shorter sessions. The calendar already lists Zeus vs Hades POP for 17 November and Starlight Princess POP for 1 December, both carrying the same 25,000x instant prize structure.
Sources
- Sweet Bonanza POP: Pragmatic's 3x5 Candy Slot Lands Today With a 25,000x Top Prize - Shane the Gamer (20 October 2026, 3x5, RTP 97.05%, medium volatility, 25,000x max win)
- Sweet Bonanza POP - Pragmatic Play official game page (bonus trigger, POP jackpots, 1,000x multipliers)
- Pragmatic Play unveils star-studded Q4 content lineup - 5 Star iGaming Media (24 September 2026, Sweet Bonanza POP on 20 October, POP range details)