The Angler Slot Review: Betsoft’s Fishing Adventure and the Truth About a Sequel

Betsoft has been building slots since 2006 and was one of the first studios to treat a slot bonus as a short interactive scene rather than a plain free-spins counter. The Angler leans on that heritage. Its headline feature, the Time to Fish bonus, hands you control of Otis and asks you to reel in as many fish as you can, and the more you land the bigger the prize. That collect-as-you-catch idea is the heart of the game and the reason players seek it out. You can find our full library of independent slot breakdowns, state guides and studio profiles on the BestSlotsUSA home page, but this review focuses tightly on The Angler: what it costs, what it pays, how its bonus actually plays, and one question readers keep asking, whether a game called The Angler 2 exists.

We researched this family the honest way. We read Betsoft’s own game page, checked three independent slot databases and reviews, and looked at how the title is distributed across offshore Betsoft lobbies. The short version is that The Angler is a single, standalone Betsoft release, not a series. Despite the way the request framed it, there is no sequel titled The Angler 2 anywhere in Betsoft’s catalog or in the major independent slot databases, so this review covers the one real game in full and tells you plainly why the second title does not appear below with specs of its own.

Quick-view specs for The Angler

The table below covers The Angler, the 2017 Betsoft original and the only genuine release in this so-called family. Where Betsoft or the independent databases do not publish a figure, we mark it Not published rather than invent a number. If any of these terms are unfamiliar, our plain-English explainers on RTP and slot volatility unpack what they mean for your bankroll.

Version comparison at a glance

The request asked us to cover two titles, The Angler and The Angler 2. Honesty comes first, so here is the table with the real facts. The Angler is a genuine, playable online Betsoft slot. The Angler 2 is not a real release. We searched Betsoft’s own current game list, the SlotCatalog database, VegasSlotsOnline and independent reviews, and none of them list any sequel, spin-off or second edition under that name. Rather than fabricate specifications for a game that does not exist, we list it below exactly as the evidence describes it, with no invented numbers.

Game overview and how it plays

The Angler is a classic Betsoft video slot in the studio’s late-2010s house style, and it plays exactly the way that description suggests. You spin a five-reel, three-row grid across 20 fixed paylines, so every spin has all 20 lines active and your total stake is simply the line bet multiplied by 20. Bets run from a minimum of 0.40 up to 100 per spin, which keeps it friendly for small-stakes grinders while still leaving room for higher rollers. The reels are dressed in a bright, hand-drawn dockside scene, with Otis the fisherman off to the side of the reels reacting to your wins, a signature Betsoft touch that gives the base game personality most modern grid slots lack.

Symbol-wise the base game follows a familiar template. The lower payers are stylized playing-card ranks, and above them sit a set of themed high symbols drawn from the fishing world, including tackle, bait and the various fish that Otis is hoping to hook. Line wins pay left to right across adjacent reels in the usual way. The base game is deliberately steady, a medium-variance rhythm of small and mid-size wins rather than a white-knuckle wait, and that pacing is the point. The Angler is engineered so that its two bonus features arrive often enough to keep you engaged, which is what a 97.10 percent top RTP and a medium volatility rating are really telling you. If you are new to this style of play, our how to play slots guide walks through lines, bets and features from scratch, and The Angler sits firmly in the video slots category rather than being a stripped-back classic three-reeler.

Symbols and what they pay

The Angler splits its symbols into the familiar low and high tiers, with a wild and two separate trigger symbols layered on top. Because the game leans on interactive bonuses rather than a single scatter mechanic, understanding which symbol does which job matters more here than on a typical slot.

• Card ranks: the low-value filler symbols that round out the reels and pay the smallest line prizes.
• Fishing high symbols: themed tackle, bait and fish images that pay the larger ordinary line wins in the base game. These are the symbols you want to line up on the 20 paylines outside of the features.
• The Wild: an octopus-style creature that substitutes for all symbols except the two special trigger symbols. In the base game it helps complete line wins, and inside the Oyster free spins it takes on its most valuable role by turning sticky, which we explain below.
• The Bonus symbol: the trigger for the Time to Fish interactive bonus game. It is not a paying line symbol. Its only job is to open the pick-and-catch feature when enough of them land in the right place.
• The Oyster pearl: the trigger for the Oyster free spins. Like the Bonus symbol it does not pay a line prize on its own. It exists purely to launch the free-spins mode.

Bonus-symbol cross-check across versions

This is the section where multi-version slot families usually reveal whether every entry shares the same scatter and wild. In the case of The Angler the answer is simple because there is only one real version. The Angler uses two distinct trigger symbols, a Bonus symbol for the Time to Fish game and an Oyster pearl for the free spins, plus the octopus wild. There is no second title to compare it against. The Angler 2 does not exist as a Betsoft release, so there are no alternate bonus or scatter symbols to break down. Any future sequel would need to be judged on its own paytable if and when Betsoft actually publishes one, and this page will be updated only when a genuine, verifiable release appears. For now, the honest cross-check is that the Bonus symbol, the Oyster pearl and the octopus wild are the full set, and they belong to a single game.

How to trigger the bonus

The Angler has two separate bonus rounds, and each has its own entry requirement, so it pays to know which symbol you are watching for. The Time to Fish interactive bonus is triggered by landing three Bonus symbols on the first three reels, meaning reels one, two and three. The Oyster free spins are triggered separately by landing three Oyster pearl symbols on the last three reels, meaning reels three, four and five. Because reel three sits in both trigger zones, it is the pivotal middle reel that can push you toward either feature depending on which symbols show up around it. Neither feature uses a traditional anywhere-on-the-reels scatter count, which is unusual and worth remembering, and there is no bonus buy option, so the only way into either round is to land the triggers during ordinary paid spins.

How the bonus works

This is the part players care about most, and The Angler delivers two genuinely different experiences rather than one recycled free-spins loop.

The Time to Fish bonus is the interactive, catch-the-fish feature and the closest thing this game has to the fisherman-collect idea. When you trigger it, the reels give way to a fishing scene and you take control of Otis. You cast and reel in fish, and each fish you land adds its value to your running bonus total, so the more fish you haul in, the bigger the prize you walk away with. It is a collect-style bonus in the truest sense: your payout is the sum of what you catch, built up catch by catch rather than handed over as one fixed multiplier. That structure rewards a good run and keeps the outcome visible as it climbs, which is exactly the kind of showmanship Betsoft built its reputation on. It is a prize pick and catch round, not a free-spins round, so it plays out as a self-contained scene before returning you to the reels with your winnings added.

The Oyster free spins are the second, completely separate feature and they behave like a more conventional free-spins mode with one important twist. Landing the three Oyster pearls awards a set of free spins, and during those spins the octopus wild becomes sticky, locking onto its position and staying put for the remainder of the feature. Sticky wilds are powerful because every one that lands early keeps helping you complete line wins on every subsequent spin, so a good start can stack several fixed wilds across the grid and turn otherwise ordinary spins into repeated paydays. The two features together give The Angler more variety than most slots of its era: one is a hands-on catch-the-fish collect game, and the other is a lean-back free-spins round powered by accumulating sticky wilds. If you want to understand why the underlying math is fair regardless of which feature you hit, our explainer on the random number generator covers how every spin and every catch is determined independently.

Version by version

The Angler

The Angler launched in May 2017 as a standalone Betsoft video slot, and it is the only real entry in this review. It runs on a five-reel, three-row grid with 20 fixed paylines, carries a top RTP configuration of 97.10 percent, and is rated at medium volatility, which places it among the more approachable Betsoft titles rather than the high-variance modern flagships. Independent databases list its maximum win at 1,300x the stake, a modest but respectable ceiling for a medium-variance game built around interactive bonuses rather than a single explosive multiplier. Bets range from 0.40 to 100 per spin, and there is no bonus buy, so both features must be triggered naturally. Betsoft ships The Angler with RTP ranges, meaning the headline 97.10 percent figure is the top build and some operators may run a lower-return configuration, which is standard practice across the studio’s catalog and worth checking in a given lobby if the return matters to you.

What makes The Angler stand out is its dual-feature design and its character. The Time to Fish bonus, triggered by three Bonus symbols on the first three reels, is the interactive catch-the-fish collect round where Otis reels in fish for a cumulative prize. The Oyster free spins, triggered by three Oyster pearls on the last three reels, deliver free spins with a sticky octopus wild that locks in place for the duration. That combination of a hands-on pick-and-catch bonus and a sticky-wild free-spins mode gives the game more texture than a typical single-feature slot from the same period. In this offshore market The Angler is an online HTML5 slot, not a land-based cabinet, so it is fully playable on desktop and mobile in the Betsoft lobbies that carry it. As an older 2017 title it can sit deeper in a lobby’s catalog than the newest releases, so the practical advice is to search for it by name rather than expect it on the front page. It is a solid pick for players who want the polish and personality Betsoft is known for at a gentle, medium-variance pace.

The Angler 2

There is no Betsoft slot called The Angler 2, and this review will not pretend otherwise. Across the research we did for this page, including Betsoft’s own current game listing, the SlotCatalog database, VegasSlotsOnline and multiple independent reviews of the original, not one source lists a sequel, a second edition or a spin-off under that title. The original The Angler page shows no series branding and no linked follow-up, and searches for the sequel returned no game page at all. Because our hard rule is never to fabricate a specification, we are not going to publish an RTP, a max win, a release date or a feature list for a title that has never been released. Every cell for The Angler 2 in the comparison table above is marked accordingly.

It is entirely possible the request was based on a misremembered name, a confusion with another studio’s fishing series, or an expectation that a popular theme would eventually get a numbered sequel. Fishing slots are a crowded genre, and several other suppliers run multi-part fishing franchises, which makes it easy to assume Betsoft did the same with The Angler. As of this writing it has not. If Betsoft ever publishes a genuine, verifiable The Angler 2 with a real paytable, we will add it here with fully sourced specs and its own dedicated section. Until that happens, the accurate and useful thing we can tell you is that The Angler stands alone, and the game described in the section above is the complete and only version you can actually play.

Playing The Angler on mobile

The Angler is built in HTML5, so it runs directly in a modern mobile browser without a download, and its five-reel, three-row grid scales cleanly to a phone screen in both portrait and landscape. The interactive Time to Fish bonus is genuinely more fun on a handset, because casting and reeling in Otis’s catch works naturally with taps, and the sticky-wild free spins are easy to follow on a small display. Bet adjustment, autoplay and the paytable all sit in the standard Betsoft mobile menu, and performance on current iOS and Android hardware is smooth. For a broader look at what plays best on a phone across the offshore lobbies, see our roundup of the best mobile slots.

Where to play

If you want to spin The Angler for real stakes, the route in this market is a licensed offshore casino that carries the Betsoft catalog. Our vetted directory of offshore casino sites shows which operators are reputable, which ones stock Betsoft, and what welcome offers are running, so you can pick a lobby, search for The Angler by name and confirm it is live before you deposit. If you enjoy the theme, you will also find plenty more to explore among our fishing-themed slots, and if you simply want to play The Angler and other Betsoft titles for stakes, start from our guide to real money slots to understand deposits, wagering and payouts first.

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