Hold & Win mechanic specialist heritage
Booongo (now 3 Oaks Gaming) was one of the earliest dedicated Hold & Win studios in iGaming. The mechanic places special “respin” symbols on the reels that lock in place when triggered, with each subsequent respin only updating the non-locked positions until either three respins exhaust or the entire grid fills with respin symbols for a maximum-win cash-collection payout.
The studio’s catalogue is built around variants of this Hold & Win core mechanic. Tiger Gems is the current 3 Oaks Gaming flagship — an Indian-themed Hold & Win slot with a 5×4 grid and 25 paylines. Aztec Sun Hold and Win adapts the mechanic to a Mesoamerican mythology theme, while Lord of Luck Hold and Win takes a wealth-and-prosperity angle. The Booongo-era catalogue also covers numerous additional H&W releases that 3 Oaks continues to distribute.
The Hold & Win mechanic specialism distinguishes the studio from broader-mechanic peers. Where mid-tier studios layer Hold & Win as one mechanic among many, 3 Oaks Gaming has made it the primary franchise architecture. For peer mechanic context, our Booming Games’ Hold & Win franchise peer coverage shows another studio with a similar mechanic-specialist positioning.
- Tiger Gems — current 3 Oaks Indian-themed Hold & Win flagship (5×4, 25 paylines)
- Aztec Sun Hold and Win — Mesoamerican mythology Hold & Win sibling
- Lord of Luck Hold and Win — wealth-and-prosperity Hold & Win variant
- Booongo-era Hold & Win catalogue — legacy releases continuing under 3 Oaks distribution
Catalogue evolution — Booongo to 3 Oaks
The studio’s commercial identity has changed materially since founding. Booongo launched in 2015 as a slot studio specialising in Hold & Win mechanics, building a catalogue across multiple LatAm and Asia-friendly themes during the 2015-2020 period. The 2021 rebrand to 3 Oaks Gaming repositioned the studio with a new commercial name while preserving the original catalogue.
Beyond the rebrand, 3 Oaks Gaming has expanded strategically from pure slot development into iGaming distribution — partnering with other established studios to distribute their content alongside the 3 Oaks own catalogue. The studio-to-distributor pivot is unusual at this scale and suggests the team views distribution platform expansion as strategically valuable alongside content creation.
Players encountering “Booongo” branding at older operators or “3 Oaks Gaming” branding at newer integrations are seeing the same studio under two trading names. The Booongo-era titles continue to be available, while new releases ship under the 3 Oaks Gaming brand.
Booongo Gameplay Reality — RTP & Spin Experience
RTP across the Hold & Win catalogue clusters in the standard 95-96% range. Volatility skews medium-high to high — Hold & Win mechanics inherently push volatility higher than conventional payline slots because the cash-collection trigger is rare-but-large. Mobile compatibility is standard HTML5 cross-platform.
For broader provider context, our rebranded studio operator-side primer walks through the 3 Oaks Gaming distribution platform expansion. Players exploring the wider provider ecosystem can browse the wider slot games hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Booongo rebranded to 3 Oaks Gaming in 2021. The studio is the same entity under two trading names — older operator integrations and reviewer aggregator listings still use “Booongo”, while newer commercial activity and current releases use “3 Oaks Gaming”. The Booongo-era catalogue continues to be distributed under the 3 Oaks brand.
Hold & Win is a respin-and-cash-collection mechanic where special trigger symbols lock in place when they land on the reels. Subsequent respins only update non-locked positions until either three respins exhaust or the full grid fills with respin symbols for a maximum-win cash-collection payout. Booongo / 3 Oaks Gaming was one of the earliest studios to specialise in this mechanic.
Yes. The catalogue uses HTML5 cross-platform with phone, tablet and desktop equivalence. Hold & Win mechanics work well on touch screens given the simple lock-respin UX.
Operators integrating the 3 Oaks Gaming distribution network typically carry the catalogue under either “Booongo” or “3 Oaks Gaming” branding depending on integration timing. For 2026 options, our LatAm + EU regulated casino directory filters operators currently shipping the catalogue.