Attribute collection
Bonus buy slots
Paying a fixed multiple of the stake to start the bonus round immediately, and what that changes about cost, variance and regulation.
A bonus buy, also called a feature buy, lets a player pay a set multiple of their stake to enter a game's bonus round straight away instead of waiting for it to trigger. The price is usually quoted as a number of times the stake, commonly between 60 and 100 times. The option is regulated differently by market: in Great Britain the Gambling Commission challenged feature buy-in facilities in 2020 and the operators offering them removed the feature.
Filter and sort the game list
| Game | RTP | Volatility | Grid / lines | Released | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Punk RockerNolimit City · Video slot
|
96.01% | High | 12 Feb 2020 | ||
The Crypt 2Nolimit City · Video slot
|
96.1% | Very high | 3 Mar 2026 | ||
Wanted Dead or a WildHacksaw Gaming · Video slot
|
96.38% | High | — | ||
R.I.P. CityHacksaw Gaming · Video slot
|
96.22% | Medium-high | — | ||
San Quentin xWaysNolimit City · Video slot
|
96.03% | Very high | 12 Jan 2021 | ||
Fire in the Hole xBombNolimit City · Video slot
|
96.06% | Very high | 2 Mar 2021 | ||
Fat RabbitPush Gaming · Video slot
|
96.45% | High | — | ||
Chaos Crew 2Hacksaw Gaming · Video slot
|
96.27% | Very high | — | ||
DenshoHacksaw Gaming · Video slot
|
96.4% | High | — | ||
Chaos CrewHacksaw Gaming · Video slot
|
96.3% | Very high | — | ||
Le BanditHacksaw Gaming · Video slot
|
96.34% | Medium-high | — | ||
DeadwoodNolimit City · Video slot
|
96.03% | Very high | 5 Jun 2020 |
What a bonus buy is
A bonus buy replaces the trigger. Instead of spinning until scatters or another trigger condition lands, the player pays a price shown on screen, usually expressed as a multiple of the current stake, and the bonus round starts immediately. Hacksaw Gaming, for example, lists a bonus buy option on games such as Wanted Dead or a Wild alongside the four return to player versions it publishes for the title2.
Some games offer more than one purchase, at different prices, for different versions of the feature.
What it changes, and what it does not
Buying does not improve the maths of the feature. It changes the shape of your spending: a purchase priced at, say, 100 times the stake concentrates into one click an amount that would otherwise have been staked over many base-game spins.
The effect is on variance rather than on expected cost. Every outcome in the session now comes from the bonus round, which is the most volatile part of most games, so results scatter more widely and more quickly. A purchased feature can also finish below its price, which is a normal outcome rather than a malfunction.
Where a game publishes a separate return to player figure for the purchased feature, it appears in the game's own information screen. In Great Britain, rules and information about the likelihood of winning must be easily available before a customer commits to gamble3.
Where it is restricted
Markets treat the option differently, and a game's feature list does not tell you whether it will appear in a given jurisdiction.
In January 2020 the Gambling Commission warned online operators about feature buy-in facilities on slots-style games, which allowed consumers to stake significant amounts to access the bonus feature without playing the initial stages, citing its standards on game rules and on products that encourage customers to increase their stake. One game charged more than 3,000 pounds to access the bonus feature directly. All six operators contacted removed the element from their sites1.
Germany's Interstate Treaty on Gambling takes a different route to the same place for virtual slot games: the stake may not exceed one euro per game, and a game must last an average of at least five seconds4. A purchase priced at many times the stake does not fit inside that limit.
How our database records it
We set the bonus buy flag only when the provider's own game page or the game's rules describe a purchase option. The flag records that the feature exists in the game as published; it says nothing about whether a particular market permits it.
FAQ
About bonus buy slots
Does buying the bonus give better odds than triggering it?
No. The purchase changes how you enter the feature, not the probabilities inside it. Where a provider publishes a return to player figure for the purchased feature, it is stated in the game's information panel, and in Great Britain that kind of information must be available before a customer commits to gamble. A bought feature can return less than its price, which is an ordinary result.
Why are feature buys unavailable in some markets?
Because regulators have acted on them. The Gambling Commission raised feature buy-in facilities with six online operators in January 2020, citing requirements on game rules and on products that encourage customers to increase their stake; all six removed the feature. Germany caps the stake for a virtual slot game at one euro per game, which leaves no room for a purchase priced at a multiple of the stake.
How much does a bonus buy usually cost?
It is quoted as a multiple of the stake, and the multiple is set per game and shown on the buy button before you confirm. Because the price scales with the stake, raising the stake raises the cost of every purchase in proportion. The Gambling Commission's 2020 review found one game charging more than 3,000 pounds for direct access to a feature.
Does a bonus buy change a game's volatility?
It changes what your session looks like. All the outcomes come from the bonus round, which is where most of a game's payout potential sits, so results are spread more widely and arrive faster than in base-game play. The published volatility rating still describes the game as designed; what the purchase alters is how quickly you meet that distribution.
Gambling can cause harm
No game gives a guaranteed return, and losses cannot be won back by playing more. If gambling is affecting your money, work, sleep or relationships, support is available — including free services you can contact from the Maldives.
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