How bonus buys work
How bonus buys work is easy to describe: instead of waiting for scatters to trigger a slot's feature, you pay a fixed price, usually a large multiple of your stake, and the feature starts at once. In Great Britain the option isn't offered, so this guide explains the maths behind it and what UK versions of the same games do instead.
By the Best Slots UK team. Last checked .
Key takeaways
- A bonus buy charges a fixed multiple of your stake, often around 100x, to start the feature straight away.
- The price is set so the buy returns roughly the game's normal RTP, so it isn't a discount on the feature.
- Buying concentrates a large spend into one outcome, which makes results far swingier.
- Feature buys aren't offered to players in Great Britain; UK versions trigger the feature only in normal play.
- What you pay
- A set multiple of your stake
- Typical price
- Often around 100x stake
- Effect on RTP
- Usually similar to normal play
- Effect on volatility
- Sharply higher
- Status in Great Britain
- Not offered
How bonus buys work: the basic transaction
Most modern video slots keep the bulk of their winning potential inside one feature, usually a free spins round with multipliers, sticky wilds or collecting symbols. Reaching it in normal play takes luck and, on average, a lot of spins. A bonus buy turns that wait into a purchase: a button on the game screen offers the feature for a stated price, worked out from your current stake.
If your stake is 50p and the buy is priced at 100x, the feature costs £50. You pay once, the feature runs exactly as if you had landed the scatters naturally, and whatever it pays is added to your balance. Nothing about the feature itself is different. You have simply skipped the base game.
This option isn't available to players in Great Britain at UKGC-licensed casinos. The studios' GB builds have no buy button, and the feature is reached only by landing the trigger symbols.
How a studio prices a bonus buy
Studios don't pick buy prices at random. The starting point is the feature's average payout, which the maths team knows precisely from simulating the game over a huge number of rounds. The price is then set so that buying the feature returns about the same percentage as the game's normal RTP.
| Price charged | Average return | Return as % of price |
|---|---|---|
| 80x | 96.5x | 120.6% (the studio would lose money) |
| 100x | 96.5x | 96.5% (in line with a typical slot) |
| 120x | 96.5x | 80.4% (poor value for players) |
So a 100x price on a feature that averages 96.5x is not a bargain. It's the same long-run cost of play as normal spinning, about £3.50 lost for every £100 spent on average, compressed into one decision. Some games publish a separate RTP for the buy, which can be slightly higher or lower than the base figure; the game rules show both where that applies.
Why do buy prices vary so much between games, from well under 100x to several hundred times the stake? Because the feature's average payout varies. A feature that holds a large share of the game's return, and that triggers rarely in normal play, costs more to buy.
Why the price is higher than the natural cost of reaching the feature
People often compare the buy price with the stake they'd spend reaching the feature naturally. Say a game's feature triggers on average once every 200 spins. At 50p a spin, that's £100 of stakes between features, which looks like a bad deal next to a £50 buy at 100x.
But the comparison is incomplete. During those 200 spins the base game also pays wins. If the base game returns, say, 60% of stake on its own, you'd get back about £60 of the £100 along the way, making the net cost of reaching the feature closer to £40. The buy price is set to reflect the value you skip as well as the feature you get. The numbers are illustrative, but the logic is the same in every game: the price and the natural route are designed to land close to the same overall return.
| Natural trigger | Bonus buy at 100x | |
|---|---|---|
| Money staked | £100 over 200 spins, on average | £50 in one payment |
| Base game wins along the way | About £60, on average | None |
| Feature payout | Same average | Same average |
| Variation from session to session | High | Very high |
What a bonus buy does to volatility
This is the real effect of a buy. The average return barely changes, but the spread of outcomes widens dramatically. A £50 session made of 100 spins at 50p contains many small results, which smooth the ride. A £50 session made of one 100x buy contains a single result. On a high-volatility game, that one feature might return £5, £50 or, very rarely, thousands.
- Most purchased features on high-volatility games return less than their price, because the average is lifted by a small number of very large results.
- Two or three buys in a row can use up a budget that would last hours of normal play.
- The occasional huge feature is real but rare, which is what makes highlight clips look more common than they are.
The explainer on how slot volatility is measured explains why a high average with a long tail means most outcomes sit below the average.
Variations: super buys, tiered buys and chance boosters
Outside Great Britain, the simple buy button has grown several relatives. You'll see them in game footage and reviews from other markets, so it helps to recognise them.
| Variation | How it works | Why it costs more |
|---|---|---|
| Standard buy | Pay a set multiple of stake to start the normal feature | Priced at the feature's average value |
| Super or enhanced buy | Pay more to start a stronger version, such as more spins or a higher starting multiplier | The feature's average payout is higher |
| Tiered buys | Choose between two or three features at different prices | Each tier is priced to its own average |
| Chance boosters | Pay a higher stake per spin for a raised chance of triggering the feature | Each spin costs more for a proportionate gain |
Whatever the label, the principle is the same as the standard buy: the price is set by the average value of what you're buying. For what the Great Britain build of a game offers, the info screen is the reference.
Why bonus buys aren't offered in Great Britain
Feature buys aren't available to British players at UKGC-licensed casinos. The concern is easy to see from the maths above: a buy concentrates a large amount of money into a single, fast outcome. That sits uneasily with the direction of UK slot regulation, which has focused on slowing play down and limiting how much can be staked.
The stake limits make the clash concrete. Since 9 April 2025, the most a player aged 25 or over can stake on a single online slot spin is £5, and since 21 May 2025 the limit for 18 to 24 year olds is £2. A 100x buy at even a 10p stake would cost £10, twice the higher limit. At 50p, the £50 cost would be ten times the limit.
| Stake | 100x buy price | Times the £5 limit (25+) | Times the £2 limit (18–24) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10p | £10 | 2x | 5x |
| 20p | £20 | 4x | 10x |
| 50p | £50 | 10x | 25x |
| £1 | £100 | 20x | 50x |
The same thinking runs through the UK game design rules: no autoplay, no turbo spins and a minimum of 2.5 seconds per spin. Our guide to UK slot game design rules sets them out in full.
What UK versions of bonus buy slots look like
Many popular games that offer a buy elsewhere are available in the UK without it. Sweet Bonanza, Gates of Olympus and Wanted Dead or a Wild are examples. The UK version has the same theme, symbols and feature; it simply has no purchase button, and the help screen describes only the natural trigger.
Because the buy route is missing, the RTP shown is the RTP of normal play. If you watch footage recorded elsewhere, remember the game in front of you might be a different RTP version too. Our bonus buy slots page lists games in this position and how to reach their features in normal play.
Sites that still offer bonus buys to UK players
If a site offers you a buy button in Great Britain, that's a strong sign it isn't licensed by the Gambling Commission. Unlicensed sites don't have to follow UK stake limits, verification rules, safer gambling tools or complaints procedures, and they aren't part of GAMSTOP. Our guide on how to spot unlicensed slot sites explains the other warning signs, and how to check a slot site's licence shows how to look up any operator on the public register.
Working out how often a UK game's feature triggers
Without a buy, the useful number is how often the feature lands in normal play. Some studios publish it in the rules as an average, such as 'once every 250 spins'. Here's how to turn that into a budget picture.
- Find the feature frequency in the info screen. The walkthrough on reading a slot's game info screen shows where it usually sits.
- Multiply it by your stake: 250 spins at 20p is £50 of stakes between features, on average.
- Remember that base game wins return part of that along the way, and that the average hides big swings. Plenty of sessions will run past 500 spins without a trigger.
- Set a session budget that you're comfortable losing without the feature appearing at all.
- Use the age-verified demo to get a feel for the gap between features before you play for money.
18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Set a deposit limit before you play: how to set limits. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.
Frequently asked questions
Can you buy bonuses on slots in the UK?
No, feature buys aren't offered to players in Great Britain at casinos licensed by the Gambling Commission. Studios supply UK casinos with versions of their games that have the purchase option removed, so you reach the feature only by landing the trigger symbols in normal play. Everything else about the game, including the feature itself, stays the same. If a site offers you a buy button in Great Britain, treat it as a warning sign about its licence. Our page answering can you buy bonuses on UK slots covers this in brief.
Is a bonus buy better value than spinning?
Not usually. Studios set the buy price so the purchase returns roughly the same percentage as normal play, often within a fraction of a point of the base RTP. A 100x buy on a feature that averages 96.5x has an expected loss of about £3.50 per £100, much like spinning. What changes is variation: a buy packs a large amount of money into one outcome, so results swing much more widely. The RTP guide explains why average return and session experience are different things.
Why do bonus buys usually cost 100x the stake?
The price reflects the feature's average payout, not a convention. On many popular games, the free spins feature happens to average somewhere near 100x stake, so a price around that level returns close to the game's normal RTP. Features that hold more of a game's return, or that trigger more rarely, cost more, which is why some buys are priced at several hundred times the stake. Cheaper prices usually mean a weaker feature. The slot maths models guide shows how the feature's share is decided.
Does buying a bonus change the RTP of a slot?
It can change it slightly, but rarely by much. Many games are designed so the buy returns about the same as normal play, and some publish a separate buy RTP that sits a little above or below the base figure. In Great Britain the question doesn't arise, because the buy isn't offered and the RTP shown is for natural play only. Casinos can still run lower RTP versions of a game, so check the figure on your casino's help screen. Our page on slot RTP versions explains how that works.
Why are bonus buys not allowed in the UK?
Feature buys aren't offered to British players because they concentrate a large spend into a single, fast outcome, which runs against the direction of UK slot regulation. The per-spin limits make the problem obvious: a 100x buy at a 10p stake would cost £10, double the £5 limit for players aged 25 and over and five times the £2 limit for 18 to 24 year olds. Similar concerns led to the bans on autoplay and turbo spins. The UK slot rules guide lists every current restriction.
What is a super bonus buy?
A super bonus buy is a more expensive purchase option, offered on some games outside Great Britain, that starts an enhanced version of the feature. That might mean more free spins, a higher starting multiplier or extra special symbols. The price is higher because the feature's average payout is higher, so the overall return stays in roughly the same range as the standard buy. Volatility is usually even more extreme. None of these options are available in Great Britain. Our bonus buy glossary entry covers the related terms.
Why do slot streamers buy so many bonuses?
Streamers often buy features because it makes for faster, more eventful content, and many play on sites or in markets where the option exists. Buying lots of features in a row shows the exciting part of a slot without the waiting, but it also hides how much was spent and how many features paid less than their price. Clips usually show the best results, not the full session. Our guide to slot streamers and big win videos explains what to keep in mind when watching them.
How can I get to a slot's bonus round faster in the UK?
You can't speed it up: features in UK games trigger only through normal play, and every spin takes at least 2.5 seconds. What you can do is pick games whose features trigger more often, which usually means lower volatility and smaller average feature payouts. Some studios publish the average feature frequency in the rules, which helps you judge how long a budget is likely to last. Our guide to how slot features trigger explains scatters, collectors and other triggers in more detail.