Bonus buy is a slot feature that lets you purchase the bonus round directly instead of waiting for it to trigger in the base game. The price is shown as a multiple of your stake, typically tens or hundreds of times the cost of a single spin.
This category collects bonus buy slots. Below we explain how the feature works, how it affects risk and RTP, and what to check before you buy.
In the base game, the bonus round starts when enough scatter symbols land or another trigger condition is met. With bonus buy you pay a fixed price and go straight in. The price is set so that the expected return of the bought bonus roughly matches the game's normal RTP. The outcome is still random: a bought bonus can return its price many times over, but it often returns less than you paid. Some games offer several options, such as a standard bonus and a pricier version with more spins or a higher starting multiplier.
The RTP of a bought bonus can differ slightly from the base game in either direction and is often listed separately for each option in the rules. One purchase carries the risk of tens or hundreds of spins at once, so it does not improve your chances; it compresses the same risk into less time.
In our catalogue Pragmatic Play has more than 400 bonus buy games, Kalamba almost 200 and BGaming about 170. Most Hacksaw Gaming and Nolimit City slots include the feature, and every Bullshark Games title in our catalogue has it. Before buying, check the price and the bonus RTP, remember that these games are often high volatility, and set a limit on the number of buys.
It varies by game and is shown as a multiple of your stake, typically tens or hundreds of times. A 100x price on a 0.50 euro stake, for example, costs 50 euros.
The difference is usually small and can go either way. The exact figures are in the game rules.
Yes, and it often does. The bonus round is random, so many purchases return only part of their cost.