Bonus Buy Slots: A Complete Guide

🔔 Don't care waiting for a bonus to drop? Here's everything you always wondered about bonus buy slots, but never dared to ask

The modern day bonus buy option (or feature buy) was introduced into the world of online gaming in 2017 with the release of White Rabbit. Big Time Gaming's trademarked Feature Drop™ option established a standard that was to be followed by a long line of slots after it - both from Big Time Gaming themselves as well as their competitors. Interestingly, the White Rabbit bonus buy option remains unique in the sense that it allows players to collect tokens in order to lower the price tag of the feature buy. Pocket enough of them and you may even trigger the bonus for "free".

Whilst White Rabbit went on to become a major hit for the Australian studio, the newly introduced bonus buy feature did stir up quite a lot of controversy. So much so that it eventually became banned in the UK. The arguments put forward by its critics was that it put vulnerable players at risk by making it possible for them to spend hundreds, even thousands, within a very short amount of time. Supporters, meanwhile, often argue that they enjoy having the freedom of choice and that chasing a bonus often cost more than actually buying it.

🔔 Feature buy slots - what you need to know

So, is there anything you should know about the bonus buy/feature buy before you dive into it? Well, the fundamental idea may be the same across all providers, but there are still some things you should be aware of. One of the positive aspects is that, if you opt to activate the bonus buy option you usually get to benefit from a higher RTP. What that means is that your chance of winning is increased compared to default gameplay.

When it comes to the feature buy option, some games stick out more than others. For example, buying 18 spins in Machina Megaways will cost you 337 times your stake - far more than the standard 50-100x standard set by Big Time Gaming and other established providers. NetEnt too went with a rather costly version in their first ever feature buy slot Serengeti Kings. Whilst 3 scatters comes with a fixed price, the cost of additional scatters is dynamic and may cost as much as 360 times your stake or more. Few bonus buy slots are as extreme as those on offer from Nolimit City, however. With a price tag of 750x for the most expensive feature in Deadwood, or 2000x in San Quentin, these are some of the most costly bonus buy slots available on the market. Then there are slots like Genie Jackpot Megaways where buying the bonus doesn't actually guarantee you a bonus.

🔔 Where can one play bonus buy slots?

As online slots have become significantly more volatile over time there's also been an increase in demand for the bonus buy feature. Volatile slots often come with massive potential and in order to be able to pay out such huge jackpot sums to the players, these slots must collect it first. Now, what this means for each individual player is that it can take hundreds, maybe even thousands of spins, before a bonus is triggered. With the option to buy the bonus, players can skip straight to the more exciting part of the action.

As mentioned previously, the bonus buy option is currently available in all jurisdictions and markets except for the UK where it became banned in 2019. This means that players from Canada, New Zealand and even India can still benefit from the option of buying features across all our top casinos. Just keep in mind, if you decide to claim one of our welcome bonuses you need to make sure that you are allowed to buy bonuses whilst playing with bonus funds.

🔔 Be aware of the risks when buying bonuses

It's easy to get tilted or carried away when buying features. Even in the instance you've managed to build yourself a massive balance, it can all be lost within a few minutes when buying bonuses. In most cases, bonus buy slots are designed in such case that the payout percentage will be relatively high. The average return to player is typically also increased in feature buy slots. With that said, the return can still be shockingly low if you're really unlucky. Before you start buying bonuses, try the games in free play demo mode to see how they behave. That way you can get a rough understanding of what to expect.

🔔 10 popular bonus buy slots

At the bottom of this page you will find a list of ALL bonus buy slots that we have reviewed (some have been left out because they're simply too bad). But first, let's list the most popular ones. Going by our experience and seeing what players have to say on forums and social media, these slots listed here are the ones in which players most frequently buy bonuses.

#1 - Money Train 2 (Relax Gaming)

• RTP: 96.4%
• Max Payout: 50,000x
• Price of Feature Buy: 100x
• Money Train 2 Review & Demo

#2 - Dead or Alive 2 (NetEnt)

• RTP: 96.80%
• Max Payout: 111,111x
• Price of Feature Buy: T.B.A
• Dead or Alive 2 Review & Demo

#3 - Extra Chilli (Big Time Gaming)

• RTP: 96.20%
• Max Payout: 20,000x
• Price of Feature Buy: 50x
• Extra Chilli Review & Demo

#4 - Money Train (Relax Gaming)

• RTP: 96.20%
• Max Payout: 20,000x
• Price of Feature Buy: 80x
• Money Train Review & Demo

#5 - Montezuma Megaways (WMS)

• RTP: 95.92%
• Max Payout: 12,500x
• Price of Feature Buy: 85x
• Montezuma Megaways Review & Demo

#6 - 300 Shields Extreme (NExtGen Gaming)

• RTP: 95.29%
• Max Payout: 17,770x
• Price of Feature Buy: 60x
• 300 Shields Extreme Review & Demo

#7 - Genie Jackpot Megaways (Blueprint Gaming)

• RTP: 96.52%
• Max Payout: 10,000x
• Price of Feature Buy: 100x
• Genie Jackpot Megaways Review & Demo

#8 - Dark Vortex (Yggdrasil Gaming)

• RTP: 96.50%
• Max Payout: 7,000x
• Price of Feature Buy: 80x
• Dark Vortex Review & Demo

#9 - Fat Santa (Push Gaming)

• RTP: 96.45%
• Max Payout: 10,000x
• Price of Feature Buy: 80x
• Fat Santa Review & Demo (N/A)

#10 - Punk Rocker (Nolimit City)

• RTP: 96.11% - 96.64%
• Max Payout: 15,000x
• Price of Feature Buy: 80x/243x
• Punk Rocker Review & Demo