Bonus buy explained

What a bonus buy is

Most modern slots save their biggest potential results for a bonus round, usually a set of free spins triggered by landing enough scatters. In the base game you might wait hundreds of spins for that to happen. A bonus buy removes the wait: the game quotes a price, you accept, and the feature starts on the next screen.

Developers such as Pragmatic Play, Nolimit City and Hacksaw Gaming built the option into many releases sold to markets that allow it. On those versions the button sits beside the spin control and often offers more than one tier, for example a standard feature and a more expensive enhanced one.

How a bonus buy price is worked out

The cost is always a multiple of the stake you have selected, and the multiple is set so the feature’s expected return roughly matches the game’s normal RTP. Many titles price the standard buy at around 100 times the stake, though each game sets its own figure. The table shows what that means in pounds.

A bought feature still has a wide spread of outcomes. Some pay back a fraction of the price; a few pay many times it. On a high-volatility slot, several purchases in a row can return less than one of them cost. That is the core concern: a single tap commits a sum that would normally be spread across many spins and minutes.

Why bonus buy isn’t available to UK players

Feature buys are not offered to players in Great Britain. The UK approach to slot design focuses on slowing play down and keeping the cost of each decision visible: spins must take at least 2.5 seconds, autoplay and turbo spin are banned, and since 2025 a single spin can cost no more than £5, or £2 for players aged 18–24. Paying hundreds of pounds for one instant feature sits uneasily alongside all of those rules.

In practice, the developer supplies a GB-specific build. The paytable may still describe the bonus round in full, but the buy button and any wording about purchasing it are gone. The UK slot design rules on mobile guide sets out the wider package of changes.

What you see instead in a UK casino app

Open a slot that is known for its buy option, such as Sweet Bonanza or Wanted Dead or a Wild, in a UK app and the control panel is simpler. In portrait you get the spin button, the stake selector and the menu; nothing else offers a shortcut into the feature. Some Pragmatic Play titles may show an ante bet toggle on versions that include it, which raises the cost of each normal spin to improve the trigger chance, but every spin still runs at the standard pace.

Overseas videos and streams often show the buy button, which is why some UK players go looking for it. Its absence in your app is not a fault and there is no setting to bring it back.

If an app offers you a bonus buy

A real-money app that offers a feature buy to someone in Great Britain is either not licensed by the UK Gambling Commission or is serving the wrong market. Neither is a good place to keep your money. Run through these checks.

1. Look at the footer of the app or its website for a UKGC licence statement and account number.
2. Search that number on the Gambling Commission’s public register and confirm the company name matches.
3. Compare the developer name on the App Store or Google Play listing with the licence holder.
4. Make sure no VPN is active on your phone, as it can make a site think you are elsewhere.
5. If anything doesn’t match, stop depositing and withdraw what you can.

Our guides on checking a casino licence and spotting fake casino apps go through each step in more detail.

Related slot terms

• Max win: the cap on a single result, often quoted in feature-buy marketing.
• Stake limit: the UK per-spin ceiling that a buy price would far exceed.
• Scatter symbol: the normal way a feature is triggered in UK versions.
• Demo mode: free-to-play versions, available only after age verification.

Where to play feature slots the UK way

PlayOJO gives new UK customers aged 18+ (excluding Northern Ireland) 80 spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each after a first deposit of at least £10, with winnings paid as cash. Coral gives 100 spins at 10p on selected slots once new players deposit and stake £10 on slots, with no wagering on spin winnings. Terms apply to both.

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.