Most modern slots let you pay to reach the bonus faster. Some sell the bonus outright for 100x the bet or more; others charge a surcharge on every spin for better odds of triggering it. The names differ by studio – Buy Bonus, FeatureSpins, Ante Bet, Chance x2 – but they all trade a higher cost per attempt for faster access. This guide explains the four main types of bonus buys, what the numbers say about their return, and where they are restricted.
The four types at a glance
| Type | How you pay | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Direct bonus buy | One fixed price per bonus round | Gates of Olympus: 100x; Le Bandit: 100x or 250x |
| Odds-boosting spins | A multiple of the stake on every spin | Hacksaw BonusHunt FeatureSpins: 3x the stake for 5x the trigger odds |
| Stake surcharge | A percentage on top of every spin | Pragmatic Ante Bet: +25% in Sweet Bonanza and Gates of Olympus |
| Small surcharge, doubled chance | A slightly higher stake, shown in the game | BGaming Chance x2 |
Direct bonus buys
A direct buy starts the bonus on the next spin for a fixed multiple of the bet. Prices in the games we have reviewed:
- Gates of Olympus – 100x for 15 free spins
- Wanted Dead or a Wild – 80x, 200x or 400x depending on the round
- Le Cowboy – 65x or 250x
- Waves of Poseidon – 100x, or 500x for Super Free Spins
Some studios price buys differently. BGaming’s Maneki 88 Fortunes lets you buy free spins with a chosen number of Golden symbols, and the buy price updates automatically when the bet changes.
FeatureSpins: paying for better odds
Hacksaw Gaming adds a second kind of purchase. Its own description of BonusHunt FeatureSpins in Le Bandit: they “give you 5x enhanced odds at triggering a bonus game in exchange for a fee worth 3 times your stake”. You still play normal spins – each one simply costs three times as much and is five times as likely to hit the bonus. Other FeatureSpins modes cost more per spin and guarantee a specific feature symbol, such as Le Bandit’s Rainbow FeatureSpins at 50x.
Ante Bet and Chance x2
These are the mildest form. In Sweet Bonanza and Gates of Olympus the Ante Bet raises the stake by 25% and roughly doubles the chance of triggering free spins, according to SlotCatalog. BGaming’s Chance x2 “slightly increases the bet and doubles the chance to get free spins”, in the studio’s own words; the exact surcharge is shown in the game. In Maneki 88 Fortunes the two features cannot be combined.
Do bonus buys pay less?
Not according to the published figures. Where buy RTPs are available, they sit very close to the game’s top base RTP:
| Game | Base RTP (top version) | Buy RTPs |
|---|---|---|
| Le Bandit | 96.34% | 96.28% – 96.40% |
| Wanted Dead or a Wild | 96.38% | 96.27% – 96.43% |
| Le Cowboy | 96.28% | 96.24% – 96.33% |
So a buy does not change the expected return much – it changes the speed. Each attempt costs dozens or hundreds of stakes instead of one, which means a budget is used up in far fewer decisions. Two caveats: these buy RTPs come from slot databases rather than the studios’ pages, and lower operator RTP versions exist for the games themselves – our RTP versions guide covers that.
Where bonus buys are restricted
- United Kingdom: in January 2020 the Gambling Commission warned operators about “feature buy-in”, described as staking significant amounts to access the bonus feature without playing the initial stages of the game. Six operators were offering it – one game charged more than £3,000 to enter the bonus – and all six removed it. The Commission relied on its existing technical standards on game rules (RTS 3A) and on not encouraging customers to chase losses (RTS 14A); there is no separate clause naming feature buys.
- Germany: the 2021 State Treaty limits virtual slots to a €1 stake per game and an average of five seconds per game, and bans autoplay. It contains no explicit clause on feature buys.
- Netherlands: Play’n GO says the Dutch regulator prohibits bonus buys; we have not found the primary rule.
- Elsewhere: in Sweden there is no ban, but Play’n GO has campaigned for one
The Play’n GO position
Play’n GO is the most prominent studio to publicly refuse to make bonus-buy games. Its CEO pledged in 2021 never to do so, said in 2024 that the decision had cost the company hundreds of millions of Swedish kronor, and called bonus-buy games “harmful to players”. A poll the company commissioned in Sweden found 7 in 10 respondents in favour of a ban. That is an industry position rather than independent research – we found no peer-reviewed study specifically on bonus buys – but it explains why Book of Dead and the rest of its catalogue have none.
Before you buy
- Check the price per attempt and how many attempts your budget really covers.
- Look for the buy RTP in the game rules; if it is not listed, treat the return as unknown.
- Remember that the top bonus tier – such as Le Bandit’s five-scatter round – often cannot be bought at all.
- Prefer odds-boosting spins or an Ante Bet if you want faster bonuses with smaller swings per decision – after checking in the rules that the Ante actually raises the bonus chance.
Strengths and weaknesses
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The short version
[wpremark preset_name=”default-info” icon_show=”1″ icon_image=”info-circle-regular” icon_color=”#3da2e0″ icon_width=”32″ icon_height=”32″ icon_indent=”16″ background_show=”1″ background_color=”#e3f1f4″ border_top=”0″ border_right=”0″ border_bottom=”0″ border_left=”0″ border_width=”2″ border_color=”#3da2e0″ shadow_show=”0″ shadow_x=”0″ shadow_y=”5″ shadow_blur=”10″ shadow_stretching=”-5″ shadow_opacity=”0.3″ title_show=”0″ title_bold=”0″ title_italic=”0″ title_underline=”0″ title_uppercase=”0″ title_font_size=”18″ title_line_height=”1.5″ text_bold=”0″ text_italic=”0″ text_underline=”0″ text_uppercase=”0″ padding_top=”20″ padding_right=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”20″ margin_top=”20″ margin_right=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″ margin_left=”0″ border_radius=”5″]In the games where buy RTPs are published, buys return within about a tenth of a point of the top base version. What they change is how fast money moves: one decision can cost 65x to 500x the bet. Decide the number of buys before you start.[/wpremark]
Frequently asked questions
[expert_review_faq params=”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”]
18+. Buying bonuses speeds up both wins and losses. If gambling stops being fun, see our responsible gambling page.
Sources
- Hacksaw Gaming – Le Bandit (BonusHunt FeatureSpins wording)
- SlotCatalog – Le Bandit buy RTPs
- SlotCatalog – Wanted Dead or a Wild buy RTPs
- SlotCatalog – Le Cowboy buy RTPs
- SlotCatalog – Sweet Bonanza (Ante Bet, buy)
- SlotCatalog – Gates of Olympus (Ante Bet, buy)
- BGaming – Maneki 88 Fortunes (Chance x2, Buy Bonus)
- UK Gambling Commission – Games warning for online operators
- CMS – Gambling Commission calls for feature buy-ins to be removed
- UK Gambling Commission – RTS 14
- GlüStV 2021 §22a (Germany)
- next.io – Swedish slots players support bonus buy ban
- InterGame – Swedish poll by slot developer supports bonus buy ban