bonus buy slots

Having the option to purchase the feature when playing online slots is now commonplace, but it was a very different story in 2017 when the concept was given a makeover and introduced into Big Time Gaming's release White Rabbit Megaways. This particular version of a bonus buy slot came in two parts. The first of these was BTG's trademarked unique Feature Drop, where special coins could be collected during the base game, which would reduce the amount needed to purchase the feature and would trigger the bonus round instantly if it reached zero.

The second part is what we are all very familiar with in most new slots released in the current climate of online gaming. You could simply choose to trigger the bonus feature at a price of 100x the bet. So, if you were inclined to do so and had the bankroll to back you up, you could trigger bonus round after bonus round without ever spinning the reels in the base game.

Slots where you can buy the bonus, for the most part, precisely the same as any other game. They can have bonus rounds, modifiers, free spins features, and a variety of themes that appeal to all players. So, how exactly do they work?

Well, I'm pleased to report that it couldn't be easier. Any slots with a feature buy will have a button positioned near the reels (usually to the left) displaying the price to initiate the bonus feature. In the case of providers like Pragmatic Play, this will be one button typically showing the value of 100x your current stake. In contrast, other developers like Nolimit City provide a tiered buy menu where different entry levels into the bonus round are offered.

This is a highly debated topic amongst many players, and it would seem that opinion is split. Yes, we do see max wins coming from a bonus buy, but from our extensive testing of the slots we review, it is easy to go 10 or 20 buys on these slots without ever seeing a profit. Obviously, this is just a small sample size, but it is a pattern we see repeatedly.

We are all entitled to express our views on this matter, but overall, from our own experiences testing and playing feature slots for real money, a natural feature trigger plays better than one that has been bought. Unfortunately, though, in some instances, providers develop certain slots where the highest possible bonus features can only be achieved through buying them.

Whether you agree with the concept or not, gambling the volatility of your bonus has also become a significant factor in the when playing any of the titles in this series of games. The downside to gambling bonuses is that if you lose one of the initial gambles, the feature can potentially end there without you having a single spin of the reels and losing all your stake money.

As many slots with a buy feature continue to be developed by providers, we have started to see various adaptations to the feature gamble and the possibility of not only gambling your free spins but the chance to increase your starting multiplier as well. This takes the chance of altering the bonus round volatility to a whole new level, and if Lady Luck is shining down on you, it's possible to potentially stack the chips in your favour to a point in the gamble where a considerable amount of extra free spins are awarded, a higher multiplier can be taken, or in the ideal scenario like the gamble wheel of Vikings Unleashed, both free spins and multipliers are maxed out to begin the feature with.

What may have started as just a few slots offering punters a direct route to the bonus round has now become one of the biggest niches for those looking to play online slots. In fact, it's now more of a surprise to us when we cover any new slots if they don't include the option to purchase the bonus feature, which shows you how far this genre of slots has come. 

Timeline of the bonus buy slot Game

• 2017: Big Time Gaming releases its first buy feature bonus online slot machine, White Rabbit, at a price of 100x bet to trigger the free spins.
• 2019: The Gambling Commission bans the buy feature for UK players.
• 2021: Nolimit City's San Quentin includes a buy option costing 2,000x bet.
• 2022: More than 300 games now offer the option of buying bonus rounds.
• 2023: Blueprint Gaming adds the Build a Bonus feature into Buffalo Rising Megaways with a max buy of 7,378x bet.

If you accept a deposit bonus at any slot site, it will likely have rules and restrictions on a certain amount you are allowed to bet per spin, meaning it is unlikely you'll be able to use games where you can buy the bonus to count towards any wagering. That being said, it is always worth checking with the support team at the casino you are playing at, especially if you are a higher roller, as exceptions are often made on bonus funds or a deposit bonus for those who play with a bigger bankroll, possible allowing you to utilise a feature buy slot game against your wagering.

All online gambling, of course, comes with an element of risk, but many slots where bonus games can be bought are certainly categorised as higher risk due to the fact you can lose more money than normal in such a short space of time. We recommend you extensively try our demo slots section dedicated to bonus buy feature slots so you can see how each title behaves, what the pitfalls are, and make yourself fully aware of how quickly you can burn through your bankroll if you hit a bad run of luck as you continue to buy the bonus.

It's hard to argue a case where you could definitively say that buying bonuses for a certain amount is better value than just spinning the reels of any online slots normally. It would be much fairer to say that combining a mixture of the two will bring higher levels of entertainment to your session. However, it's important to remember that you should only really consider buying a bonus if the size of your bankroll is at least double the price of the feature buy. This way, you will not potentially deplete your bankroll in just one round and can still enjoy normal gameplay and give yourself another chance further down the line to buy more bonuses if you can increase the size of your balance.

These styles of slot games are here to stay as a form of online gambling, well, for now, at least. So, if you are playing from a jurisdiction where buying bonuses are active, your overall play can be enhanced if you use this tool correctly. The danger of buying bonuses on online slots multiple times is that players could get carried away and spend more than they would like, as well as hitting heavy losses. However, if you have deposit limits in place and play responsibly, then there is no reason why you can't activate a few bonus features during one of your playing sessions.

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