Bonus Buy Slots 2021

When it comes to slots, there’s one thing we can all agree on: and that is bonus rounds are where you’ll find the best game play and the biggest payouts.

But, Free Spins and reel modifiers can take a while to trigger; especially in games with higher volatility – meaning you could burn through your balance before you even get to the fun part!

However, gamesmakers nowadays have got wise to our slot woes and created the bonus buy feature… Let’s take a look.

Note, that some markets do not allow this kind of feature. You may find it blocked. For example, the UK Gambling Commission banned them in the the UK in 2019. Most of the games which feature the bonus buy option are still available for UK players, but with the feature disabled.

Some games still allow players to collect coins for a later purchase of the bonus round.

If you are able to Buy the Bonus, just be play it carefully. Keep it fun and use this sparingly as it can be expensive.

What Is It?

A Bonus Buy slot (or Buy Bonus) will allow you to pay your way into the main bonus of an online slot game. But, it will come at a price, and a hefty one at that! In fact, the price tag for immediate access into the Free Spins will set you back somewhere between 50x -270x your bet. Blimey.

The History

Officially, it was Big Time Gaming who were the first ones to set up a buy feature called Feature Drop in White Rabbit Megaways back in 2017.

However, you could argue NextGen were the real trailblazers with the Superbet option that unleashed extra Fox pup wilds onto the reels in smash hit Foxin’ Wins slot.

Either way, this is one slot trend that is here to stay, with more and more games being made with the option to jump straight into the bonus extras.

Buy Feature Bonus: The Good and The Bad

The Good
OK, so this is obvious…

The main advantage here is skipping the (sometimes) endless base game spins, and getting down to business where you have the more lucrative pay outs.

In slots like Nolimit City’s Book of Shadows and San Quentin xWays where the Free Spins are pretty hard to trigger, the wins can be so substantial it could be worth the initial outlay in cost.

Some other slots, for example Sweet Bonanza from Pragmatic Play, have a relatively low price to pay to up the ante; 10x your bet to double your chances of triggering the free spins bonus. So it makes sense to shop around.

The Bad
It is prohibitively expensive – which automatically rules out the casual players among you. And while there is the potential for massive wins of well over x20,000 your bet in some of these slots (think Great Rhino Megaways), there are definitely no guarantees.

You could walk away with very little – that won’t nearly cover the cost of your bonus buy-in.

Feature Buys

However, there is a more modest version of the buy bonus.

It is called a feature buy and can be found in many new games – as well as in the UK (where bonus buy is banned). These ‘ante bet’ features will only cost you 25% more than your original bet and offer you an increased chance of getting into the Free Spins with an extra scatter, or even more expanding wilds.

Gamble Choice

Other slots will allow you to gamble the bonus round for a chance to win free spins, or even to purchase buy an upgrade. These options carry much less risk, and are much more affordable.

So, ‘to buy or not to buy’ that is the question Wombat fans… The choice is yours. But we always recommend spinning a slot in demo mode first, to get a feel for how rewarding the bonuses are.

The Wombat’s 5 Best Bonus Buy Slot Games

1. Sweet Bonanza (Pragmatic Play)

Sweet Bonanza has a max win potential of 21,175x your stake and features an ante bet feature that can add extra scatters to the reels.

It will double your chances of triggering the free spins round by increasing your stake by 25% which seems reasonable to us.

Aside from the buy in, you’ll also find unlimited re-triggerable free spins and up to a x100 multiplier.

 

2. Rainbow Riches Pick N Mix (SG)

This is another lower cost, lower risk Bonus Buy slot.

There’s 5 different bonus rounds on offer here and you can access them all through the Big Bet feature – it’s a purple button on the right of the screen.

Now, you’ll be taken to a screen with a wheel for each bonus feature.

Part with 10x your bet and the wheels will spin, if the arrow lands on the rainbow segment, you will set off the bonus feature! Who said Irish theme slots were boring?

3.Serengeti Kings (NetEnt)

With its top notch graphics plus Panther and Lion spins, Serengeti Kings was the first NetEnt slot to feature a ‘buy’ button.

If you see flames appear over the Bonus Buy button, it means the bonus feature is now at its hottest (and most lucrative)

Getting into the spins automatically will cost you a HUGE 243x your bet for 5 scatters.

But, there is the cheaper option to buy 3 scatters for 58x or 4 scatters for 84x.

4. Extra Chilli Megaways (BGT)

This game has long been a Wombat fave thanks to its Mexican theme, colourful graphics and bonkers soundtrack; but recently BGT added the Feature Drop to the Extra Chilli Megaways, giving this spicy slot an extra kick.

This feature allows you to pay to activate the Free Spins and costs for 50x your current bet level. However, if you hit BTG Coins on the reels they’ll reduce the cost – which makes that price easier to stomach.

And with 20,000x your bet on offer it could just be worth it.

 

5. East Coast V West Coast (Nolimit City)

A 90s hip-hop theme with a pumpkin’ soundtrack, this mega volatile slot is hotter than Cali girls on the beach!

Like in most Nolimit City slots, there are 2 feature buy options on offer.

You can pay to play 8 East or West Coast spins for 80 x your total stake, or  12 Coast to Coast Spins with many more reel modifiers to bring the dolla dolla bill.

This option costs 420 x your total bet – which is the highest bonus buy we have come across. Parting with that kind of cash, you really would expect to scoop a good chunk of the 30,618 x max win.