What Are Bonus Buy Slots?

The question I get most from readers new to offshore casinos is the simplest one: what are bonus buy slots? Here's the clear answer, grounded in the games you'll actually find at US-facing offshore sites.

What are bonus buy slots?

Bonus buy slots are real-money online slots that let you pay a fixed price to trigger the bonus round instantly instead of waiting for it during normal play. The price is a multiple of your stake — commonly 50x to 100x — and one click drops you into the free-spins or Hold & Win feature where the win potential lives.

What they look like at offshore casinos

At the casinos I review, the buy feature is concentrated in Dragon Gaming titles like Muertos Bonanza, Coins of RA Power, Wicked Ways and Lucky Loki, alongside Betsoft and Nucleus games. Many pair the buy with a Hold & Win money feature, so buying takes you straight into the coin-collection round.

The maths in plain terms

Buying does not improve your edge. Studios publish a feature-buy RTP that sits within a fraction of a percent of the base game — you're paying for speed and certainty of access, not a better return. What changes is the shape: fewer, bigger swings instead of a long grind.

Why players use it

• Speed — the feature immediately, no waiting.
• Cost certainty — a known price, not an open-ended chase.
• Variance — direct access to the round with the multipliers.

The trade-off is bankroll: a buy spends a big chunk at once. I keep stakes low and treat each buy as a single high-variance bet.