Slot Features and Bonus Buys: How the Maths Is Adjusted

A bonus buy lets a player pay a multiple of their stake to enter a feature round directly rather than waiting for it to trigger naturally.

Studios rebalance the maths for these purchases, and the bought-feature RTP is often slightly different from base-game RTP — sometimes higher, sometimes lower, always disclosed in the game information panel of a certified title.

What is not adjustable is volatility. Paying, say, one hundred times the base stake for a single feature round compresses a long stretch of play into one outcome, which magnifies swings dramatically.

Several jurisdictions restrict or ban bonus buys for exactly this reason. Where they are available, they should be treated as a high-variance choice rather than a shortcut to value.