A growing number of pokies offer a button that lets you skip straight to the free spins round. Instead of waiting for scatters to land, you pay a fixed price, often 50 to 150 times your stake, and the feature begins immediately. For some players, it is an exciting shortcut. For others, it is one of the fastest ways to spend a budget. Understanding the economics behind bonus buys makes it much easier to decide whether they belong in your play at all.
Information resources like https://thepokiesaud.co note whether a game includes a bonus buy and, where published, its separate RTP. This article explains how bonus buy prices are set, what they mean for expected cost and variance, and why some regulators restrict them.
How Bonus Buy Prices Are Set
A bonus buy price is designed to roughly reflect the average cost of reaching the feature naturally, combined with the average value the feature pays. If a game’s feature typically arrives once every 200 spins and pays an average of 100x the stake, the price is set close to that average value, adjusted so the house retains its edge.
Many games publish a separate RTP for the bonus buy, which may be slightly higher, slightly lower or identical to the base game. Checking this figure in the rules shows whether buying the feature is more or less expensive per dollar than playing normally.
Expected Cost Versus Actual Outcome
The expected cost of a bonus buy is the purchase price multiplied by the house edge. At a price of 100x a $1 stake with a 96% RTP, the expected cost is $4. In other words, on average, each $100 purchase returns $96.
The actual outcome, however, varies enormously. Features can return a fraction of the price or many times it.
| Bonus buy price (at $1 stake) | RTP | Expected cost per buy | Typical range of outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| $50 | 96% | $2 | From a few dollars to several hundred |
| $100 | 96% | $4 | From a few dollars to several thousand |
| $100 | 94% | $6 | Similar range, higher average cost |
| $150 | 96.5% | $5.25 | Very wide, with rare large results |
The expected cost per dollar may be similar to normal play, but the amount wagered in a single click is far larger.
Why Variance Explodes
Normal play spreads spending across many small spins, with occasional features arriving along the way. A bonus buy compresses that entire journey into one decision. Instead of experiencing hundreds of small outcomes, you experience one large outcome with a very wide range.
This makes bonus buys extremely volatile. Two consecutive purchases can produce wildly different results, and a series of below-average features can exhaust a budget very quickly. A player with a $200 budget might be able to afford only one or two buys at a $1 stake.
The Speed Problem
Bonus buys also increase the speed of spending. A single feature might take a minute or two to play out, during which a large sum has been wagered. Repeating purchases can move hundreds or thousands of dollars through a game in a short time. This speed is one reason some regulators have restricted or banned bonus buys in their markets.
Psychological Pressures
The instant access offered by bonus buys can create particular pressures:
- The temptation to buy “one more” after a disappointing feature
- Chasing a previous large result from an earlier purchase
- Underestimating the total spent because each decision feels like a single action
- Treating the feature as the only interesting part of the game
- Losing the natural pauses that occur during base-game play
These pressures make it easy to spend more than planned, especially in sessions without firm limits.
When a Bonus Buy Might Make Sense
For players who still want to use bonus buys, a few principles reduce risk:
- Treat each purchase as part of a fixed session budget, never as an extra
- Reduce your stake so the buy price is a small fraction of your budget
- Decide in advance how many purchases you will make, if any
- Check the bonus buy RTP and avoid versions with a lower return
- Never buy features to recover losses
Even with these principles, bonus buys remain a high-variance choice best suited to players with a clear understanding of the risk.
Regulatory Context
Bonus buy features are restricted in some jurisdictions due to concerns about speed and intensity of play. Where they are available, games often display warnings or require confirmation before purchase. Seeing these safeguards is a reminder that bonus buys carry a different risk profile from ordinary play.
Alternatives to Buying
If the appeal of bonus buys is seeing features more often, there are lower-risk alternatives. Choosing games with more frequent features, playing a lower stake to extend sessions or using demo mode to explore features without spending money all achieve similar goals at much lower cost and risk.
Comparing Two Sessions
Imagine two players, each with a $200 budget on the same game. The first plays at a $1 stake and enjoys around 200 spins plus whatever wins extend the session, likely seeing the feature at least once. The second buys the feature twice at $100 each. Both face the same house edge, but the second player’s session can end within minutes, with the entire outcome resting on two features. The first player has a longer, steadier experience; the second has a short, high-stakes one.
Final Thoughts
Bonus buys offer instant access to the most exciting part of many pokies, but they compress large amounts of spending into single decisions with very wide outcomes. Understanding how prices are set, how variance increases and why regulators treat them cautiously helps you decide whether they belong in your play. If you do use them, keep them strictly within a fixed budget. If gambling ever feels harder to control, Gambling Help Online offers free, confidential support on 1800 858 858.