Key facts
- Price: Pragmatic’s Gates of Olympus 1000 page states 100x the bet. At a A$1 stake, one buy costs A$100 (checked 11 October 2026).
- Return: Pragmatic’s demo of Gates of Olympus lists 96.50% for the bonus buy and for normal play alike. That is one game; others are not covered.
- UK: on 17 January 2020 the Gambling Commission warned operators after finding six offering “feature buy-in”, and all six removed it. It did not announce a ban.
- Bonus terms at five offshore casinos we read count a bought bonus round towards the maximum bet allowed while a bonus is active.
What a bonus buy is
It is a payment that skips the base game. The UK Gambling Commission described it in January 2020 as the option of “staking significant amounts of money to access the bonus feature without playing the initial stages of the game”. The Commission called it “feature buy-in”; game menus also use “bonus buy” or “feature buy”.
What you buy is the bonus round the game would otherwise trigger only when the right symbols land. In Gates of Olympus 1000, Pragmatic’s page says the buy triggers the free spins round, which starts with 15 free games.
What it costs
The price is a multiple of your stake. Pragmatic Play’s page for Gates of Olympus 1000 states “a bonus buy in the base game for 100x the player’s bet”. One buy therefore costs as much as 100 spins at the same stake.
| Stake per spin | One buy at 100x | Long-run return at 96.50% |
|---|---|---|
| A$0.20 | A$20 | A$19.30 |
| A$1 | A$100 | A$96.50 |
| A$5 | A$500 | A$482.50 |
The last column is an average over a very large number of buys, taking the 96.50% RTP of the Gates of Olympus demo (see the next section). A single buy can return far less or far more.
Prices can go much higher. In its January 2020 notice the UK Gambling Commission reported that “one game was charging more than £3,000 to enter the bonus feature”.
Is the RTP different?
In the one game we could check, no. The settings of Pragmatic’s own demo of Gates of Olympus, read on 11 October 2026, list 96.50% for normal play, for the ante bet and for the bonus buy. Return to player (RTP) is the share of all stakes a game is designed to pay back over a very large number of spins.
That is one game and a demo build; we have no figure for any other game. What a buy changes in that game is the size of each decision: 100 spins’ worth of stake on one round. Before buying in any game, the figure to rely on is the one in its info screen.
Pragmatic’s free Gates of Olympus demo offers the buy, so its cost can be seen without staking money. Our Gates of Olympus guide has the game’s other figures.
What the UK regulator did in 2020
It warned operators; it did not announce a ban. On 17 January 2020 the UK Gambling Commission published “Games warning for online operators”, reporting that six operators were offering “feature buy-in” on slot-style games.
The notice reminded operators of two existing remote technical standards. RTS 3A requires the rules to be explained before the customer commits to gamble. RTS 14A says gambling products “must not actively encourage customers to chase their losses, increase their stake or increase the amount they have decided to gamble”.
The outcome, in the Commission’s words: “All six operators contacted regarding use of the ‘feature buy in’ element have now removed it from their sites.” Pages that call bonus buys “banned in the UK” go further than this notice does.
Is there an Australian rule?
We found none. A search of ACMA’s pages and the Interactive Gambling Act on 11 October 2026 found no mention of bonus or feature buys. The wider point stands without one: ACMA says the Act makes it illegal for gambling providers to offer some online services to people in Australia and lists “slots (pokies)” among them, with or without a bonus buy (see the legal section).
Bonus terms: the max-bet trap
A bought bonus can count as one very large bet. The bonus terms of five offshore casinos that accept Australian players, which we read on 19 September 2026, state that the maximum bet allowed while a bonus is active includes “bonus rounds (purchased within the game)”.
The caps are low. Three of those terms set the limit at €5 in the same clause; a fourth sets A$7 for its first-deposit bonus and A$3 for its second. A buy at 100x a A$0.20 stake is a A$20 bet, above every one of these caps.
The consequence is in the terms too: three of them say that if the player exceeds the maximum bet while the bonus is active, the casino “reserves the right to confiscate the winnings”. These casinos are not licensed in Australia; we do not name or recommend them. Our Megaways pokies guide shows the same clause applied to Megaways games.
Can you play bonus buy pokies at casinos that take Australians?
Offshore lobbies list thousands of them. On 9 October 2026, through an Australian internet connection, we read the game collections of ten offshore casinos that accept Australian players. Six had a bonus-buy collection, of between 2,083 and 2,982 games; four had none.
None of those ten lobbies carried Pragmatic Play, so Gates of Olympus and its bonus buy were not among them. This is our own count at one point in time, and lobbies change. These casinos are not licensed in Australia; we do not name or recommend them.
Is it legal in Australia?
Offering online pokies is not, bonus buy or not. In the words of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 “makes it illegal for gambling providers to offer some online services to people in Australia”, and ACMA lists online casinos among them. ACMA’s list of illegal online services starts with “slots (pokies)”.
ACMA asks internet providers to block sites that offer such services, including “online slot machines”. Its pages checked on 11 October 2026 also set out what this means for you: if you use an illegal service, “Australian regulators will not be able to help you” if the provider treats you poorly or withholds your winnings, and a blocked site may leave you unable to log in to your account.
The law is changing. The Interactive Gambling Amendment (Gambling Reform) Bill 2026 passed on 19 August 2026, and ACMA says most of the reforms start on 1 January 2027. Our guide to the law on real-money online casinos covers the detail.
Safer play. Gambling Help Online is free and confidential, 24 hours a day, on 1800 858 858 and at gamblinghelponline.org.au. You can self-exclude from all licensed Australian wagering at betstop.gov.au. Set a limit before you play. You must be 18 or over. More contacts are on our support resources page.
Bonus buy FAQ
What is a bonus buy?
A price paid to start a pokie’s bonus feature, such as free spins, without playing the base game first. The UK Gambling Commission described it in January 2020 as the option of “staking significant amounts of money to access the bonus feature without playing the initial stages of the game”.
Is buying the bonus worth it?
In the one game we could check, it did not change the return: Pragmatic’s demo of Gates of Olympus lists 96.50% for both the bonus buy and normal play. What changes is the stake. Gates of Olympus 1000 charges 100x the bet, so one buy at A$1 costs A$100.
Are bonus buys banned in the UK?
The UK Gambling Commission did not announce a ban. On 17 January 2020 it warned online operators after finding six offering “feature buy-in” on slot-style games, reminded them of its existing technical standards, and reported that all six had removed the feature.
Are bonus buys allowed in Australia?
We found no Australian rule that mentions them: a search of ACMA’s pages and the Interactive Gambling Act on 11 October 2026 found no reference to bonus or feature buys. ACMA says the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 “makes it illegal for gambling providers to offer some online services to people in Australia” and lists “slots (pokies)” among illegal online services, with or without a bonus buy.
Sources and method
- UK Gambling Commission, Games warning for online operators, 17 January 2020: definition, six operators, the £3,000 example, RTS 3A and 14A, removal by all six (checked 11 October 2026)
- Pragmatic Play, Gates of Olympus 1000 game page: bonus buy at 100x the bet, 15 free games (checked 11 October 2026)
- Pragmatic Play demo server, game settings for Gates of Olympus: RTP 96.50% for normal play, ante bet and bonus buy; bonus buy offered (read 11 October 2026)
- ACMA pages and the Interactive Gambling Act 2001: searched for bonus or feature buys on 11 October 2026, no mention found
- Bonus terms of five offshore casinos that accept Australian players, read on 19 September 2026: maximum-bet clauses including purchased bonus rounds, cap amounts, confiscation wording. The casinos are not licensed in Australia and are not named
- Our own count through an Australian internet connection: game collections of ten offshore casinos that accept Australian players, 9 October 2026; six bonus-buy collections of 2,083 to 2,982 games, no Pragmatic Play in any of the ten. The casinos are not named
- Australian Communications and Media Authority, checked 11 October 2026: About the Interactive Gambling Act (updated 21 August 2026); Protect yourself from illegal gambling operators (updated 6 March 2025); Blocked gambling websites (updated 20 July 2026)
- Cost and long-run return examples are arithmetic from the stated price and RTP
Written by: Helene Berner · First published: 11 October 2026 · Last checked: 11 October 2026