In 2017 Big Time Gaming released a Megaways™ slot by the name of White Rabbit that would add a new dimension to the current online slot market. This new Alice in Wonderland themed slot would include BTG's trademarked feature drop™, this new addition to their latest slot would enable players to initiate the free spins bonus round without having to trigger it in the normal fashion on the base game, this would also begin the rise of the bonus buy slots, where players would be presented with the opportunity to buy the bonus on a slot machine for a fixed amount multiple of their stake.

Feature activation therefore could be done in two ways. Firstly you could simply go to the buy option underneath the feature drop and purchase the bonus round for the cost of 100x your stake, this would take that amount from your balance, the reels would spin, and the scatter symbols to start the feature would drop in.

Secondly you could collect special BTG coins that would land on the reels at random intervals during your play on the base game, these coins vary in size, and depending upon their size different cash amounts would be reduced from the feature drop™ price. Eventually the buy price would reach zero and once that happens the bonus round will automatically drop in on the next spin, you would also have the option to collect coins to reduce the amount of the feature buy to a value you felt comfortable at buying the bonus for. 

As of 2018 Big Time Gaming licensed out the Megaways™ pay mechanic to several other slot providers, this has obviously seen a far greater amount of the Megaways™ slots hitting the online market. BTG have however held on to their trademarked Feature Drop™, so any other Megaways™ slots or feature buy slots from other providers will not have the base game capability of reducing the cost to trigger the feature, this will be a set amount depending upon which slot you choose to play.

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PLAY FEATURE DROP™ SLOTS & FEATURE BUY SLOTS FOR FREE

Play the best buy bonus slots and discover more about these popular and exciting online games. Playable from your desktop or mobile devices our feature buy slots will keep you entertained and teach you all you need to know. Use our detailed and informative reviews and free play on all bonus buy and Megaways™ bonus buy slots to increase you knowledge.

Being the innovative slot developer that Big Time Gaming are, when they released Extra Chilli Megaways™ in 2018 they decided to elaborate on the feature trigger itself, which in turn plays a huge part in how the feature drop™ on Extra Chilli and buying the bonus works for the player.

Once the feature was triggered, whether that be through normal gameplay or by purchasing the bonus, you are offered the opportunity to gamble the amount of free spins that you have. This gives you, the player, a direct chance to alter the volatility of your feature, the downside to this is that if you lose either of the first two gambles from a basic 3 scatter trigger, then the feature will be over before a single spin has even taken place.

As these slots continue to develop and the software providers that now have the Megaways™ Mechanic at their disposal look to add their own twist to these slots, we have seen various adaptations to the feature gamble, and the release of Vikings Unleashed Megaways™ saw the option of not only gambling your free spins made available to players, but the chance to gamble your starting multiplier as well.

This again presents the player with an opportunity to change the volatility of the bonus round, but as with Extra Chilli Megaways™ if you get too greedy you can end up losing everything and never seeing your free spins bonus round begin at all.

With so many bonus buy slots to choose from it can be difficult to know which ones you should try out first. That gave us the idea to suggest what we think are the best feature buy slots out there, so below you can view our list. Do you agree with our selection? Play for them free and see what you think. 

• Dragonfall - We had to go with Dragonfall from Blueprint Gaming because it reminds us so much of Jammin Jars. In our opinion it can be a very exciting feature if you can get 2 or more of the scatters close together during the bonus round, and can produce some truly massive wins. Definitely a game worth checking out and trying a few of the bonuses in free play mode. 

• Snake Arena - If you're looking for something slightly different from a bonus buy slot, then Push Gaming's Snake Arena is an absolute must try game. Those who can remember the iconic Nokia phone game Snake from the 90s will instantly be reminded of that when triggering the bonus round on this slot. With a tidy 1000x up for grabs for as well as other big wins during the free spins, this feature buy slot has proved to be very popular among players.

• White Rabbit Megaways™ - One of the earliest slots to feature a bonus buy was BTG's White Rabbit, and we just had to feature it on our list. This was arguably the game that started the buy a bonus craze, and this continues to be extremely popular among players and indeed one of the most played branded slots on our site. Potentially this slot can produce well over 200,000 paylines during the bonus, and if you're lucky enough to get it to the point, then big wins are going to be heading your way.

• Fat Santa - It doesn't have to be Christmas to get into the action with Fat Santa, and this slot from Push Gaming continues to find itself on slot lovers playlists long after the festive period has passed. Whilst being an extremely high volatile game, the bonus round potential can be huge if you can make to the end and fill the reels with Fat Santa. Give this one a try and see how far you can make it into the bonus round. 

• Extra Chilli Megaways™ - Most would say that Big Time Gaming's Extra Chilli Megaways™ is their most popular feature buy slot. We would have to agree as since the start of our website this remains the most played game on the site to date, which is quite amazing when you think of the slots that have been released since then. If you haven't played this already then you really must see what all the hype is about. 

• Genie Jackpots Megaways™ - We've finished off with Blueprint's Genie Jackpots Megaways™, at the height of the bonus buy frenzy this was one of the most played slots out there. We think this was down to the amount of different bonuses that can be awarded when the feature is triggered, each with a varying amount of volatility. Now that the All Action slots have been released, there could well be a comeback for this game for UK players.

Feature drops if used correctly can be an added extra to your gameplay, and present you with a bonus round that you wouldn't have maybe got during normal play. Being patient and collecting the coins on the Big Time Gaming slots will, as I already mentioned, bring the feature buy price to zero, and this is how we would recommend that you play these slots.

Purchasing the feature on slots where you can buy the bonus can potentially be a slippery slope, and we would always urge players to have deposit limits in place at any online casino that they are registered at. 

Once you move away from the BTG slots and the feature drop™ is no longer available, there could certainly be some temptation to trigger the bonus yourself rather than to play for it as you normally would, be very cautious if you do decide to go down this road and make the most of the free play modes that we offer, this will give you the chance to see how brutal some of the gambles can be, and how quickly you can burn through your money.

October 2019 saw the UK Gambling commission request online casinos to remove the ability for UK players to buy the bonus on a slot machine. The bonus buy has long been debated as to whether it encourages irresponsible gambling, and the regulator for the UK has finally decided to call time on the controversial feature buy option.

So now that bonus buys are banned UK players will have to revert to the traditional method of triggering a free spin bonus on a slot machine. It should however be said that not all online casinos offered the option to buy a bonus from the onset, many decided to take the approach of leaving this option out, perhaps envisaging there would be intervention from the regulator further down the line which has proven to be the case.

There has been a recent update to this particular area of bonus buy slots, and in January 2020 Blueprint Gaming released a slot called Buffalo Rising Megaways™ All Action. This slot does not feature a base game and allows players to enter the bonus round directly for a fixed cost, this is a way around the new legislation and enables UK players to buy a bonus as such. How long these slots are in circulation for is anybody's guess, as the UK regulator could call time on them at any stage, as previously done with the original bonus buy slots. 

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