More action without buying the bonus outright. Ante Bet features offer UK players a middle ground, but how much extra is too much?

The UK was right to remove Bonus Buy features from online slots. UK casino operators such as bet365 casino, cannot offer them. I’ve made that argument before, and I stand by it. Paying £100 or more to jump straight into a bonus round is a quick way to empty your bankroll, particularly when the feature might return almost nothing.

But I also understand why players like bonus rounds. On many modern slots, that’s where the interesting features are. Multipliers, expanding wilds, free spins and the possibility of a big payout. The base game can feel like a long wait for something to happen.

So what if you could increase your chances of triggering the bonus without paying a huge amount upfront?

That’s essentially what Ante Bet slots offer. And I think they’re a reasonable compromise between the excitement of Bonus Buy and the restrictions imposed on British casinos.

There’s a catch, though. Not every Ante Bet is as modest as it sounds.

What Is Ante Bet in Slots?

An Ante Bet lets you increase the cost of each spin in exchange for a better chance of triggering a particular game feature, usually free spins.

Take Pragmatic Play’s Gates of Olympus. Its Ante Bet option increases the stake by 25% and improves the chance of landing the scatter symbols needed to enter the free spins round.

If you’re playing at 40p per spin, activating Ante Bet raises the price to 50p. You’re still playing the normal game. The reels spin, symbols land, and you might trigger a bonus. Or you might not.

There’s no guarantee, and that’s the key difference from Bonus Buy. A traditional Bonus Buy skips the waiting altogether. A feature priced at 100 times your stake would cost £40 at that same 40p base bet. You could spend £40 on one bonus round or use that money for 80 Ante Bet spins at 50p each.

Neither approach guarantees a return. But the money is being put at risk in a very different way.

Ante Bet vs Bonus Buy: by the numbers

What each feature costs, and how the UK treats them differently

The price of a single play

40p

Regular spin

The base stake in this example.

50p

Ante Bet (+25%)

Pay 10p extra per spin for a higher bonus chance.

£40

Bonus Buy (100×)

Pay 100 times the base stake for one bonus.

What the same £40 budget buys

100

Regular spins

At 40p per spin, before any returns.

80

Ante Bet spins

At 50p per spin, with no bonus guaranteed.

1

Bonus purchase

A single £40 buy, not available at UK-licensed casinos.

The rules at UK-licensed online slots

£5

Maximum stake

Per game cycle, age 25 and over.

£2

Maximum stake

Per game cycle, ages 18–24.

Bonus Buy

Not available

Direct feature buys were removed from UK-licensed slots.

Ante Bet

In some games

Only where the feature meets UK requirements.

The Bankroll Makes the Difference

Here’s how quickly the cost can change when playing at a normal 40p stake.

Feature	Cost per spin or purchase	Cost of 100 plays
Regular spins	40p	£40
Ante Bet (+25%)	50p	£50
Enhanced stake (2x)	80p	£80
Enhanced stake (5x)	£2	£200
Bonus Buy (100x)	£40 per feature	£400 for 10 purchases

This is why I prefer the basic idea behind Ante Bet. A Bonus Buy can feel a little like going to a roulette table and putting a big chunk of your bankroll on red or black. The mathematical odds are different, of course, but the concentration of risk is similar. One expensive outcome can take away a substantial part of your balance.

Ante Bet spreads the money across regular spins. There’s still an increased cost, but you can decide after each spin whether you want to continue. And for most players, the bankroll isn’t unlimited. It shouldn’t be treated as if it were.

That doesn’t make Ante Bet any different from other casino bets where you risk your own money. It just means a modest increase in stake is easier to account for than repeatedly buying expensive bonus rounds.

Which Slot Providers Have Ante Bet Features?

Several major studios have developed alternatives to direct Bonus Buy functionality. They don’t all call it Ante Bet, and the cost varies considerably.

Provider	Feature	Example slot	Extra cost
Pragmatic Play	Ante Bet	Gates of Olympus	+25%
Blueprint Gaming	Extra Bet	Rise of Atlantis	+25%
Nolimit City	xBet Booster	Skate or Die	+40%
Stakelogic	Super Stake	Spartans vs Zombies	2x total stake
Hacksaw Gaming	BonusHunt FeatureSpins	Chaos Crew 2	5x total stake

Figures refer to the named game configurations, not every game from the provider. Feature availability varies by jurisdiction, and the Hacksaw option has not been confirmed as enabled at UK-licensed casinos.

UK Casinos Where You Can Explore These Slots

Several UK-licensed casinos offer games from providers such as Pragmatic Play, Blueprint Gaming and Nolimit City. However, not every game includes its Ante Bet functionality in the UK version.

Here are seven casino sites offering the feature:

1. Betfred Games – Offers Playtech, Blueprint and Pragmatic Play titles.
2. Regal Wins Casino – Slots from established developers, including Blueprint Gaming and Pragmatic Play.
3. Lucky VIP Casino – Features games from Pragmatic Play, Blueprint Gaming and other studios.
4. Pub Casino – A UK casino with a varied selection of online slots.
5. William Hill Vegas – A large slot library featuring established studios and exclusive games.
6. bet365 Casino – Extensive game selection with information about individual slots.
7. Betway Casino – Offers a broad collection of UK-facing slots.

Remember: A casino offering a particular slot doesn’t necessarily mean its Ante Bet feature is available. Check the game’s UK version and rules before playing.

Pragmatic Play and Blueprint: The Smaller Increases

These are the examples I find most convincing. Gates of Olympus and Rise of Atlantis both offer enhanced-stake modes that cost 25% more than regular spins.

You’re paying more for a greater chance of triggering something, but you’re not abandoning normal gameplay.

Nolimit City’s xBet feature follows a similar principle, although its mechanics vary by title. In Skate or Die, the xBet Booster costs 40% extra and improves the likelihood of entering one of the free spins features.

Stakelogic goes further with Super Stake, which doubles the normal bet in selected games.

At that point, I think players should pay closer attention to the cost. Doubling every spin is a substantial increase, even if it doesn’t feel particularly dramatic when you’re pressing the same button.

Hacksaw Gaming: When Ante Bet Starts Looking Like Bonus Buy

Hacksaw Gaming is an interesting case because it blurs the distinction.

The developer has become known for high-volatility slots and elaborate bonus purchase options. But it also offers BonusHunt FeatureSpins, which can increase the probability of triggering a bonus without granting immediate entry.

In Chaos Crew 2, for example, BonusHunt FeatureSpins cost five times the normal stake and make the bonus ten times more likely to trigger.

That sounds attractive until you work out the price. A regular 40p spin becomes a £2 spin. Play 50 of those without any returns and you’ve committed £100. That’s a considerable amount of money for a feature that still doesn’t guarantee entry to the bonus.

And this is where I become less convinced by the compromise. A 25% stake increase and a 400% increase are very different things. Putting both under the same broad description of enhanced-bet gameplay risks hiding how much each spin actually costs.

Hacksaw itself categorises these features within its wider Bonus Buy functionality and states that availability depends on market conditions.

That means we shouldn’t assume its FeatureSpins are available in Britain simply because they don’t guarantee a bonus. Their presence in international versions of the game is not evidence of UK availability.

The question for regulators and studios should be about the actual cost and behaviour encouraged by a feature, not just what the button is called.

Does Ante Bet Actually Give You Better Value?

Not necessarily, and this is probably the most misunderstood part. If an Ante Bet doubles your chance of triggering free spins, that doesn’t mean it doubles your chance of making money.

You’re paying extra for the increased probability. A slot might trigger free spins more frequently in its enhanced mode, but those bonuses can still pay very little. You could also play dozens of enhanced spins without reaching the bonus at all.

There’s also the question of RTP, or Return to Player. Some enhanced-bet modes have a slightly different theoretical RTP from normal gameplay. Others offer roughly the same long-term return.

Blueprint Gaming, for example, publishes separate RTP information for the Extra Bet and Bonus Buy modes in Rise of Atlantis. The figures also depend on the game’s mathematical configuration.

That matters because a feature can make bonus rounds more frequent without making the game more generous overall.

And there’s another psychological trap. When you pay extra to trigger something, you might feel you’ve invested more in getting there. After a long run of unsuccessful spins, it can become tempting to keep going because the bonus feels overdue. But it isn’t. The previous spins don’t create a debt that the game eventually has to repay.

Ante Bet changes the probability of certain outcomes. It doesn’t change the fact that slots are designed with a house edge.

Why the UK Allows Some Ante Bets but Not Bonus Buys

The UK Gambling Commission took action against direct feature purchases after discovering that six licensed operators were offering slots with buy-in functionality. One game allowed players to pay more than £3,000 to enter a bonus round. The operators removed the features following the regulator’s intervention.

The Commission pointed to its technical standards, particularly requirements that games must not actively encourage customers to increase their stakes, chase losses or continue gambling after deciding to stop.

Ante Bets are treated differently because they don’t necessarily bypass normal gameplay. Some enhanced-stake options remain available at UK-licensed casinos. MrQ, for example, describes the 25% Ante Bet option in the information for its Gates of Olympus game. However, there is no blanket UKGC approval covering every feature described as an Ante Bet.

The £5 and £2 Stake Limits Still Apply

Since 2025, online slots in Great Britain have been subject to a maximum stake of:

• £5 per game cycle for players aged 25 and over.
• £2 per game cycle for players aged 18 to 24.

These limits include any extra amount paid for an Ante Bet.

Players cannot simply place a maximum permitted stake and then add a percentage on top.

For the smaller Ante Bet features, this is a relatively straightforward restriction. With higher multipliers, it becomes much more significant.

A five-times enhanced spin, for example, would reach the £5 limit at a £1 base stake for players aged 25 and over.

The limits don’t eliminate the risk of losing money, but they prevent very large individual slot stakes at licensed casinos.

Is Ante Bet the Future of Bonus Features?

I think there’s a place for it, especially as developers continue looking for ways to make their slots more interesting without relying on direct bonus purchases. Players like bonus rounds. That isn’t going to change. And it’s not unreasonable for a game to offer a different mode with a higher probability of triggering one.

The problem starts when enhanced features become so expensive that they recreate some of the risks associated with Bonus Buy. A higher frequency of bonus rounds can also make games feel more rewarding, even if the player’s overall expected return hasn’t improved.

For developers, I think the sensible approach is to keep these features relatively modest and transparent.

Show the full stake before every spin. Explain what the extra money changes. Make any difference in RTP clear. And don’t present bonus-trigger probabilities as a promise of better winnings.

Most importantly, avoid turning the feature into another way of encouraging players to chase a bonus they’ve already spent too much trying to reach.

My View: A Good Compromise, Within Limits

I like Ante Bet as a concept.

Bonus Buy can turn an ordinary slot session into a series of expensive, high-risk decisions. It’s easy to spend a significant amount of money in a short time, especially when you’re disappointed with the last bonus and want another attempt.

With a modest Ante Bet, you still get the anticipation of regular spins, with a better chance of hitting the feature you’re interested in.

For me, that’s a more reasonable balance. But I wouldn’t call every enhanced-stake feature sensible. Paying 25% extra per spin is one thing. Paying five times the normal stake is something else entirely.

I supported the UK’s decision to remove direct Bonus Buy features, and I don’t think Ante Bets undermine that decision. They can offer a middle ground, provided they don’t become a more expensive feature purchase in disguise.

After all, the aim shouldn’t be to make your bankroll disappear any faster just to see the free spins.

18+. Gambling involves financial risk. Set a budget, check the total stake before activating enhanced features and never chase losses. If gambling is causing problems, free support is available through GamCare.