Bonus Play: the slots where your bonus wagering counts

Bonus Play is the shelf in the Slots99 lobby that decides where bonus money can go. The bonus conditions are plain about it: bonus funds may only be used to place wagers on games in the Bonus Play category. A game outside this shelf will not take your bonus balance and will not clear your bonus. The shelf holds slots only, well over a thousand of them from more than twenty studios. So the useful question before you claim an offer is simple: are the games you actually play here? You must be 18 or over to play.

Why the shelf changes, and why that matters to you

Membership is the operator's call, and it moves. The terms say the selection of games can change periodically without notification, and that any game can be made ineligible for bonus play without prior notice. A slot you wagered on last week may be gone this week, and one you never noticed may have joined.

Every game here is a slot. Live tables and table games are not on the shelf, and how other game types count towards wagering is set out in the bonus conditions.

Studios on the shelf, and the ones that are not

Spinomenal holds the largest share of the shelf, with Pragmatic Play next, then WorldMatch, Red Rake, Relax Gaming, Retro Gaming, Quickspin and Hacksaw Gaming. Behind them runs a long tail that includes Big Time Gaming, Endorphina, Fantasma Games, Storm Gaming, Reel Play, Slotmatrix and Red Tiger.

Some familiar names have no title on the shelf today: NetEnt, Microgaming, ELK Studios, Nolimit City, Wazdan and BF Games. Bonus funds cannot be played on their games. If one of those studios is the reason you visit, know it before you claim an offer, because none of their slots will move your wagering. And since the line-up changes without notice, check the shelf before you open any game with a bonus running.

Picking a game by volatility

This shelf does not rank games by return, and neither does this page. The return figure for each slot sits in its information panel, and it describes the long run, not your session. What shapes a bonus session is volatility, and high is the most common label on this shelf. With a $5 cap on each spin and seven days to finish, the profile you choose sets the pace: low-volatility games tend to pay small amounts often, while high-volatility games stay quiet for longer between larger wins.

• Low: Abu's Bazaar and Age of Apes from WorldMatch, Blue Diamond from Red Tiger, and The Emirate II from Endorphina.
• Low to medium: Atlantis Megaways from Reel Play.
• Medium: Arcane Gems from Quickspin, Aiko and the Wind Spirit from Hacksaw Gaming, Bonanza from Big Time Gaming and Payday Megaways from Storm Gaming.
• Medium-high: Army of Ares from Hacksaw Gaming and Crystal Prince from Quickspin.
• High: Spell Master and Starlight Wins from Pragmatic Play, Banana Town and Book Of Power from Relax Gaming, Artemis vs Medusa from Quickspin, Bonanza Megapays from Big Time Gaming, and Spinomenal's 1 Reel - Aztec Spell.

Several of them also sit in themed collections: Artemis vs Medusa and Army of Ares in Mythic, Banana Town in Fruits, and Payday Megaways, Atlantis Megaways and Bonanza Megapays in Megaways.

How to play a bonus through this shelf

Order matters here. Your cash and your bonus are kept as two entirely separate balances, and the bonus balance only becomes active once the cash balance is fully spent.

• Before you deposit, look for your studios and games on this shelf. Try any of them in the free demo first: demo play involves no bonus and no wagering, so it shows you the game, not your offer.
• Claim the offer and deposit. Your cash balance plays first, and the bonus balance takes over once it runs out.
• Open games from this shelf rather than from search, so you know each one accepts bonus funds.
• Keep every spin at $5 or less while any bonus is active, or the equivalent in your currency, unless an offer's own terms set a different limit.
• Finish in time: all bonus funds must be used and wagered within seven days of being credited.

How 40x wagering works

Wagering is the amount you must stake before bonus money can turn into cash, written as a multiple. Here the multiple is 40x. Take a $10 bonus: at 40x it asks for four hundred dollars in stakes on Bonus Play games. A five-times requirement on the same bonus would ask for fifty dollars; the arithmetic is identical, only the multiple changes. Slots count 100% towards the total, excluding any restricted vendors listed in the terms, so each dollar staked on a qualifying shelf game counts in full.

The welcome package goes up to $1,500 and starts at 100% up to $500, with a minimum deposit of $10; its own page sets out every step. Other offers are under promotions, and the full rules live in the bonus conditions.

Bonus Play questions

Can I use my bonus on a slot that is not on this shelf?

No. Bonus funds may only be wagered on games in the Bonus Play category, and that list can change without notice, so check it each time you play.

Do I need to deposit to get a bonus?

The welcome package needs a deposit, starting at $10. If you want to play without spending, every slot on this shelf also opens in a free demo, which uses play money and carries no bonus and no wagering.

Is there an app for bonus play?

No app is needed. The games run in your browser on a phone or a computer, and the shelf is the same on both.

What is a bonus buy in slots?

Some slots let you pay to start their feature round directly instead of waiting for it to land, and whether a game has that option is shown in its information panel.

Can a game leave the shelf while I am wagering?

Yes. The operator may make a game ineligible for bonus play without prior notice, so if a title disappears from the shelf, choose another one that is still on it.

Bonus play is still gambling

A bonus changes the money you play with, not the odds of the game. Every spin is random, no slot or volatility label makes a win likely, and over time slots pay back less than they take in. Treat a bonus as extra playing time for entertainment you can afford to lose, never as income or a way to win back a loss. Set a budget and a time limit before you start, and read the responsible gaming page if play stops being fun.