Buy-in meaning, in short: it is the money you pay to take part in a game, most often the entry fee for a tournament, or the amount of chips you exchange cash for when you sit down at a table. Online, the term mainly turns up in poker and slot tournaments, and the figure is usually split between the prize pool and the house's fee.
A buy-in is the price of entry to a tournament or the cash you convert to chips at a table.
Tournament buy-ins are often written as two figures, such as £10 + £1: prize pool plus fee.
Rebuys and add-ons are extra buy-ins, so they add to what the tournament costs you.
Buy-ins come out of your balance like any stake, so they count against your deposit and spending limits.
Main uses
Tournament entry fee; cash converted to chips at a table
Typical format
Prize-pool share + fee, e.g. £5 + £0.50
Extra entries
Rebuys and add-ons
Different from
Bonus buy, a slot feature not offered to GB players
Paid from
Your cash balance; credit cards can't be used in GB
Buy-in meaning: the two ways casinos use it
In a tournament, the buy-in is what it costs to enter. Everyone pays the same amount, receives the same starting chips or spins, and competes for a prize pool. In a cash game or at a live table, the buy-in is the amount you change into chips when you sit down; at a land-based blackjack table, you 'buy in' for £100 and the dealer pushes £100 of chips across.
Online casinos rarely use the table meaning because your balance already works as your chips, but you will see a 'minimum buy-in' on some live tables and poker rooms. The tournament sense is the one most players search for, and it is where the detail matters.
How a tournament buy-in is split
Tournament buy-ins are often shown as two numbers. In '£10 + £1', the £10 goes into the prize pool and the £1 is the operator's fee, sometimes called rake or entry fee. The total cost is £11. If 200 people enter, the prize pool is £2,000 and the operator keeps £200.
Worked example: a £10 + £1 tournament with 200 entries
Item
Per player
Total
Prize pool share
£10
£2,000
Operator fee
£1
£200
Total paid
£11
£2,200
Fee as a share of the buy-in
9.1% of £11
£200 of £2,200
The fee is the price of entertainment rather than a bet, and you pay it whether you finish first or last. A lower fee percentage means more of the money paid in goes back to players as prizes. Some events promise a minimum prize pool and the operator tops it up if entries fall short; the terms explain this.
Buy-ins in slot, poker and table tournaments
Slot tournaments come in two styles. In a fixed-credit event, the buy-in gets you a set number of spins or tournament credits, and a leaderboard ranks players by points. In a play-along event, there is no buy-in: you play your own real-money spins on a named slot and are ranked automatically. Our guide to casino tournaments compares the formats.
Poker tournaments use buy-ins for chips that have no cash value; your result depends on where you finish. Table game tournaments for blackjack or roulette are less common online but work the same way.
Rebuys and add-ons
A rebuy lets you pay the buy-in again to restart after losing your chips, usually only during an early period. An add-on is a one-off extra purchase of chips at the end of that period. Both increase the total cost: a £5 + £0.50 tournament with two rebuys and one add-on at the same price costs £22, not £5.50.
Buy-in versus bonus buy
The words are similar but the ideas aren't. A bonus buy (or feature buy) is a slot option, found on some games outside Great Britain, that lets you pay a multiple of your stake to jump straight into the bonus round. Slots at UK-licensed casinos don't offer it; our bonus buy explainer sets out what is and isn't confirmed about that. A buy-in, by contrast, is simply the price of entry to a game or event.
Since 31 October 2025 casinos must prompt you to set a financial limit before your first deposit, and decreases take effect straight away; the Commission summarised the change in its post on financial limits (opens in a new tab). The money for tournament entries has to come in under whatever deposit limit you set. Any real-money slot spins played in a play-along tournament still sit under the £5 and £2 stake limits.
Prizes paid as bonus money must follow the incentive rules, including the 10x wagering cap in force since 19 January 2026, so check whether a prize is cash, spins or bonus funds.
How to budget for a buy-in
Add up the full cost: buy-in, fee and any rebuys or add-ons you might take.
Check what the prizes are paid as: cash, bonus funds with wagering, or spins.
Count how many places are paid and how big the field usually is.
Decide your maximum spend for the event before you enter, and stick to it.
Use your casino's limit tools, covered in the deposit limits guide, if you want the cap enforced for you.
Most players in a tournament win nothing back. Treat the buy-in as the cost of the entertainment, not an investment.
Terms related to buy-ins
Bankroll: the money set aside for gambling, from which any buy-in comes.
Session: a single period of play, useful for budgeting rebuys.
Opt-in: many tournaments need you to opt in before play counts.
Table limits: the minimum and maximum stakes that shape a table buy-in.
The offers we list are not tournaments, so there is no buy-in, only a qualifying deposit or stake. Coral gives new players aged 18+ 100 free spins (10p each, selected slots, accept within 48 hours, valid 7 days, no wagering on winnings) after they deposit and bet £10 on slots, with some payment types excluded. PlayOJO's welcome offer is 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza at 10p each for new UK customers aged 18+ outside Northern Ireland who make a first deposit of £10 or more; winnings are paid as cash. Terms apply. The latest casino offers page shows the date each was checked.
Significant terms: 18+. New players only. Offer runs 01/10/2026 to 01/02/2027. Deposit (certain types excluded) and bet £10+ on slot games to get 100 free spins (selected games, £0.10 each, 48 hrs to accept, valid 7 days). No wagering on free spin winnings. Deposits by Neteller, PayPal, Paysafe, Skrill, prepaid cards and certain debit cards do not qualify. Restrictions and T&Cs apply. GamCare.org.uk
Read the Coral reviewLicence: LC International Limited, UKGC account 54743. Offer checked 5 October 2026.
Significant terms: 18+. New UK customers (excluding Northern Ireland). First deposit only. Minimum deposit £10. 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza, £0.10 each. No wagering requirements; winnings paid in cash. Cannot be used with any other offer. Only available to players who arrive through the designated offer link. Full T&Cs apply. GamCare.org.uk
Read the PlayOJO reviewLicence: Skill On Net Limited, UKGC account 39326. Offer checked 5 October 2026.
18+. Gambling should be entertainment that costs money, not a way to make it. Set a deposit limit before you play: how to set deposit limits. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.
Frequently asked questions
What does buy-in mean in gambling?
It means the money you pay to join a game. In tournaments it is the entry price, which buys the same starting stack or number of spins as every other entrant. At a land-based table it is the cash you change into chips when you sit down. Online, your balance does the job of chips, so the tournament meaning is the common one. See our casino tournaments guide for how entry, scoring and prizes fit together, and the beginner's glossary guide for other basic terms.
What does £10 + £1 mean on a tournament?
It means £10 goes into the prize pool and £1 is the operator's fee, so the entry costs £11 in total. The fee is kept whatever your result, and it is how the operator earns from running the event. With 100 entrants, the pool would be £1,000 and the fee income £100. Comparing fee percentages across events tells you how much of the money paid in is returned as prizes. Our guide to how online casinos make money explains other ways operators earn.
Is a buy-in the same as a deposit?
No. A deposit moves money from your bank or card into your casino account; a buy-in spends some of that balance on entering a tournament or game. You might deposit £20 and use £5.50 of it on a tournament buy-in, leaving £14.50. Welcome offers are tied to a qualifying deposit or stake, not to a buy-in, so a tournament entry usually won't trigger them. Our guides on qualifying deposits and how to deposit cover the cashier side.
Can I get a buy-in refunded?
Usually only if the operator cancels the tournament or a technical fault stops it, in which case the terms normally promise a refund of the buy-in and fee. Once an event starts and runs as described, the buy-in is spent. If you think a refund is owed under the published terms and the casino disagrees, use its complaints process and then an approved ADR provider. Our complaints guide sets out the steps, and the consumer rights page explains what terms must be fair.
What is a rebuy in a casino tournament?
A rebuy is a second purchase of the buy-in that restarts your stack or credits after you have lost them, normally allowed only in an opening period. It increases your total cost each time. For example, a £5 + £0.50 event with three rebuys costs £22 rather than £5.50. Decide before you start how many rebuys, if any, you will allow yourself, because the urge to buy back in can feel like chasing losses. The gambling budget guide shows how to set a firm session spend.
Do buy-ins count towards my deposit limit?
Your deposit limit caps money coming into your account, so buy-ins don't count against it directly, but every buy-in uses money that came through it. If you want a tighter cap on spending, a loss limit or a lower deposit limit does the job. Since 31 October 2025, UK casinos must prompt new customers to set a financial limit before their first deposit, and lowering a limit takes effect immediately. Our page on deposit limit rules explains the dated requirements.
What is a minimum buy-in at a live table?
It is the smallest amount you need to take a seat or place a first bet, closely linked to the table's minimum stake. Online live tables usually show this as a bet range, such as £1 to £500, rather than a buy-in figure, because your balance acts as your chips. Poker rooms are different and may set a minimum and maximum number of big blinds to sit down. Our table limits guide explains how ranges work across live casino games.
Gambling can be addictive. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day from the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133. Get free support from GamCare or NHS gambling support, or block yourself from all UK-licensed gambling sites with GAMSTOP.
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