The Beginner’s Guide To Free Spins Bonuses
Free spins present a great opportunity for anyone that loves online slots, or anyone that wants to try online slots for free. In this article we’re going to go over everything you need to know about free spins.
Free Spins Explained
A free spin will give you a chance to turn the reels of a slot machine a single time without staking your own funds.
A free spins bonus is an incentive offered by an online casino.
All free spins bonuses will give you a number of free spins valid on one or a handful of slot machines.
To receive them, you will either have to:
- Create an account at an online casino.
- Make a qualifying deposit at an online casino.
There are multiple types of free spins bonus (which we go over below).
While they are all called “free spins bonuses” not all of them are technically free as you sometimes have to make a deposit to get them.
Real cash can be won with your free spins, however you will have to satisfy the terms and conditions before you withdraw it.
The Different Types Of Free Spins Bonus
There are many types of free spins bonus.
In this section we’ll provide you with:
- Overviews of the main types of free spins.
- The pros and cons of each type.
No Deposit Free Spins
A no deposit free spins bonus, as the name indicates, does not require a deposit.
Instead, you simply register a new account with the casino.
Registering an account does not require you to make a deposit, share any financial information, or commit to making a deposit at a later date.
These are 100% free bonuses that let you win real cash providing you meet the T&Cs.
With no deposit free spins bonuses, you are likely to receive between 10 and 50 free spins on one, or a handful, of eligible slot games.
Pros
- Free To Claim This is a type of no deposit bonus and therefore doesn’t require you to transfer cash.
- Win Actual Cash You will be given the opportunity to withdraw some of your winnings as actual cash.
- Play Great Slots You’ll be able to use your free spins on a single, or a few, of the casino’s top slot games.
Cons
- Low Amounts The amount of free spins you receive will be far less than you would if you claimed deposit free spins.
- Bonus T&Cs You will have to abide by a set of terms and conditions while using the bonus.
Deposit Free Spins
Players can also get free spins by making a deposit.
These work similarly to no deposit free spins, except the bonus terms will be better and you’ll receive more free spins.
It’s likely you will get between 50-200 free spins when you make a qualifying deposit.
Pros
- Win Actual Cash If you meet the T&Cs you can withdraw some of your winnings.
- Superior T&Cs The terms of your bonus will be easier to satisfy than with no deposit free spins bonuses.
- Large Quantity You may be given up to 200 free spins.
- No Max Cashout So long as you meet the T&Cs you’ll be able to withdraw all of your free spins winnings.
- Play Popular Slots Your free spins will be valid on a slot that many players enjoy.
Cons
- You Must Deposit There will be a small qualifying deposit required to claim a deposit free spins bonus.
- Bonus T&Cs What you can and can’t do with your free spins will be governed by a set of bonus rules.
Match Deposit Bonuses With Free Spins
This bonus is a mix of free spins and bonus credits.
When you make a qualifying deposit, the casino will match the value of your deposit by a percentage and give you free spins too.
These bonuses can increase your bankroll prodigiously.
Here’s how they work:
Say you want to claim a match deposit bonus with added free spins worth 200% up to USD200 and 200 free spins.
From this description you can extract three variables:
- Percentage match: 200%.
- Max Bonus: USD200.
- Free Spins Quantity: 200.
What this basically means is that the casino will match your deposit by 200%, up to the value of USD200.
So, if you deposit USD200, you will receive USD400 in bonus credits.
Regardless of how much you deposit (providing it matches or exceeds the minimum deposit), you will receive 200 free spins.
Out of all the bonuses available, this type is one of the most generous.
Pros
- Win Actual Cash If you satisfy the T&Cs you can withdraw some of your bonus winnings.
- Massive Bonus Value You can easily double, triple or quadruple your bankroll with these bonuses.
- Diverse Variety You get bonus credits and free spins. This means you can play a wide variety of casino games.
- No Max Cashout Regardless of how much you win, you will be able to withdraw it all as real cash upon satisfying the bonus rules.
- Game Restrictions While you may be able to play a lot of different casino games, they may have lowered game contribution.
Cons
- You Must Deposit These bonuses are not free.
- Bonus T&Cs How you can use your bonus credits and free spins is determined by a set of terms and conditions.
Free Spins Without Wagering Requirements
These are among the most sought-after bonuses in the world.
In many ways, they are identical to regular free spins. However, they do not come with wagering requirements.
This means that all of your free spins winnings can be withdrawn as actual cash immediately.
As you might expect, these bonuses are rare, but when they are available, we feature them on our Best No Wager Free Spins Bonuses page.
To summarize:
Pros
- Keep Your Winnings You don’t have to fulfill any wagering requirements, which means that whatever you win is credited as real cash.
- Unbeatable Value It’s almost inevitable that you will win real money with these bonuses.
Cons
- You Must Deposit Casinos are bound to lose cash offering this type of bonus so they expect a small deposit in return.
- Low Amounts You will only get between 10 and 20 free spins.
- Uncommon Casinos are reluctant to offer these bonuses due to the inevitability that they will lose money.
Bonus Rules For Free Spins Bonuses | Terms & Conditions
All casino bonuses are governed by a list of rules that new players should be aware of.
These rules tell you how to use your free spins and also how likely you are to win real money from them.
If you don't follow the rules, your bonus could be taken away from you.
Let’s go over the main rules:
Wagering Requirements
With free spins bonuses, you can’t withdraw your winnings until you wager its value a number of times.
The amount of times you have to wager your bonus is given by a multiplier, such as “20x.”
This concept is best illustrated by an example:
So, let’s imagine you claim a no deposit free spins bonus of 20 free spins with wagering requirements of 30x.
This multiplier tells you how many times you have to bet your free spins winnings (the amount you win using your free spins).
So, if you win USD30 with your free spins, you have to bet (USD30 x 30) USD900 before you can cash out.
If you are claiming a deposit bonus, please also take note of how the wagering requirements apply.
Some deposit bonuses will apply your wagering requirements to the value of your free spins winnings and the value of your deposit, making it much harder to win.
Date Of Expiry
Your free spins will only be available for a short time, with most expiring between 2 and 7 days.
Once you meet the expiry date of your free spins, they will be confiscated.
Please try to satisfy the wagering requirements within this time-frame if you want to cashout.
Max Bet Size
After using your free spins you will be playing with your free spins winnings (which is the same as bonus credit).
All of the bets you make with your bonus credit will have to be made within a certain price range, like 0.10–5.
If you bet more than the maximum amount, you will either lose your bonus or have your bet not count toward the requirements.
Game Eligibility
Free spins are generally eligible on a single slot game, or a small handful of slot games.
If you play games that aren't on the list of eligible games, you might lose your bonus.
You usually have to stick to the eligible games list throughout the entirety of your bonus, including while you satisfy the wagering requirements.
Limits On Withdrawals
This rule limits how much real money you can win.
It is a rule that applies mostly to no deposit bonuses, as deposit bonuses should let you withdraw all your winnings (providing you satisfy the other T&Cs).
With no deposit free spins, your winnings may be capped at between USD50 and USD200.
How To Compare Free Spins Bonuses And Find The Best
With 100’s of free spins bonuses there to choose from, finding the best can seem like an overwhelming task.
But if you stick to the following 4 rules, it should be made a lot easier:
1. Low Wagering Requirements
If the wagering requirements are low, you can vastly increase your chances of fulfilling them.
Low wagering requirements means you have to bet less.
So when you’re looking for a free spins bonus, only pay attention to bonuses with wagering requirements between 10 and 40 times.
2. High Withdrawal Limits
In this case, the higher the withdrawal limit the more you can cashout with your free spins bonus.
Firstly, though, you need to ensure that you claim a bonus that actually lets you win real cash.
Free spins bonuses can either be:
- Cashable - You can win real cash.
- Non-Cashable - You cannot win real cash. You may as well play in demo-mode.
Once you have ascertained whether or not your bonus is cashable, you can then review the withdrawal limit.
Withdrawal limits of between USD100-USD200 are very good.
If you do not want to have to check if a bonus is cashable or not, the easier thing to do is use our list. Go to our no deposit free spins page for a full list of cashable bonuses.
3. Eligible On Favorable Slot Machines
A certain type of slot machine is ideal for playing with free spins.
Let’s go over the most desirable game mechanics:
A High RTP
RTP is short for Return to Player, and is the equivalent of ‘odds’ for a slot game.
Theoretically, a high RTP suggests high odds, though it is not as clear-cut as that.
Say you play a slot game with an RTP of 95%. What this suggests is that, over what may as well be an infinite number of spins, the slot will return 95% of your stake.
Thus if you were to bet USD1,000,000 on the slot, you’d receive USD950,000 back.
The unfortunate thing about RTP is that it is a very long-term calculation of a slot’s odds.
So while it gives you an indication of how your session will play out in the long-term, in the short-term it isn’t the best indicator.
A Low Volatility
A slot’s volatility rating gives you an indication of how risky it is to make a bet on the slot.
For instance:
- High Volatility Rating = High Risk
- Low Volatility Rating = Low Risk
Another way of phrasing this is that with high volatility slots, you will not win very often but when you do, you will win a lot.
Similarly, with low volatility slots you will win often but these wins will be small.
In Conclusion
Basically, you want a slot that won't use up all of your bonus money right away and will give you the best odds.
These conditions can be met by playing a slot machine with a low volatility and a high RTP.
4. Date Of Expiration
As we have already said, your free spins will expire after a predetermined length of time.
You need to make sure you have long enough to meet the other T&Cs.
Other Ways To Get Free Spins!
As well as by claiming free spins bonuses, you can also get free spins by:
- Friend Referral Programs - If you can convince a friend to sign up to your casino, you may get free spins.
- Online Newsletters - Sign up to your casino’s newsletters for the chance to receive unique bonus codes.
- Slot Tournaments - if you make it onto the leaderboard of a slot tournament you may receive free spins as your share of the prize pool.
- Loyalty Tier Programs - If your casino has a loyalty program, you can earn points for playing at the casino. Once you earn enough points, you may be given free spins to celebrate.
- Promotions - A casino’s promotions is basically a list of bonuses only available to regular players. Some casinos run daily, weekly and monthly free spins promotions.
- Social Media - You may find that your casino promotes unique free spins bonuses and promotions via their social media channels.
In Conclusion
Because free spins are so common, it's likely you'll have plenty of opportunities to claim them.
But as this article implies, not all free spins bonuses are worth claiming as they don’t give you a fair chance of winning.
This is why we sometimes negotiate for exclusive free spins bonuses.
Our exclusive bonuses provide you with:
- Fair T&Cs.
- Improved bonus amounts.
- Valid on the best slots.
Thus if you come across a free spins bonus with our EXCLUSIVE tag, you can be sure that it is among the best currently available. (It saves you a lot of time comparing bonuses).
FAQs
Yes, so long as your no deposit free spins are ‘cashable’ and you fulfill the wagering requirements.
For more information, please refer to our No Deposit Free Spins page.
To work out the sum-total you have to stake using your free spins, just multiply the amount you win using them by the wagering requirements.
Please go to our section on Wagering Requirements for more information.
Free spins can only be used on slot games. Usually, a single slot or a handful of slots are eligible.
Most of the time, yes - but you should be wary of fraudulent casinos. Please only sign up and claim free spins at casinos that have passed an evaluation, such as those on our free spins page.
Occasionally you may find a regular free spins bonus that rivals our exclusive free spins bonuses, but it’s rare.
Our exclusive bonuses always have:
- Fair terms and conditions.
- Larger bonus amounts.
- Validity on leading slot games.
In short, no. With some free spins bonuses, the “free” part refers to how the free spin of the reels you get is separate to your real money funds.
The only 100% free version of free spins are no deposit free spins bonuses.
You can find out more by reading our section on The Different Types Of Free Spins Bonus.
It depends on whether or not you enjoy slot games, or you want to try out slot games for free.
If you do not enjoy slot games, you are better off claiming a regular no deposit bonus.
Yes. Regular no deposit bonuses will give you bonus credit instead of free spins. Bonus credit usually allows you to play a greater variety of casino games.
Whereas no deposit free spins are a type of casino bonus, in-game free spins are a game mechanic.
Many slots have in-game free spins bonus rounds that make the game more enjoyable.