Free spins tend to be the most sought-after casino bonus deals, and it’s not hard to understand why. You get a massive bundle of them from a casino, you use them up and you either win or lose—if you hit the jackpot, amazing. If it’s the latter, it’s no skin off anyone’s nose.
There are welcome free spins, no-deposit free spins, deposit free spins, wager-free spins, spins that only work on Tuesday if Mercury is in retrograde… OK, we made the last one up, but the point is, free spins bonuses come in an array of different formats, and while two casino promotions can both promise 100 free spins, you can often end up with two very different deals.
One might require a deposit, another might not. One could let you use the entire $100 tonight, while another hands them out over several days. And those lovely winnings you’ve just made? Whether they’re immediately yours to withdraw depends on the offer too.
So, before we go any further, let’s untangle the true definition of “free spins” and what they mean for players.
Welcome Spins: Thanks for Joining, Have a Spin on Us
If you’ve spent any time shopping around for an online casino, you’ll have seen these everywhere. Welcome free spins are offered to new players and usually form part of the casino’s wider Sign Up package. You might get a deposit match plus 50 spins, for example, or a welcome package spread across several deposits with another batch of spins arriving each time.
It all seems pretty simple and straightforward, but it gets slightly less so when you receive them. Suppose an offer promises 200 welcome spins. You might assume you’re getting 200 spins ready to use as soon as you qualify. Instead, the casino could give you 20 a day for ten days.
That’s not necessarily worse. You might actually prefer having something waiting for you each day, but if you signed up expecting one glorious 200-spin marathon, it’s worth knowing beforehand.
Check how they’re released and how long you’ve got to use them. Missing yesterday’s 20 spins because you forgot to log in is an irritating way to discover the expiry rules.
Deposit Spins: You Bring the Deposit, We’ll Bring the Spins
These work pretty much as advertised. Make a qualifying deposit and the casino gives you a set number of free spins. Sometimes everyone gets the same amount, while other promotions have different levels depending on how much you put in.
For example, $20 might get you 20 spins, while $50 unlocks 75. This is where otherwise sensible people can start doing strange mathematics.
“I was going to deposit $20, but if I deposit another $30 I get 55 extra free spins…”
Maybe that’s worthwhile to you. Maybe it isn’t. Just remember that you’ve also spent another $30.
If you were already planning to make the larger deposit, the extra spins are a nice addition. If you’re increasing your budget purely because the bigger FREE SPINS number has seduced you, they’re doing a remarkably good job of costing you money.
No-Deposit Spins: The Ones That Catch Everyone’s Eye
As the name implies, no-deposit free spins give you spins without having to make a deposit first. Depending on the promotion, you might receive them for creating an account, entering a bonus code or qualifying for a particular existing-player offer.
And yes, as the name implies, no deposit really does mean no deposit! You’re not getting duped here but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can turn 20 free spins into $200 and immediately withdraw the lot five minutes later.
Winnings from no-deposit promotions can come with playthrough requirements or maximum cashout limits. There may also be account verification requirements and deadlines for using the spins, which is why it’s still imperative to check the terms before claiming one.
Wager-Free Spins: Now We’re Talking
Let’s say your free spins produce $25 in winnings. With some promotions, that $25 becomes bonus money and needs to be wagered a certain number of times before it can potentially be withdrawn. That’s where you start seeing requirements such as 20x or 30x attached to an offer.
Wager-free spins work differently. Generally, eligible winnings from the spins don’t come with an additional wagering requirement, which removes one of the bigger hoops associated with traditional casino bonuses.
For obvious reasons, players tend to like that. Just don’t translate “wager-free” in your head as “there are literally no conditions whatsoever.” The casino might cap the amount you can win from the spins, or you could have a limited time to use them. In addition to those terms, those spins may only work on one particular game, so yes, there’s still some reading and understanding involved.
Game-Specific Spins: Hopefully You Like This Slot
Sometimes the casino has already decided what you’re playing. You might receive 50 free spins, but they’re not 50 spins to wander around the casino spending wherever you fancy. They’re 50 spins on a particular game the casino has chosen especially for that deal.
This happens a lot with new releases and promotions built around individual real money slots. It can be a great excuse to try something you haven’t played before, and you might even discover a new favorite without using your usual balance to explore it.
On the other hand, 100 free spins on a slot you find incredibly annoying are still 100 spins on a slot you find incredibly annoying, which is why you should check the game before getting too excited about the number.
Also look at the value of each spin. The casino will often set the stake, so you aren’t necessarily receiving 50 spins at whatever amount you’d normally bet. Fifty $0.10 spins and fifty $1 spins may share a name, but your calculator will confirm they’re not quite the same offer.
Free Spins Aren’t Just for New Players
Existing players aren’t necessarily left staring sadly through the window while all the newcomers get the bonuses. Casinos can offer free spins through reload promotions, weekend offers, seasonal deals, bitcoin casino bonuses, loyalty rewards and other limited-time bonuses.
A typical reload promotion might give you spins when you make another qualifying deposit. Weekend offers can work similarly, perhaps tying the spins to a particular game or deposit amount.
These are worth checking when you’re already planning to play. The phrase “already planning” matters. If you were going to deposit $30 on Saturday anyway and there’s a promotion that gives you some extra spins for doing exactly that, lovely.
If you’ve opened the casino with absolutely no intention of depositing and five minutes later you’re reaching for $100 because a countdown timer says the promotion ends tonight, perhaps give yourself another minute.
The Biggest Number Doesn’t Always Win
When you’re comparing free-spin bonuses, it’s easy to let the biggest number do the choosing for you. After all, 200 free spins sounds better than 50, and 500 sounds even more so. However, the number only tells you how many spins are on offer, not how useful that offer will truly be to you.
What matters is everything around it: whether you need to deposit, how much each spin is worth, which games you can play, how long you have to use them and what happens to any winnings afterwards. A smaller batch of wager-free spins could suit you far better than hundreds of spins attached to a large deposit or tougher playthrough requirements.
Free spins can be a great way to get some extra play from your casino session, whether they arrive with your first deposit, through a no-deposit promotion or as part of an offer for a game you already wanted to try. Just look beyond the big numbers before you claim them because more doesn’t always mean better!
