Free Spins Casino Bonuses

Free Spins are a marketing device used as an alternative to, or sometimes alongside, bonuses or promotions of another nature, by online casinos to attract new customers. It is common to receive Free Spins on registration as a stimulus to get customers to make a first deposit and therefore become a conduit to repeat custom. Free Spins slots games are very popular with players and casinos are well aware of what strategies they can use to target potential signups.

Free Spins are so called for historical reasons and like so many terms adopted by online casino operators, this one derives from the language used by land based casinos for features appearing in the early video slots where Free Spins were granted as one of the special features in a game. After an initial bet was placed the reels were spun and one of the possible outcomes was the winning of further spins that did not require additional bets to be placed – hence they were “free spins”. Since players were familiar with what the term Free Spins meant in this context, it was imported to online casinos and used to mean a very similar, though not identical thing. Though a few Casinos offer Free Spins on sign up that genuinely do not require any expenditure to claim, most casinos still expect players to make an initial deposit in order to claim these so-called Free Spins.

Casino Free Spins

In the United Kingdom much legislation has been passed relating to gambling on and off-line in order to ensure that customers are being fairly treated and that casino advertising delivers all that it leads customers to believe that it will. This has brought the use of the term Free Spins under scrutiny with some operators harbouring concerns that the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) are likely to take exception to an advert that claims to offer something for free when, in most cases, a player is required to make a monetary deposit in order to claim these spins – thus they are not in fact free. This has led to many operators adopting alternative terms for free spins including Complimentary Spins, Casino Spins and Bonus Spins to describe these promotional spins. The term Extra Spins is also sometimes employed to mean the same thing. Basically, this means that online casino operators are protected from the often hefty fines doled out by those contravening ASA legislation. Many UK casinos will not work with affiliate advertisers that still use the phrase Free Spins in their marketing materials since they fear being held to account by-proxy.

Free spins bonus

As with all promotional devices, Free Spins come with very specific Terms and Conditions that players must abide by. Almost invariably a Maximum Win limit will be set, meaning that no matter how much a player wins whilst the Free Spins are live in their account, they can only withdraw the amount specified in the Bonus Terms and Conditions. This can often seem unfair, but players must bear in mind that the reward reflects the level of risk associated with their deposit. Progressive Jackpot play is almost always restricted whilst in possession of Free Spins – usually any other bonuses too – and players should be careful to determine exactly which games cannot be played when in possession of Free Spins if they are not tied to a particular game.

On occasion a Maximum Win Limit and a Maximum Bet Term may feature together though this is less common than just one or the other. Players should pay close attention to the Maximum Bet Term since complaints related to this are of the Bonus Terms and Conditions are fairly common. At times online operators express this Term is slightly more obscure ways and if the phrase equal to or greater than appears in such a Term – for example – “Whilst Free Spins are active in a Player Account, bets must not be greater than or equal to £4, in a single round of play.” This means player bets cannot exceed £3.99 or the Free Spins and any associated winning will be forfeit to the online casino operator.

Free Spins on Sign Up

As is the norm, wagering requirements apply to the winnings derived from Free Spins. So, if the wagering requirement is 35xwinnings and a player wins £10 then they must wager 35x10=350 in order to be able to withdraw. For players that cannot get enough of Free Spins the good news is that new casino free spins offers are regularly offered on sign-up and are often offered on a daily basis so there are always plenty to keep the merry-go-round turning.

Starburst Free Spins

One game stands head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to player interest, showing remarkable longevity in a fickle market: Net Entertainment’s Starburst, with a Return to Player (RTP) of 96.1%. Starburst Free Spins are frequently sought out by players and alongside slots free spins on other games, they are readily available at a wide variety of operators for those players in pursuit of them. This game is far and away the most frequently offered game when it comes to free spins.