Casino Free Spins

You may come across the term ‘Free Spins’ at an online casino, either during a slots game or as part of a bonus. This page explains what casino free spins are, the different type of free spins available and what you must do to claim your winnings.

What are Casino Free Spins?

Free spins are individual turns on a slots game that you do not have to pay for. If you have ten free spins, you can hit ‘Spin’ or ‘Go’ (depending on the individual game) ten times without having to fund your player account, or eat into your player balance. Your prizes during these spins boost your balance.

Free spins are a great way of getting a feel for a slots game without using any of your bankroll. Even if you had to deposit to earn the spins, your balance is still intact once you have used your free spins up.

There are three main types of free spins. You can earn a free spins bonus, you can gain free spins during a slots game or you can spin for free using a game’s demo mode. Here are the differences between the types of online casino free spins:

Free Spins Bonus

A free spins bonus is often included in an online casino’s welcome package. As well as picking up a deposit-matched sum of bonus cash, you could also gain free spins on a game. Most often you must deposit to the casino to pick up free spins, although some casino sites provide a free spins bonus just for signing up. They could also offer spins on a game they are trying to promote to both new and existing players.

The casino usually dictates the game or games on which you can play the free spins. A popular slot for free spins is Starburst by NetEnt and you will notice it advertised at many UK casino sites.

During a free spins bonus, you play the maximum number of paylines. For example, this is ten for Starburst and 20 for Gonzo’s Quest, another NetEnt slot popular with UK casino sites offering free spins bonuses. Your free spins are all worth the minimum coin size.

Take a look at the other types of casino bonus at the dedicated page.

Free Spins Bonus Wagering Requirements

With a free spins bonus, the prizes you win are added to your bonus funds, but you cannot withdraw them straight away. You must play through the sum of your winnings a certain number of times to release them to your bankroll.

For example, a casino has a 35x wagering requirement on free spins bonuses. You win £10 from your ten free spins on Starburst. In order to turn that into cash, you must play stakes to the value of £10×35. You must reinvest your original £10 prize into more turns on the slot and use your additional winnings to play through £350. After that, anything you win is yours and you can withdraw it if you wish.

Each online casino site has its own wagering requirements and terms and conditions relating to free spins bonus. You are advised to check the specific rules at each casino you sign up with before you deposit any cash.

You can find information on which sites offer free spins bonuses, as well as their wagering requirements, in the online casino reviews on SpinCazino.

Casinos With No Free Spins Wagering Requirement

There are some new casino sites that do not require customers to play through their free spins winnings. PlayOJO and BGO both make a virtue of the fact you can withdraw your winnings right away.

In-Game Free Spins

Many slots games boast an in-game free spins bonus round that triggers occasionally. During a free spins round, the reels automatically spin themselves, with prizes accumulating whenever they stop and record wins on paylines.

These spins do not cost you anything and all prizes boost your player account, which you can use to fund additional paid spins or you can simply withdraw the prizes straight away. Most slots also boost the prizes on the paylines during the free spins round, which can lead to huge wins. These are often referred to as multipliers. A 2x multiplier doubles wins during free spins, a 3x multiplier trebles them, and so on.  

Here is an example of how the free spins round works on Game of Thrones, the Microgaming slot based on the popular TV show.

If you land three or more Iron Chair symbols, this game’s Scatter symbol, you trigger the casino free spins round. You receive four options for how you wish the free spins round to work. They are based on the four families in the show:

  • Barratheon – 8 free spins, 5x multiplier
  • Lannister – 10 free spins, 4x multiplier
  • Stark – 14 free spins, 3x multiplier
  • Targaryen – 18 free spins, 2x multiplier

You have to weigh up whether more spins or a bigger multiplier will be more profitable for you. Not all slots offer this choice, many use the number of Scatter symbols to determine the different levels of multiplier or numbers of free spins that you earn.

Free Spins on Free Play Slots

Free Play is basically a demo mode for slots, and most online casinos offer this feature. It is a chance to spin the reels and get a feel for how the game works without risking your bankroll.

You have a play money balance to start off with and can play until it is used up. When you land winning spins, your balance grows as it would if it were real money. It allows you to play games like Game of Thrones and work out the best tactics for its free spins round without using your own cash.

These free spins allow you to work out whether you like a game. If you do, it is a simple process to then fund your account with actual money and play for real.

More Information on Free Spins

Each casino can provide more information about casino free spins when you sign up. Whether it is a bonus they offer to entice you to register or to try a new game, part of the slots game you play or during a demo round. Free spins are an excellent way to try games without any outlay on your behalf. With such a large number of slots on the market from a range of games providers, anything that helps you find the perfect game for you is to be welcomed.