Free Spins Guide

Free Spins Guide

Any online casino is a business, so its administration and managers are primarily interested in making a profit. Licensed sites cannot cheat their customers, as they work according to the strict requirements of the regulator and the country’s legislation, so to increase income, they strive to attract newbies.

To attract as many customers as possible, gambling sites offer various promotions that allow you to receive additional benefits, including free spins. Casinos use bonuses to gain customers’ trust and turn them into regular customers in the future; at the same time, players can also benefit from participating in these promotions. On this page, you can find a detailed free spins guide for US users and answers to common questions that may arise during gambling.

Free Spins Guide for Beginners

Free spins can be an independent bonus or part of another more considerable promotion, but regardless of this, their essence remains the same.

What Are Free Spins

Usually, when you place a bet in a slot, the spin cost is deducted from your balance, and if you manage to collect a payable combination, you get a payout; if not, you lose. Free spins work similarly, but you do not have to pay for them, as an online casino does; you do not have to spend your bankroll until the bonus is active.

Online casino free spins
You can spend bonus spins only for playing slots

In fact, these are usual slots’ spins, but since you do not pay for them, you do not risk anything.

How Free Spins Work

The second step of our free spins guide is how the bonus works; keep in mind that there are several restrictions, for example, the list of available slot machines.

An online casino determines specific games you can use to spend your bonus spins.

After using the bonus, you receive prize money to your bonus balance; remember that you need to meet several requirements to spend these funds on the game or withdraw it to your e-wallet or bank account.

Terms & Wagering Requirements

The main and commonplace drawback of bonus spins is that they do not provide freedom of choice; almost all their features and even the list of specific games are predetermined, and you can’t influence them. These are:

  • Bet size
  • Number of spins
  • Suitable games.

There may also be a limit on the maximum winning amount, withdrawal amount, or both; in this case, even if you win more, you cannot withdraw the whole sum and exceed the limit, so the rest will simply burn.

In addition, you cannot also withdraw your winnings immediately, as you need to meet the wagering requirements first. The primary and most crucial point is the wager; this criterion shows how much funds you need to spend on casino games to get the possibility to cash out bonus funds. Among the other essential requirements are maximum bet size and the period of time you have to meet wagering requirements.

Tips on How to Claim Free Spins

The conditions for bonus activation depend directly on its type; for example, if it is a promotion for registration, it is enough to create an account, and if it is a welcome bonus, it is necessary to make your first deposit.

An additional requirement for all bonus types can be redeeming a promo code; usually, you can make it during registration or in your personal account.

You can always find the list of specific actions you need to perform to receive free spins in the promotion conditions.

How to Use Free Spins in Gambling Games

Once you meet the activation conditions, you get a certain number of spins; to use them, you usually need to perform one of two actions:

  • Find a suitable slot in the game lobby and launch it manually.
  • Simply open the desired game using the link in the bonus description; you can usually find it on the page with the current casino promotions.

After the slot’s launching, you can choose: to play for your own money or start a series of free spins.

How to Play & Win Real Money With Free Spins

After you activate a bonus in a particular slot machine, the free spin round starts automatically; you just need to follow them and wait for the results. If you get any winnings, they will go to your bonus balance; after that, you can start fulfilling their wagering requirements.

Once you meet all the wagering requirements, you can make with this money anything you want: withdraw it through the Cashier or spend it on casino games immediately.

Guide to Free Spins Types

Free spins guide for US players would be incomplete without mentioning the versions of promotions in terms of which you can get this bonus. Below we list the most popular offers provided by modern online gambling venues.

Sign-Up Bonuses

These bonuses are provided for registration and can be of two types: deposit and no deposit; no deposit ones are the most desirable for newbies, as their activation does not require you to fund your account. All you have to do is to register, but there also may be additional requirements like filling out a profile, passing verification, or redeeming a promo code.

The obvious advantage of this reward is that you don’t have to risk anything with it — if it is no deposit. However, read the terms and conditions carefully to make sure you can use prizes for making bets without any additional requirements. Sometimes, online casinos freeze bonus funds or free spins on your bonus balance, and to unblock them, you still need to top up your account.

No Deposit Rewards

This is essentially the same as the no deposit registration bonus because you also do not have to fund your account to activate a promo, but in this case, you get prizes for specific actions, not for registration. For example, if you participate in a loyalty program, you can get this reward after reaching a new account status.

This reward has an obvious advantage: you will surely have money to fulfill wagering requirements, so this bonus is a nice addition to the game, not its main incentive.

Deposit Bonus Offers

This is the most extensive promotions category in this free spins guide; more often than not, you get bonus spins as part of these offers. You can receive them in terms of a welcome bonus provided for making your first deposit or as a reload bonus for topping up your account on a particular weekday. Usually, a cash part is the main gift in these cases: this is a specific deposit increase, while free spins are just a nice addition.

Free spins for making a deposit
You can usually find the number of free spins in a short bonus description

Please note that if a bonus is welcome, you can only activate it once; a try to participate again may lead to a ban

Other Promotional Offers

Among casino offerings involving free spins is a loyalty program; this is a special multi-level system in which you can get improved game conditions, additional rewards, and various privileges by collecting comp points and progressing through levels.

To progress, you need to spend real money; the more you invest in casino games, the higher your level is.

You can get bonus spins for almost any slot machine; it does not matter if it is classic, with a jackpot, or offers some complex mechanics. Therefore, keep in mind that at different casinos, you can have completely different titles available to use bonus spins. Among the popular ones are Sweet Bonanza, Solar Queen, Book of Dead, and Jammin Jars 2; when choosing between several games, it is better to give preference to slots with less volatility.

Impact of Free Spins on RTP & Volatility

Many gamblers believe that when you use a bonus, the particular slot’s RTP decreases or increases; however, this is completely false, and this is an essential point of our free spins guide. Each slot machine from any licensed online casino operates in strict accordance with the criteria set by its provider, and RTP and volatility are among them.

Gambling venues have no way to affect slots’ characteristics, as games are physically located on providers’ servers.

This means that the theoretical payout percentage and riskiness are always the same, regardless of whether you use bonus spins or play in the standard mode.

Slot machines with free spins
RTP and volatility remain the same during free spin rounds

You can find this and other criteria of a particular slot machine in its description on the provider’s site; on most gambling sites, you can also use the Help section.

Best Online Casinos
No deposit $40 bonus for the new players
Read ReviewShow More
150% up to $3,000 for the first deposit
Read ReviewShow More
280% bonus for the first deposit up to $14,000
Read ReviewShow More

Pros & Cons of Free Spins

ProsCons
They are usually an addition to other bonusesYou can spend them only in certain slot machines
Almost any casino provides bonus spinsIt is impossible to change their number and bet size
You can get large, not fixed winningsMaximum winning amount is often limited
FAQ

Yes. The basic principle of this bonus type always remains the same, and their features are available at any online gambling venue.

In most cases, this is impossible; most casinos only allow participation in one promotion at a time. To activate another promotion, you have to refuse the existing one or meet its wagering requirements in full.

There is no difference between devices used for gambling: terms and conditions for PC and smartphone owners are the same.

You can use bonus spins only in a slot machine specified in the promo rules.

You can find them on bonus pages of online casino sites or our website; from time to time, casinos send bonus codes to their regular customers via email.

Publication Author
Donald Peterson
Author of articles
Donald Peterson is an avid gambler from Edmonton, Alberta, who also writes about his experience with casinos. He’s been in the business for over 10 years, following the ever-changing industry landscape. His articles are aimed at helping beginners with choosing casinos, suitable games, and strategies.
No comments yet.
Be the first to leave a review and get an exclusive bonus on your email.
Add a comment

Your email address will not be published.

Compare Casinos