What are Free Spins?
A free spins bonus is a popular type of online casino promotion that gives you the privilege of playing a certain number of game rounds for free. Usually, the free spins are tied to a specific slot title or jackpot game and can only be used in that game. If you’re a beginner and have searched around, you might be confused since there are actually two types of free spins bonuses. The second kind of free spins is a popular game feature in online slots. The latter isn’t exactly free, though, since you have to put money into the slot machine or game in order to win them.How to Find and Claim a Great Free Spins Bonus
Getting your hands on some free spins is easy. Just follow Santa’s step-guide below to claim your free bonus today!- Choose an online casino that offers free spins on sign up from Santa’s list. Go to the casino website and click on the registration button.
- Register an account and input your information such as name and telephone number when requested.
- Choose an amount to play with, and a banking method from the casinos list.
- During registration, you might have to also check a box to verify that you want a free spins bonus.
- Confirm the transactions and enjoy your new bonus!
Why You Should Play with Free Spins
You might be wondering whether or not it’s worth it to claim a free spins promotion. Let’s go through the advantages of playing with freespins, because there are quite a few. Of course, I’ll also bring up the downsides so you can decide for yourself if you think it’s worth it.- Play for free – The biggest advantage to free spins is that you get to play without spending your own money. If you’re going to gamble and spend your own money anyway, it’s better to grab some free game rounds while you’re at it!
- Win real money – With a free spins no deposit bonus, you get the chance to win real money entirely for free. And if you combine your own deposit with the freespins, you’ll get even more spins and thus more chances to win.
- Risk free – When you lose, the casino will eat up the free spins first, your own money sits safely in your account as long as you have spins left.
- Explore new games – Free spins are often part of promoting new games, but are also regularly offered in popular high-RTP games like Starburst and Gonzo’s Quest. By taking advantage of promotions, you get to try the latest and most beloved games in the casino world.
- Play longer – Of course, when playing with free spins you also get more time to play. Compared to if you only play with your own money, that is.
Are There any Downsides to Free Spins Bonuses?
Playing online slots for real money with free spins is fun and while there are certainly many advantages, what about the downsides? To be frank, neither me nor my elves have found many. But there are some, so let’s go through them.- Registration requirement – Since online casinos don’t want you to just grab the free spins and run, they all require you to register at the site in order to claim the bonus.
- The wagering requirement – Nearly all bonuses, except for no wager free spins, have a playthrough requirement that must be fulfilled before withdrawing your winnings.
- Most bonuses require a deposit – It’s very rare to come by an online casino free spins no deposit bonus.
- Region restrictions – Some casinos only allow players from certain countries so you might be locked out from certain promotions.
- Mostly for slot lovers – While certain online casinos offer free spins in Bingo rooms, this type of casino promotion is usually targeted toward fans of online video slots and jackpot games.
How I Find and Evaluate the Best Free Spins Bonuses
Whether I’m listing a new free spins no deposit bonus, or an offer that requires the player to deposit money, I always test the bonus first. To make sure it’s safe and reliable, I also do a thorough background check of the online casino operator offering the bonus. This includes looking for and verifying that the site has an active gambling license from a reputable licensing body. In case you’re curious, here are some of the other things me and my elves consider when choosing whether or not to recommend a freespins bonus:- Amount of free spins – All things being equal, 1000 free spins is obviously better than 100 free spins. While 1000 spins is a lot to ask, me and my elves rate casinos by how generous they are (among other things).
- The cash value of the spins – All bonuses have a value which should be mentioned in the bonus terms at the site. Aside from the number of spins in the offer, I also consider the actual real money value of the free spins.
- The wagering requirement – 9 out of 10 free spins bonuses come with the requirement that you gamble for your winnings before you’re allowed to make a withdrawal. Me and my elves scour the web and compare promotions daily to find the bonuses with the lowest wagering requirements.
- Terms & Conditions – Aside from the wagering terms, my expert elves also thoroughly review the rest of the casinos policy. Before listing a site, we want to make sure that it’s fair and reliable and that players can quickly withdraw their winnings from the site when they choose to.
- Gambling license The best freespins casinos usually have a Maltese license or a license from the UK Gambling Commission. The importance is whether or not the license is from a reliable issuer that regularly audits the casinos.
- The security – Players should be able to play with their freespins knowing that their personal data and money are safe. To be listed at SantaClauscasino, a free spins casino need to have the latest security features in place including up-to-date versions of TLS and SSL encryptions.
- Whether you need to add a card – The best casinos don’t require players to add a card to receive no deposit free spins on sign up. You simply input the bonus code or sign up to receive your bonus.
Types of Free Spins
You might be happy to learn that there aren’t just one type of free spins, but many, available right now at Santa’s recommended online casinos. Let’s take a closer look at the various kinds of promotions up for grabs.Slots Free Spins on Sign Up
As I’ve mentioned, many games come with a built in bonus feature that reward spins. But free spins are also often rewarded as part of a welcome bonus. Furthermore, some of the best gambling sites like to combine several perks into one big package. For instance, you may find that one site give beginners a 100% cash bonus plus 100 free spins on top of the cash. Another site might offer 50 free spins plus a free bet, cashback or another type of bonus.Daily Free Spins
What’s better than a generous free spins bonus when signing up to one of Santa’s favorite casinos? The best online casinos know to reward returning players, and occassionally a site might decide to do a recurring promotion. For instance, at toprated sites you can sometimes grab weekly or even daily free spins in exchange for a small deposit. All you have to do is keep playing and enjoying your time at the site and wait for the moment a new promotion launches.No Deposit Free Spins
This is a seemingly good one, the ever-sought-after no deposit free spins bonus. To claim this bonus, all you have to do is input a bonus code or register an account. But let me give you a word of advice, it isn’t always as good as you think. 100 free spins with no deposit requirement may look good on paper. But it might actually be smarter to take a deposit bonus of 100 free spins if the wagering requirement is lower. In fact, most free spins no deposit bonuses in 2023 come with extremely high wagering requirements. Even an average deposit bonus with lenient terms might be more tempting if you’ve ever tried to fulfill the 60x playthrough requirement of a no deposit free spins bonus.No Wagering Free Spins
A lot of online casinos try to compete for the players by simply removing the playthrough requirement altogether. Free spins with no wagering requirement is the new winner in Santa’s book and is perfect for players that want to be able to withdraw their winnings fast. While promotions that give no deposit free spins can be good on occassion, no wagering free spins are almost always worth taking. Just make sure to read the terms and conditions of the bonus and go with a site recommended by experts.Combination of No Deposit and No Wagering Free Spins
Free spins with no deposit and no wager terms are even more rare. Truth be told, online casinos are businesses and as such will always be out to make a profit. Giving out free spins free of charge with no wagering requirement isn’t exactly a great way to make money. So where can you find these deals, and do they even exist? Right now there aren’t any such offers available at licensed online casinos. If you really want to find good lucrative deals, though, your best bet is to look at new casino operators. In lack of experience, some new gambling operators make mistakes or attach bonus terms that are way too lenient to make a profit. Those companies don’t stick around too long, however, so you might want to save your time and energy by just going with a regular free spins deposit bonus with a low deposit limit.Bingo Free Spins
Free spins for Bingo isn’t as common but my recommended online casinos occassionally offer something for fans of the classic ball game. As with slots, casinos sometimes give out Bingo free spins with no deposit requirement, but not very often. The way free spins work in Bingo, though, is that you get a certain number of Bingo cards to play with. Typically, a site will give you up to 4 cards to play with for a certain number of times. E.g., 4 Bingo cards and 10 Bingo free spins rounds.Free Spins Terms & Conditions
As with its bonus brothers and sisters, free spins always come with various terms and conditions that need to be met by the player. The T & C’s can differ some depending on what site you’re playing at, but there are some terms that are featured at almost all online casinos. When it comes to free spins, the cash value of the spins can differ between sites. One site might for instance offer 150 free spins for $1 per spin, while another site might give 120 free spins for real money equaling only $60. You can find out how much the spins are worth by checking the terms of the bonus. To get the most out of your time and money, it’s a good idea to always read the terms and conditions to what you agree to. So lastly, let’s summarize the most common terms you’ll come across at various free spins casinos.- Playthrough requirement – The amount of times you need to play for your free spins or the value of your spins.
- Cutoff point – All promotions, except no wager free spins, have a deadline for meeting the playthrough requirement.
- Free spins value – How much the free spins are worth in real money.
- Available games – The games you’re allowed to use your freespins bonus on.
- Maximum bet – Some online casinos limit your ability to bet over a certain amount for your free spins.