“Free spins” is a term you will come across while browsing any online casino worth its salt. It’s something that is unique to gambling online as opposed to the real world. What does it mean exactly and why is it such an important identifier of a good online casino? If nothing else doesn’t it sound too good to be true.

No. No, it isn’t. The most commonly known definition of “free spins” is that they’re reel spin awards in slot games, that don’t require any wager from the player. It’s about that simple. There are all kinds of free spin offers extended by online casinos these days. They’re not always known as “free spins”, though. Some of the other names that such offers are known by include casino spins, reel spins, bonus spins and extra spins.

The primary aim of free spins is: to encourage new players to sign up with the platform, retain the existing players and/or to simply promote new slot games added to the casino. Let’s look at some of the popular free spins offers provided by online casinos.

No deposit free spin offers

These are free spin offers wherein the new players are not required to make any deposit with the online casino. Such free spins no deposit bonuses are very useful for people that want to play with real money, without risking their own investment. The intent behind such promotion is to attract new players to the platform. The players are required to provide only their basic details and register an account with the casino. Thereafter, their account is automatically funded with appropriate credit for free spins. There’s really no catch here. If you so choose, you could register just for the free spins and then cash out any winnings you made. Obviously online casinos would prefer that you don’t leave them after using up your free spins but, as long as they’re reputable, you won’t be under any obligations beyond registering an account.

Deposit based free spin offers

As is evident from the name of such free spin offers, these are provided only if the new player goes ahead and makes a certain minimum amount of deposit with the online casino. The free spins are usually offered on the first deposit as well as some future deposits. Although deposit based free spin offers aren’t as popular as no deposit free spins, for obvious reasons, there are people who choose them nonetheless. Why go for these over no-deposit free spins? Simply, if an online casino offers these sorts of benefits, they’re less dependant on drawing new customers and the reason for that is that they are both well-established and are confident enough in their offerings.

Can existing customers benefit from free spins?

Online casinos offer such free spin offers to existing, new or both category of customers. While there are deposit / no deposit welcome free spin offers meant to encourage new players to register at an online casino, there are free spins offered to existing customers as well to keep them loyal and active. Online casinos indulge in this practice time and again to ensure that their existing customer base doesn’t get lost to the competition. These can take the form of both deposit-dependant and deposit-independent offers (effectively, some will weigh these free offers against what you’ve already spent with them, some will not and will simply offer these bonuses as a nice incentive to play more.

Are such offers available for progressive jackpot slots?

When it comes to online slot games, it’s the progressive jackpot slots like Mega Moolah and others which deliver the biggest payouts to the players. It depends entirely on an online casino’s policy if they would like to offer free spins on such games. There are some casinos which not only provide free spins on progressive jackpot slots but actually encourage the players to go ahead and try winning such jackpots. If you have the chance at all, these should be your number one game of choice when using your free spins. And if a casino actually encourages the use of free spins on these games, you can rest assured that they know exactly what they’re doing.

How do these offers work?

The process of winning some free spins is shockingly easy. All it really takes is signing up to the casino, providing basic information like your name, address, your credit card details (remember to check the sites security certificate to make sure they can be trusted with your details) and your address/ phone number. Once this is done and the new player is fully signed up with an online casino platform that offers a free spin welcome bonus, the bonus spins are automatically credited into the player’s account. If you need to make a deposit into your casino account to get free spins, you will need to do that, but otherwise, you should be ready to go the minute you get a confirmation email from the casino. Even simpler, the credit will also be automatically added to your account if the offer is applicable to existing players for certain games.

A small warning, though: If a player wants to withdraw their winnings resulting from such free spins, they will need to abide by certain terms and conditions in order to do so. In most cases, these conditions are related to the wagering requirements, wherein the player must wager a certain amount of money before being able to withdraw any funds. These requirements are pretty easy to meet, though, and if you’re looking to try out a free spin or two, they shouldn’t put you off trying. Always read the terms and conditions, though, on any site that will have access to your credit card or bank account. Online gaming is one of the biggest entertainment industries on the planet but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.