Everyone loves a good free spins offer – the chance to play your favourite games for free. Nowadays, more and more online casinos offer these as a way to get you to start playing, keep you playing, and to introduce big new game releases. Whatever the reason, the word ‘free’ hooks most people in, but are they really free or is there a secret cost behind these fabulous freebies?
NetEnt Slots with Free Spins
The idea behind free spins was originally brought to the online casino arena by NetEnt, but is now used by more providers under different names. However, it is still NetEnt games that dominate the free spin offers throughout the industry.
Starburst
Undoubtedly, one of the most common NetEnt games offering free spins is Starburst. The reason this is favoured by casinos is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the minimum spin amount is just €0.10, which is less than half of other games, so giving away free spins on this game is relatively cheap compared to some others. It’s also ridiculously popular, so people are likely to take up the offer.
10 no deposit free spins on Starburst is the most popular offer that you get as a new player at NetEnt casinos online. In some cases, you get to claim extra 10 free spins on Starburst, if you try out the mobile casino version. Best casino sites online offer you wager-free free spins. This means that you get winnings credited to your player account as real money. The more of those you receive, the better the offer is.
Gonzo’s Quest
Then you have Gonzo’s Quest, which is also by many considered being the best free spins slot from NetEnt. Gonzo is our personal favourite. This game, like Starburst, has stood the test of time, and has remained as popular now as it was on its first release.
The novel avalanche reels and animations have ensured that players given free spins on this game are sure to take the offer up. However, at €0.20 per minimum spin, it comes at twice the price.
If we want to be picky, we will have to mention that Gonzo’s Quest slot does not offer any free spins to their players as such. The feature is actually being called Free Falls, due to specifics of this NetEnt slot. The symbols are falling down from above.
The reels in Gonzo’s Quest are actually not spinning and there are no reels as such. The logic behind this online casino game is, though, just the same as in regular slots. You have to get certain combinations of symbols in order to get a coin win and/or enter a bonus game. In Gonzo’s Quest this extra bonus round contains a set of free spins, i.e. free falls.
Wild Wild West Slot
Another popular free spins slots game is Wild Wild West. This game has a pretty frequent win rate, so players who love that feel of a win – even if it isn’t massive, love playing this game. With only 10 paylines it’s also pretty simple to play, so new players and slot stalwarts alike are likely to enjoy this exciting slot. Like Starburst, it’s also a €0.10 minimum spin – so another cheaper option for the online casinos.
Mega Fortune Jackpot Free Spins
However, it’s not just the older, popular games with cheaper minimum spins that give away these free spins – you could also land free spins on top jackpot games such as Mega Fortune and Mega Fortune Dreams.
Giving away these spins can be quite expensive for casinos, as the minimum bet per spin is €0.25 – over twice the amount of the others. However, as a jackpot game, this is very likely to get those players playing, with the carrot of millions of euros dangling in front of their nose, especially if a jackpot has just been won.
Most new NetEnt releases also give away masses of free spins offers – to lure players away from their old favourites and get them to try out the new game. NetEnt have most certainly captured the free spin market, and because of this, their slots are more popular than ever.
No Deposit Slots with Free Spins
Despite the plethora of free spin offers floating around, many of them rely on you depositing your money into your account to get your hands on them. Although you don’t have to play that money, you can’t withdraw it either, so they’re not really 100% free.
However, there are offers where a casino is giving you ‘No Deposit Free Spins’. These are just put into your account straight away. You have to do nothing to get them, deposit nothing – simply log into your account and they’re ready and waiting for you.
Online casinos don’t tend to give away lots of these, for obvious reasons – 5 to 10 at a go, maximum. They tend to generally offer these to VIPs – their high rollers, or people that play a lot as a reward. They tend to do this also at a time when a new game is out, to get their players on it. They may also give them away for a welcome offer, on top of a deposit bonus and spins, as an added incentive to get them to pick up their deposit spins.
As far as free spin offers go, these are without a doubt the most popular, and the ones you need to look out for. These really are free spins, and you really don’t have to pay a cent to get them.
Wagering of Free Spins Winnings
Now this is where the issue gets a little complicated. The spins you can play, but if you win, what happens next? Are you able to just withdraw the cash and walk away? To put it bluntly, not usually. The ‘problem’ with free spins, is that if online casinos gave away the winnings of all their free spins, they would lose a lot of money. This is why they have ‘wagering requirements’ attached to the winnings.
The wagering requirement attached means that you have to spend a certain amount of ‘real’ money before you can withdraw any of the winnings.
An example of this is if you win from free spins that have a 25 times wagering requirement. If you win €50 from the spins, then try to withdraw that €50 you would have to play €1,250 (25 x €50) of your own money before you could withdraw it. There are often time limits attached to the wagering requirements as well – either 7 or 14 days. So, effectively to withdraw your €50 winnings you have to play €1,250 of your own money in a week or two, and this is quite a hefty fee for a €50 win.
Every now and then, you may get wager free, free spins, and these are a rare jewel. Ultimately this means that whatever you win from the free spins is yours – you get the spins for free, and then you get the winnings for free. If an offer like this should grace your inbox at any time, then be sure to grab it with both hands.
So, free spins aren’t always as free as they pertain to be – many come with a deposit requirement attached, and practically all come with a wagering requirement. However, they are a great way to try out those NetEnt free spins favorites, old and new, whether you claim your winnings or not.