How Free Spins Casino Bonuses Work
Most often, the spins you get have the same value as the minimum bet value on the slot you're playing. This means you'll most often get to spin with a bet of £0.10 or £0.20 per game round. However, you might also get more valuable ones, and in those cases, the spins are often called either:
- Big Spins (generally valued at between £0.40 and £0.60 per spin)
- Mega Spins (generally valued at £1 or £2 per spin)
- Super Spins (generally valued at £4 or more per spin)
There is no max value a free spin can have, as it's all dependent on the slot’s max bet and what the casino wants to offer.
As for the number of spins, that varies a lot as well. Some UK online casinos offer hundreds of game rounds, while others only give you five to ten. Typically, the amount you get also depends on the terms of the bonus. In general, if you need to deposit to get your bonus, you'll get more of them. But if you need to make a deposit, the bonus isn't free. It can, therefore, at some casinos be called 'Casino Spins' or 'Bonus Spins' instead. If you get a no deposit bonus, you won't have to risk any of your own money, but the number of game rounds you'll get is rarely more than 50.
The number of spins you receive as your casino bonus multiplied by the bet on the game round is the value of your bonus. But the bonus itself is calculated on the winnings you get, not the value of the spins. More on this when we get to the free spins bonus terms…
Claiming Your Free Game Rounds
How to claim free spins once you've got a bonus will vary depending on the casino you're playing at. Some casinos will automatically add them to your account so that all you have to do is open the slot in question, and then your spins will be there waiting for you. You'll then get a pop-up informing you that you have some free spins waiting.
Other casinos will require that you opt-in or claim your spins before they can be activated. Normally, this is done from the notification section of your account or the casino's bonus pages. Once activated or opted-in, you can navigate straight to the game and spin the reels.
Another aspect of claiming free spins casino bonuses is getting notified that you have free spins available. If you're logged in to your account, that's not a problem, as you'll usually get a notification there. But if you're not logging into your account daily, you're better off accepting communication from the casino via email or SMS. That way, they can let you know when they have a bonus ready for you. This is particularly important if you enjoy free spins, as offers like these are often not only valid for a day. So if you don't claim them before they expire, you'll lose them.
No Deposit Spins
A free spins bonus offered without having to deposit to claim them is the best kind of bonus. Casinos quite often offer these to new players that register a playing account. It's a sign-up bonus that allows you to try out a game at the casino before you decide if you want to make a deposit and become an active player.
When you're offered a no deposit free spins bonus upon registration, you'll usually get between 10 and 50 spins. The slot you'll get to play will vary from casino to casino, and you should also be careful to read all the bonus terms. Here at GoodLuckMate, we've listed all available no deposit free spins bonuses we've found for you. You'll also quickly see all the essential terms attached to the bonus.
The main thing you should be looking out for is the wagering requirement and any max win cap.
In addition to free spins upon sign-up at online casinos, you might also get these offers throughout your journey at a casino. You should be on the lookout for these bonuses whenever a game provider does a big game release, as they're often keen to get as many players as possible to try the games out. Thus they partner with casinos to offer some free game rounds.
Bonus Spins, Casino Spins or Cash Spins?
A couple of years ago, players residing in the UK would have found lots and lots of UK free spins bonus offers at almost all casinos. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case. You'll still find these kinds of bonuses, but not as frequently. The reason is that some years ago, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) decided that a casino can't call a bonus 'Free Spins' unless it's a completely free bonus. Any bonus with a wagering requirement or where the player had to deposit to claim it could no longer be called 'Free Spins'. The UKGC deemed this wording to be misleading and thus banned it.
Many casinos chose to remove these offers and instead focused on other bonus types. But, of course, since complimentary spins have always been a player favourite, the online casino industry found a way around it… Luckily, since then, the UKGC has relaxed these rules again, so free spins UK casino bonuses can again be called by their original name.
However, you might still come across bonuses called 'Casino Spins' or 'Bonus Spins' or even 'Cash Spins'. If you do, this is what you're getting:
- Casino Spins: these can be any kind of spins you get on a slot
- Bonus Spins: spins that have a wagering requirement attached to your winnings
- Cash Spins: spins where your winnings are paid out in real money
All of the above are free spins, just with an alternative wording to please the online casino regulator in the United Kingdom.
Winning Real Money From Free Spins
The whole point of casino free spins is that you're supposed to be able to win something. And, most often, you will. Then again, the question is how much. If you get 20 game rounds, it's possible but quite unlikely (depending on the volatility in the game) that you don't get a single win. So often, you will win, but keep in mind that free spins casinos are not in the business of just giving out free money – if they did, they'd be out of business rather quickly.
If and what you win is generally decided by this:
- How much do you win from your free spins?
- What are the bonus terms?
- If there's a max win applied to the bonus
- What is the minimum withdrawal amount at the casino?
First, keep in mind that regular casino spins have a value of about £0.20. If you get 20 of them and break even on your bets, you've gotten £4.
So even if you got cash spins (no wagering requirement, and what you win is paid out in real money), £4 is below the minimum withdrawal at casinos. Thus you can't cash out your winnings. That, in turn, means you'll have to keep playing for the money and hope you win more so you can get above the withdrawal limit, which is usually either £10 or £20.
Now you also know why you're unlikely to get hundreds of them from a no deposit free spins bonus. The chances that you can win, and withdraw, a lot of free money are too great for the casino to make a profit…
Suppose the spins also come with a wagering requirement. In that case, you'll have to continue playing with your winnings a set number of times, turning over the money before the bonus turns into real withdrawable money.
If you are lucky enough to win a lot, you'll also have to look for a cap on winnings. Some casinos will only allow you to withdraw winnings up to, for example, £50. If you've won more, the remainder will be forfeited.
Typical Casino Free Spins Bonus Terms
The free spins casino bonus terms can be very different from casino to casino. However, some standards are in place within the industry, and anything better than these standards is considered good. In comparison, anything worse is, naturally, not so good.
Here's a quick overview of some typical terms for UK free spins bonuses at 'bad,' 'average', and 'good' casinos:
Bad | Average | Good | |
Wagering Requirement | >50x | 35x | No wagering |
Max Win | £20 | £100 | No max win cap |
Timeframe | 24h | 7 days | 21 days |
Minimum Deposit | £20 | £10 | No deposit |
In addition to what's mentioned above, you should be aware of which games you can wager your bonus on if the bonus offer comes with a wagering requirement.
Wagering a Spins Bonus
The typical wagering requirement for any type of casino bonus is 35x. When it comes to winnings from free spins, that means that whatever you won, you'll need to play through 35 times. If your winnings total £4, you'll have to turn over £140 before the bonus money turns into real money. If you win £10, you'd have to wager £350 before you're able to make a withdrawal.
One thing to note is that turning over £140 doesn't mean that your balance at the end of it will be £140. It simply means that you'll have wagered that amount. Wagering is betting.
If you bet £1 on a spin and win £0.50 from that one, you still earn £1. Likewise, if you, from a £1 bet, win £5, the wagering is £1.
To complete a wagering requirement, you'll more or less have to win at least as much as you bet if you're to end up in profit with withdrawable money. The tricky thing with free spins bonuses and wagering is that it's not the value of your spins that is the base of the wagering requirement. It's what you win from them. That's why you'll never know how much you'll need to wager through to cash out before you've played all your game rounds.
And then there's the game contribution to consider. Some casinos let you turnover bonus winnings on more or less all games they offer. In contrast, others only let you play a limited selection of games. At some casinos, you can only turn over a bonus on games from the same game provider from which you got your original free spins UK casino bonus.
Free Spins UK Casinos
There aren't any rules for which casinos will give you free spins and which won't. It's up to the casino to decide if this is a bonus type they want to offer. Nevertheless, you'll usually find most of these offers at casinos with a large selection of online slots. At least, that's the case for ongoing promotions for active players.
Then again, look at the list of welcome bonuses available to players from the United Kingdom. You can't help but notice that some free game rounds are often a part of a welcome bonus package from most casinos. These are offers where you'll make a deposit, get a match bonus on that deposit, and then on top of that, you'll get bonus spins.
So for a complete overview of the best free spins casinos in the UK, simply head over to the top list on our Best Online Casinos page, as that's where you'll find all welcome offers. Of course, check out our No Deposit Bonus page, as that's where you'll find the spins you can claim without having to deposit!
If you’re looking to get free spins on a regular basis, look out for offers that are marked with ‘daily,’ ‘weekly’, or ‘monthly.’ You’ll find offers that you can claim again and again as long as you’re an active player at the casino. Typically, you’ll get these rewards for having deposited and played the previous day, week, or month. It’s kind of like a loyalty bonus.
So for the best ongoing free spins UK bonuses, choose your casino with care. You want to go for one that has these types of fixed promotions.
Free Spins Mobile Casinos
A couple of years ago, you'd often have to log in from a desktop or laptop to use free spins casino bonuses, mainly because not all slots were available on mobile. Luckily, in 2024, we live in a world where a mobile phone can be used for almost everything a computer can be used for – at least at online casinos.
Most players nowadays use their mobile to play online, so no wonder casinos have optimised their mobile casinos. With this, it also means that there are very few casinos left that won't let you play your free spins bonuses in their mobile casino.
So now, when free spins are available on your player account, just log in from your preferred device (the casino's app is also OK) and spin the reels.
Get Free Spins and Play New Slots for Free
One of the great benefits of free spins casino bonuses is that you'll play a game without risking your own money. This is, without a doubt, an excellent way of trying out a new game. And if you're lucky, you'll also find a new favourite slot on top of your free spins winnings.
Suppose you've partaken in a free spins registration bonus offer. In that case, you'll likely get to play one of the casino's most popular slots. These can be slots such as Starburst or Aloha! Cluster Pay from NetEnt, Wolf Gold from Pragmatic Play, or Book of Dead from Play n GO.
But, for ongoing promotions, or weekly offers from your online casino, you can also expect to try out some new slot titles. Whenever a game provider the casino works closely with is launching a new big title, they're likely to want to offer some spins to active and loyal players at the casino. It's part of the promotion of the new slot, which for you as a player, is excellent! Not only do you get to try out a new slot for free, but you're also in with a chance of winning some real money.
Pick the Slot to Play for Free
Typically, when you get a free spins casino bonus, the slot you get to play is predetermined by the casino, but in some cases, you might have some different ones to choose from. And then, in yet some other cases, you might instead get a voucher of sorts, which allows you to choose between lots of different slot games.
If you can pick slots freely from a selection of games, some slots sites also let you pick the value. For example, you might be able to choose between 10 spins on Gonzo's Quest at a value of £0.20 per spin or 20 spins on Starburst at a value of £0.10 per spin. Or even 5 spins on Sweet Bonanza at £0.40 per spin.
These options are perfect if you enjoy spinning for a bit more than the minimum slot bet. You can choose to play fewer spins for the chance of getting a larger win. If you're lucky enough to trigger a bonus game round or something else that yields a big win within the slot game, you're looking at a big bonus.
If you’re familiar with the slots you have to choose from, you can also take the slot’s volatility into account and thus gamble on winning a lot of small wins or fewer big wins.
Other Free Casino Bonuses
In addition to free spins, other types of casino bonuses are pretty similar, just for different kinds of games. Free bingo tickets or scratchcards are always popular, especially among players in the UK.
The same can be said for free bets if you're into sports betting. These bonus types work more or less the same as a free spins UK bonus. You'll get to play for free, and what you win will be your bonus. The bonus terms may vary, but generally speaking, they work more or less the same way as a spins bonus.
Another kind is, of course, perhaps the most popular one: free money or a free cash bonus. The benefit of this casino bonus type is that you can freely choose the game to play and the bet per game round. That way, you can use your cash on your favourite game with the bets you are comfortable with.
However, when you get a bonus like this, it's usually not a large amount, as it's typically capped at £5 or £10. Then again, most players won't turn their nose up at a £10 free bonus – it is, after all, free.
