Almost all the Australian online casinos offer free spins to Aussie punters who join their casino for the first time. Free spins as bonuses are offered as part of a deposit bonus or as a no deposit offer, where you receive free spins merely for joining an online casino.
As a no deposit bonus free spins are an excellent offer that allows you to spin pokies without spending any real cash. But are free spins offered by online casinos really worth using, here are a few facts to know and understand before you jump to grab these free spins?
Free Spins has much less value
When you join any Australian-friendly online casino you find that they are offering a certain number of free spins like Rich casino offering 12 free spins on certain pokies games as a deposit bonus but are these really worth it? The thought of having so many chances to win money is exciting, but you also have to consider that free spins usually aren’t worth much. The average free spin usually only carries a value of $0.10. If you’re lucky, you’ll find a deal where the spins are worth $0.25. You won’t be receiving much value in either case. 25 free spins valued at $0.10 apiece means that you’re only getting $2.50 worth of play. 100 spins valued at the same price gives you $10.
Free spins cannot allow you to win big
These spins are like a small bet but can you win big with that bet? Also the pokies machines on which these free spins are offered don’t pay out frequently. In fact, pokies are among the most volatile forms of games at casinos. Many players deposit say $10-$20 to get these free spins but they lose within seconds. If you can lose the amount so quickly, just imagine how fast $2.50 or $10 will vanish. This shows you cannot win big with free spins and cannot win at all.
Free spins winnings are capped
These are capped. This concept might seem unfair, but it makes sense when looking at things from the casino’s perspective. Online casinos can give you free spins as a no deposit for you to try them out and they are a business that obviously doesn’t want you to win a huge jackpot with these free spins and take away all the money.
Therefore, most online casinos cap winnings for free spins at somewhere between 100 and $250. These amounts still give you the opportunity to win a fair amount of cash, but they also protect the casino in the case you hit a massive jackpot.
Free spins come with rollover and have certain terms
If you by chance win using free spins it doesn’t mean that you get to keep all the money. That’s why the casino impose certain terms and conditions if you earn the winnings. One such requirement is to meet the rollover or playthrough which refers to how much you must wager before you’re able to cash out earnings. Rollover on free spins can range from 25x to 80x. Obviously, you want the lower end of the spectrum so that you’ll have an easier time cashing out winnings.
In an example of playthrough with free spins suppose you earn $10 through free spins and the rollover is 50x, the 50 x 10 = $500 must be wagered to cash out winnings. Also, there are other terms to follow like how much time you have to meet rollover, game restrictions deposit options, or country-specific free spin bonus.
Free spins on pokies without Playthrough
Certain pokies games may not count towards playthrough, or they’ll only contribute a certain percentage with your free spins winnings. Suppose a pokie offers reduced rollover contributions and a pokie game features 98% RTP. It only contributes 20% towards playthrough due to its high RTP. You’ll have to wager 5x as much with this slot to satisfy rollover. The key is to always look at the terms and conditions behind free spins. Doing so allows you to see if specific games are either restricted or don’t contribute the full amount towards playthrough.
You also need to meet playthroughs before cashing out winnings. The rollover is quite high on these deals, going as high as 80x in some cases.
Despite all of the drawbacks, free spins aren’t totally worthless. They give you an opportunity to win up to $100 or more in many instances.
With free spins you may not win that much to cashout
When using free spins suppose you win but that winning amount will not be enough for you to cash out. So suppose you win money with free spins and are able to satisfy playthrough without losing everything. Though technically, the funds are now yours, but you’re still not able to cash out. Every online casino has a minimum withdrawal amount that you need to meet. If you haven’t earned enough to satisfy this amount, then you won’t be able to cash out. Of course, you can always make a deposit in order to reach the minimum cashout. But this process can be annoying if you haven’t yet deposited at the casino in question.
Suppose a casino offers you a 100% match bonus worth up to $500 and you deposit $300 so you get 300 x 1.0 = $300 bonus You can see from this offer how viable deposit bonuses can be. After meeting playthrough, you have the option of withdrawing hundreds of dollars.
Finally, you can see that deposit bonuses are more lucrative than free spins. Free spins refers to deals where you make a deposit and get to play for a sum of cash.
So free spins are not that worth that a punter might think. The only good thing with free spins is that they are best to test out new pokies before you pump money and get a real match deposit bonus to win something big. Deposit match bonus allows you to win hundreds or even thousands of dollars.