Where the value of a spin comes from
A free spin is not a spin at whatever stake you choose. It is a spin at a stake the operator sets, usually a small one, on a title the operator picks. That fixed stake is what gives a package its actual value, and it is the number the headline leaves out.
| The headline | At a stake of | Actual play it represents |
|---|---|---|
| 100 spins | R 3 | R 300 |
| 100 spins | R 10 | R 1 000 |
| 200 spins | R 3 | R 600 |
| 50 spins | R 20 | R 1 000 |
Two of these headlines look twice as large as the others and are not. The stake is stated in the offer terms, in one line.
In rand the arithmetic takes a moment and changes the ranking of most offers. Two hundred spins at the lowest possible stake is a smaller thing than fifty at a reasonable one, and the headline says the opposite.
What the winnings become
This is the second number, and it decides more than the first. Spin winnings are usually credited as bonus funds with their own wagering requirement, rather than as money. Occasionally a cap applies on top: a maximum that can be won from the package regardless of what the reels do.
- Bonus funds, not cash. Which puts the whole of the wagering page between you and a withdrawal.
- A winnings cap, sometimes. Stated in the offer terms, and it applies even to an unusually good run.
- An expiry, usually short. Frequently shorter than the one on a deposit match.
One title, and why it is that one
Spins are nearly always tied to a specific slot, and the choice is commercial: a studio promotes a release, an operator features it, and a package of spins is how both happen at once. Nothing about that is improper, and it is worth knowing that the title was chosen for the promotion rather than selected as the best game on the site.
The practical consequence is that spins on a high-volatility release usually return nothing at all and occasionally return a great deal — and whatever they return is then subject to the conditions above. Slots covers what volatility actually describes, which is the shape of that outcome rather than its size.
Reading a spins offer in two minutes
- Find the stake per spin. Multiply by the count. That is what the package is worth as play.
- Find what the winnings become. Cash or bonus funds, and if bonus funds, at what requirement.
- Find the cap, if there is one. It limits the best outcome, which is the only outcome the headline is selling.
- Find the expiry. Spins expire faster than deposit matches, frequently within days.
Spins that arrive later, and spins as compensation
Two other kinds of spin package turn up once an account is active, and both follow the same arithmetic as a welcome package. Scheduled spins arrive on a day of the week and usually carry the same conditions. Compensation spins arrive after something went wrong, and are worth reading rather than accepting quickly: the conditions are occasionally different from the standard ones.
In both cases the two numbers that matter are the ones on this page — the stake per spin and what the winnings become. A package of fifty spins that pays cash is worth more than two hundred that pay bonus funds at a heavy requirement, and neither headline says so.
Where this page stops
These carry on from here: Welcome bonuses, Wagering requirements, Bonuses, read from the terms rather than the headline.
Questions people actually ask
Are free spins actually free?
The spin costs nothing. What it produces is usually bonus credit with a wagering requirement attached, which is a different thing from money.
Why is the title always chosen for me?
Because the package is a promotion, frequently one a studio and an operator run together. The title was chosen commercially rather than selected as the best game.