Things to Watch Out for When Using Free Spins Bonus Codes

September 8, 2014

For online slots players, the most popular type of promotion is probably reload bonuses. However, a close second is free spins bonuses, and this is when a casino site will give you some free spins on a new or popular game as a reward for your deposit. These offers are generally good deals, but there are some specific things that you need to look out for in the terms and conditions to make sure that you get the best values possible. Overall, it's not hard to spot these potential issues, and they aren't difficult to handle once you know they're there.

If you look at the terms and conditions of one of these offers, there can be two different types of wagering requirements. The first is a flat requirement that's usually based on the initial value of the free spins themselves. For example, if you get 25 free spins worth $1 each on a game, that's a value of $25. A wagering requirement of 20x on this value would then be $25 * 20 = $500 which is fairly reasonable. However, there's another popular way to calculate the play-through requirement which you have to be more careful about.

Sometimes you'll have to play your free spins right after getting them so that the casino can calculate your wagering requirement as a multiple of your winnings. So suppose on the same example deal mentioned above that you end up with $40 in winnings, then a 20x wagering requirement on those winnings would be $800. This might seem unfair, but just remember that if you were to end up not winning much, you would have a smaller wagering requirement proportional to your winnings. In that light, it can seem just as fair as the alternative.

This second type of calculation for the play-through requirements should affect your game selection. In general, you'll want to avoid games that have big jackpots, especially progressives. Imagine if you win a six-figure jackpot and then have to meet a seven-figure wagering requirement. It would be almost impossible to make, and you would have wasted your big payout. For this reason, when you have wagering requirements of this type, then you should go with low-volatility games with smaller top payouts to maximize your chances of getting a fair amount of value for your free spins no matter how much they are worth.

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