The four numbers
| Number | Where it hides | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Spin value | Offer terms, often as “spin value 10p” | 100 spins at 10p is £10 of play, not £100 |
| Wagering on winnings | Bonus terms, one click in | 35x on a £6 win is £210 of required play |
| Maximum conversion | Bonus terms, easy to miss | Caps what can ever be withdrawn, often at £50-£100 |
| Expiry | Usually 7 days for spins, 30 for wagering | Divides the wagering into a daily quota |
Work them in that order. Spin value tells you the size of the gift, wagering tells you the price, conversion tells you the ceiling and expiry tells you whether the price is payable at all in the time given.
A worked example
Take a typical UK offer: deposit £10, get 100 free spins at 10p on a named slot, winnings subject to 35x wagering, maximum conversion £100, seven days to use the spins and 30 days to clear the wagering.
The spins are £10 of play. At a 96% RTP game the expected return is about £9.60, so call it £9 or £10 of winnings as a realistic middle outcome. At 35x that becomes roughly £330 of wagering to clear, and if you are doing that at 20p a spin, it is around 1,650 spins. Not impossible, but it is several hours, and every one of those spins is played at a house edge — which is the actual cost of the gift.
Two offers side by side from one brand, both requiring a £10 deposit, both with the terms in a paragraph underneath at about a quarter of the size. The wording on those strips is standardised for a reason — the Advertising Standards Authority has taken a firm line on significant conditions being presented with the claim rather than behind it.
The question is never “how many spins”. It is “what does the money have to do before it is mine”. Those are different offers wearing the same headline.
Nell Ashworth
The game is not an accident
Free spins are almost always tied to one named slot, usually Big Bass Bonanza, Book of Dead or a current release. Studios pay for that placement, and the games chosen tend to be high-variance ones, which means a large share of spin packages return nothing at all. That is not a scandal; it is worth knowing when you are deciding whether the offer is worth the account.
Kinds of spins offer, ranked by honesty
- No wagering spins. Winnings paid as cash. The only version with no catch worth the name — see no wagering free spins.
- Deposit spins. The standard: deposit £10, get spins, wagering applies. Fine if you were depositing anyway.
- No deposit spins. Free to take, small in value, and almost always capped hard on conversion. Covered at no deposit bonus.
- Spins for adding a card. A verification step dressed as a gift. Legitimate, and the card has to be yours.
- Daily or ongoing spins. Retention offers for existing players, usually with the same wagering as everything else.
When to simply say no
If you intend to play blackjack or live tables, decline the offer — those games contribute 10% or nothing to wagering and the bonus will sit there restricting your own money. If you value being able to withdraw at any moment, decline it for the same reason. Bonus funds convert a flexible balance into a locked one, and that is a real cost that never appears in the terms.
Every site in our tables goes through the same four steps in the same order. We judge what actually happens, not what the front page says.How we test a casino
Are free spins really free?
The spins are. The winnings are usually not, because they come with wagering attached. The no-wagering versions are the exception.
What is a good wagering requirement on spins?
Below 20x is genuinely good, 35x is the UK norm and anything at 50x or more should be treated as decoration rather than an offer.
Why can I only win £100 from 100 free spins?
Maximum conversion. It is standard on no-deposit offers and common on deposit ones, and it is why a big win on free spins rarely stays big.
Do free spins expire?
Nearly always, typically within seven days, with a separate and longer clock on the wagering. Missing the first clock voids the second.
