The UK gambling commission has called for the renaming of “free spins” bonuses citing that the name is inaccurate and misleading to players. In actual sense, free spins are not absolutely free. Players are expected to meet certain wagering requirements for them to be able to use the free spins or cash out winnings acquired by playing using the free spins.
Wagering requirements on free spins
While different casinos stipulate specific terms and conditions for every type of bonus, at the bottom-line, free spins work the same way across the board. Say you have been awarded 20 free Spins for playing Starburst for the first time. You will be able to continuously play Starburst for 20 spins without need to place a wager. All the winnings from the spins will be deposited to your account. However, you will not be able to cash out the winnings until you have met the wagering requirements for the spins.
For instance, if the 20 free spins wagering requirement is 30x and you probably won 10 Euros from playing them, you will need to place wagers 30 times the winnings to be able to withdraw them. in this case, you will need to place wagers worth 30X10=300 Euros on the Starburst game. Any wagers placed on other games other than Starburst do not add up towards meeting the wagering requirements for the free spins.
Similarly, deposit free spins require you to make a specified minimum deposit to be able to to redeem the free spins or cash out winnings. Therefore, there is a precondition to qualify to use the free spins.
Evidently, free spins are not free as the name implies. There is a catch that you have to meet certain terms and conditions to be able to cash out winnings earned playing them. The commission only allows use of the term free spins if indeed the spins are free. For instance, some online casinos offer free no deposit spins that have no wagering requirements. In this case, it is accurate to refer to the bonus spins as free spins. Free spins according to the commission should be used in the same way as paid spins only that the player does not pay for them because they are entirely free.
Since there has not been a collaborative effort to renaming free spins, casinos have been coining replacement names independently. Some of the new names that have come up to replace the term free spins include casino spins, fair spins, bonus and extra spins.
Seeing as this regulation is enacted by the UK Gambling Commission, only casinos registered under the commission or operating in UK are expected to adhere to it. Therefore, many online casinos outside UK are still using the term free spins as it has been used traditionally.
Aside from a call to rename free spins that have preconditions, the UK Gambling Commission insists that casinos must make their terms and condition for all bonuses clear to avoid any ambiguity or creating an inaccurate impression.
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