December 2019 Update
Another year is flying by but there is plenty to celebrate. Cracker Bingo, the season’s first festive release, headed up a bunch of bingo sites that are offering free slot spins somewhere in their welcome bonus. Other recent releases include Dazzle Bingo, Buzz Bingo, Loadsa Bingo, and MrQ. What’s also nice is all these free spins come with no wagering requirements. You can read more about that in this article.
Two Worlds Collide
The line between bingo and slots sites continues to blur. Of course, many bingo sites have offered slot games for a long time. These bingo player favourites slots include Fluffy Favourites from Eyecon and Mafia Millions from Playtech/Virtue Fusion. But when push came to shove, you knew these were bingo sites at their core. Now with sites like Bingzino, and established operators like Paddy Power offering merged, online, multi-versal gambling paradises, it’s so much more difficult to categorise everything.
This created the perfect conditions for the phenomenon of bingo sites offering great free spins and bonus spins deals as welcome offers and promotional perks. Sometimes, this is at the expense of a welcome bingo bonus altogether.
The brands featured on this page come in all shapes and sizes. But the one common denominator is that they are primarily known as a bingo operator, but they offer free slots spins in some sort of substantial way.
Free Spins vs. Bonus Spins – What’s the difference?
This may seem like a semantic difference and a brand’s definition may vary from another’s. However, as we see it, this is the basic divergence.
When a promotion offers “bonus spins,” your winnings are likely to fall into your “bonus balance.” Therefore, you will probably have to play through a certain wagering requirement before your winnings become withdrawable.
What makes this more confusing is that in previous years, these would have been known as free spins. However, the Gambling Commission in the UK has really toughened up on what sites can now define as “Free.”
These days, if a bingo site offers a free spins bonus then any winnings will probably go into your real cash balance. That means you are free to withdraw them any time, provided you exceed the site’s withdrawal minimum.
Slot sites like PlayOJO and bgo pioneered these free spins promotions that, in effect, did away with wagering requirements. This led to the dawn of the “Fair Spin;” some slot and bingo sites still use this terminology now.
As a caveat to this, whenever you sign up to a new site make sure you still read the terms and conditions. Though these definitions should broadly apply, some operators may not quite be as clear with their language.
Also, this terminology may be most relevant in the United Kingdom, where regulation is truly robust. In other jurisdictions around the world, not subject to such stringent guidelines, bingo and casino sites may throw around the term “free spins” much more haphazardly.
The Mega Wheel – Winning Free Spins
Jumpman are particularly active in crafting sites that are a full thematic blend of bingo and slots. What is also noticeable is that all Jumpman sites now offer the same welcome offer: Deposit £10+ & get a spin on the mega wheel. This can throw up prizes as extravagant as 500 Free Spins on slots like Fluffy Favourites and Starburst. At the same time, you are not guaranteed to get anything for registering!
Rather than putting people off, it seems to have galvanised players’ gambling spirit. When have gamblers ever shied away from the concept of risk and reward? Jumpman bingo sites are flourishing more than ever – the mega wheel free spins bonuses are inspired.
Demo Spins
Don’t confuse the free spin with the “demo spin.” These have nothing to do with bonuses. Rather, they are just practice spins where the player can try out slots on a site without risking or winning any money. Due to increased regulation, fewer sites offer the opportunity to spin for free. However, when you do find one, don’t let it go. It’s a great way to built up your confidence and to get to know a slot that you don’t know.
