Free spins explained: spin value, max bet and expiry

1. Spin value: what each spin is worth

Free spins are played at a fixed stake set by the casino, and that stake is almost always the game's minimum or close to it. On current UK offers 10p is the norm. Multiply the count by the value and you get the face value of the offer, which is a much fairer basis for comparison.

Face value is not what you will win. It is what the spins would cost if you paid for them. Most sets of spins return less than their face value; a few return a lot more. The average, again, sits below 100%.

If a casino doesn't state the spin value, as with one of the offers above, that is worth a line in an email to support before you deposit. It is not a trick, as a rule. It is just an omission, and omissions are where confusion starts.

2. What happens to the winnings

Winnings from free spins are normally paid as bonus funds, not cash. They then carry their own wagering requirement, which in the UK can be no more than 10x. So £6 won from spins means £60 of further stakes before that money can be withdrawn. PlayKasino's offer is built entirely on this: there is no matched bonus, only the requirement on what the spins pay.

Some operators also cap what spin winnings can convert into. At Vegas Mobile and The Online Casino, the cap is £20.

3. The max bet rule

While you are wagering bonus funds, your stake per spin or hand is limited. The common formula at the Skill On Net brands reads: 10% of the free spin winnings and bonus amount, minimum 10p, or £5, whichever is lower.

Why does it matter? Because breaking it, even once and by accident, can void the bonus and its winnings. It is one of the commonest ways a bonus is lost. Slots with adjustable stakes remember your last bet; move from a 20p game to one where you last played at £2, and you may breach the limit without noticing.

Separately from any bonus rule, UK online slots now have a legal stake limit: £5 a spin for players aged 25 and over, and £2 a spin for 18 to 24-year-olds. Those limits came into force in spring 2025.

4. Expiry: two clocks, not one

There are usually two deadlines. The first is how long you have to use the spins once they are credited. The second is how long you have to wager whatever they win. The terms we read this month show two patterns:

• Skill On Net brands: spin winnings and bonus share a single 30-day wagering window.
• ProgressPlay brands: free spins and their winnings are valid for 7 days from receipt, while the bonus has 30.

Seven days passes quickly. If you know you will not be playing much that week, it may be better to wait before depositing.

A few terms you will meet

Locked game

The spins can be played on one named slot only, such as Book of Dead or Big Bass Bonanza.

Credited in batches

Some offers release spins over several days. None of the five we rank say they do this in their significant terms, but it is common elsewhere.

Max conversion

The most that bonus-derived winnings can turn into withdrawable cash.

Wager-free spins

Spins whose winnings are paid as cash. Rarer, and usually fewer in number.

Bonus policy

The operator's general bonus rules, which sit behind the significant terms and apply on top of them.

So which is the better spins offer?

The one whose numbers you understand and can live with. For what it's worth, we would take fewer spins with a 30-day window over more spins with seven days, and a stated spin value over an unstated one. But a spins offer on a game you don't enjoy is poor value at any count.