Are "Free Spin" offers just a rip off?

jacko74

Are all these introductory offers from gambling/Casino sites just a rip off?

I realise long term there's only one winner when it comes to gambling but I assumed these free offers were a way of drawing mug punters in and were "legitimate" so to speak.

Having just signed up to three well known "reputable" sites for their Free Spin offers I then "won" £37, £25 and £32... not bad I thought for half an hours work lay in bed on a cold wet Sunday morning. 

I then immediately withdrew my "winnings" either in the form of direct payment or High Street Vouchers but having checked my email inbox to see if they've arrived instead I've got 3 "Account Closure Notification" emails from the 3 betting sites.

Have I made a rookie mistake? Should I have left my winnings in the account for a period of time? Or are they all just a rip off and never honour these free opening offers?

Keep_pedalling

You obviously did not read the terms and conditions, you can’t just do the free spins and take any winnings, you usually also have to gamble some of your own money as well or use your ‘winnings’ to play again (usually 10 times) before you can withdraw anything. 

Brie

I wouldn't automatically call them a rip off but they are definitely a lure with the idea that once you're signed up you'll start spending.  Just like all the "free" adventure or mind teaser games that you can only progress through by buying tokens or whatever.

jacko74

Keep_pedalling said:

You obviously did not read the terms and conditions, you can’t just do the free spins and take any winnings, you usually also have to gamble some of your own money as well or use your ‘winnings’ to play again (usually 10 times) before you can withdraw anything. 

I did use a portion of my winnings to continue playing for a while, none of them required an initial deposit so I couldn't gamble any of my own money in that sense.

Perhaps they could make it clear at the withdrawal stage that there are specific withdrawal T&C's that need to be complied with rather than just blocking your account altogether with no clear reason

By the way, we'll done you on reading and understanding the thousands of lines of T&C's for everything you ever sign up to in life, I'm very impressed. 

la531983

Keep_pedalling said:

You obviously did not read the terms and conditions, you can’t just do the free spins and take any winnings, you usually also have to gamble some of your own money as well or use your ‘winnings’ to play again (usually 10 times) before you can withdraw anything. 

It wouldn't let him withdraw in the first place if winnings had wagering requirements. 

This is just a classic case of bookmakers being sore losers 

Vectis

You can make money from some of these free spins offers, but it does depend on the casino's t&c, specifically whether you need to wager your winnings. The wagering can be anything from around 10x, where you stand a chance of getting some money out, to 35x or even 50x which make it unlikely although not impossible.

No need to read all the t&c, any wagering should be clearly stated, and most casinos do abide by this.

These free spins and casino offers are a spin-off from matched betting which this site used to publicise.

It used to be recommended that you leave your winnings in the site for a while, even a few days, instead of simply doing the free spins (or free bets with bookies) and taking the money and leaving. But, nearly all of the casinos and bookmakers will close your accounts if they think you're simply doing their offers and nothing else. It used to be a game keeping ahead of them and finding ways around it, but they get you eventually.

If you do any more, look for the wagering requirements.

la531983

Vectis said:

You can make money from some of these free spins offers, but it does depend on the casino's t&c, specifically whether you need to wager your winnings. The wagering can be anything from around 10x, where you stand a chance of getting some money out, to 35x or even 50x which make it unlikely although not impossible.

No need to read all the t&c, any wagering should be clearly stated, and most casinos do abide by this.

These free spins and casino offers are a spin-off from matched betting which this site used to publicise.

It used to be recommended that you leave your winnings in the site for a while, even a few days, instead of simply doing the free spins (or free bets with bookies) and taking the money and leaving. But, nearly all of the casinos and bookmakers will close your accounts if they think you're simply doing their offers and nothing else. It used to be a game keeping ahead of them and finding ways around it, but they get you eventually.

If you do any more, look for the wagering requirements.

And again, it wouldn't have let him do withdrawals had he not met wagering requirements. 

dave2319

I think it probably comes down to not meeting the requirements and/or trying to withdraw too soon. As Vectis said: "nearly all of the casinos and bookmakers will close your accounts if they think you're simply doing their offers and nothing else."

If you do any more of them, try and make it a lot less obvious that you're only really there to rinse them on their free spins!

Had a quick look at a casino offer at BetFred and there weren't any wagering requirements, but down the bottom of the terms it says they reserve the right to not pay out any winnings from the bonus if they believe it's been abused - which presumably includes trying to withdraw immediately afterwards. They won't like that sort of thing for sure.

la531983

dave2319 said:

I think it probably comes down to not meeting the requirements and/or trying to withdraw too soon. As Vectis said: "nearly all of the casinos and bookmakers will close your accounts if they think you're simply doing their offers and nothing else."

If you do any more of them, try and make it a lot less obvious that you're only really there to rinse them on their free spins!

Had a quick look at a casino offer at BetFred and there weren't any wagering requirements, but down the bottom of the terms it says they reserve the right to not pay out any winnings from the bonus if they believe it's been abused - which presumably includes trying to withdraw immediately afterwards. They won't like that sort of thing for sure.

I know of someone who had an account closed because a bookie (will remain nameless) emailed him a free bet offer. He used the free bet offer, the bet lost, and then the day later essentially closed his account.

They are a law onto themselves, they certainly wont like people opening accounts for free spins, withdrawing the winnings, and then not hanging around.

MACKEM99

Surely they should accept that a percentage will just use the offer after all they are giving it to you and they will make a lot more on those who continue to use their site.  Reminds me of when Leicester City won the premier league the bookies were bleating of having to pay out at very high odds!  This surely must have been massively offset from the high numbers of others who had placed bets on the more fancied teams which they did not have to pay out for?

mjm3346

Some limit the amount you can turn to cash as well as requiring you to stake the winnings multiple times for example one has 25x wagering and  Max bonus to cash £25 - usually the bigger the incentive the more requirements there are - some sites advertise everything is paid as cash - basically everyone should read the T&Cs.