The UK Gambling Commission has been taking steps to ensure that online casinos interact with their players in a more transparent and less misleading manner. Since these online casinos also operate globally through off shore licences players all over the world are benefiting. A recent issue is about the free spins offers made by the online casinos. Such offers are made as a part of welcome package, when new slot games are released, as prizes in contests and more.

The UK Gambling Commission is not against online casinos making free spins offers. It is against the use of the term ‘free spins’ because it feels that these spins are not really free. The Gambling Commission has taken a view that many players do not read or understand the terms and conditions associated with the free spins. So the players claim the free spins thinking that they will be allowed to withdraw all the winnings.

Actually this is not so. The winnings from the free spins are credited to the players’ bonus account and are subject to wagering requirements before they can be withdrawn. If players are unable to meet the wagering requirements, then they get nothing from the free spins. Also there is an upper limit on the winnings that they can ultimately withdraw after meeting the wagering requirements. There are several other conditions imposed in the fine print.

The Gambling Commission is not asking online casinos to modify the terms and conditions of their free spins. The free spins are optional. The players should read the terms and then can go ahead with the free spins if they want to. The Gambling Commission wants to eliminate misleading terminology so that players do not assume they are getting something free. The term used should indicate that there are conditions attached and should prompt players to check them out. Some online casinos have changed the name of the former free spins to extra spins, casino spins and bonus spins. The rest of the UK Gambling Commission licensed online casinos will hopefully do the needful soon.

There are some online casinos that have understood the spirit of the Gambling Commission initiative and have gone beyond simply changing the name. They now offer fair spins instead of free spins. The winnings from these spins are directly credited to the players’ cash accounts. Since this is not treated as a bonus there are no wagering requirements. Also there is no limit to the amount of the winnings.