Slots dominate the online gambling realm as they offer varied themes, highly engaging gameplay, and loads of potentially profitable bonus features. But the best part is you can give them a test drive at no cost before you risk any real money. Most online slots are available for free in-browser play without requiring any annoying downloads or registration.
If you are having trouble deciding which free slots to try out first, you have come to the right spot. SlotsMove is your go-to place for honest and thorough reviews of the latest online slots you can enjoy in a risk-free manner from the comfort of your surroundings. Our dedicated reviewers cover everything from the games’ return percentages and paytables to their special symbols and bonus features.
This Is How We Pick Our Recommended Free-to-Play Online Slots
As avid reel spinners ourselves, we have played, reviewed, and rated hundreds of online slots over the years. Only the best slot releases make the cut and are featured on our list of recommendations. Let’s dig into the aspects our seasoned slot reviewers consider when picking the best free slots for you to play.
➔ Theoretical return percentages are important to us because they indicate what average payout rates players can anticipate in the long term. A higher return percentage translates into better winning odds for spinners who decide to transition from free to real-money play later on.
➔ Volatility is another fundamental aspect we look at since it indicates how often slot players will land winning combinations and what the average size of their payouts will be. Slots with higher volatility have lower hit frequencies but award larger prizes, while those with low volatility offer consistent but significantly smaller payouts. You may want to give this a thought before you switch to real-money play.
➔ The graphics and the overall design are worth considering. The best free-to-play slots are beautifully crafted with great attention to detail, boasting superior visuals and fluid animations that can resonate with a broad audience of reel spinners.
➔ Bonus features greatly contribute to the overall gaming experience of players and a quality slot should have at least one of those to rank highly on our list. The availability of wilds and scatters is an absolute must but we also look for free spins and bonus games. A slot must boast the full package to earn a five-star rating from our team.
➔ Fairness is something we attach great weight to. All slots we have shortlisted for you are subject to regular audits performed by external testing agencies to ensure their outcomes are truly random and unbiased.
➔ Cross-compatibility is equally important to us. Our reviewers always ensure a slot has been optimized for iOS and Android before they recommend it to readers. We also test the games on smartphones and tablets to see how their mobile versions compare to the desktop ones.
5 Compelling Reasons to Play Free Online Slots
Unlike their noisy cousins in landbased casinos, online slots allow you to enjoy them without risking any of your hard-earned money. But why bother playing the demo versions when you cannot win any real money you ask? Well, here are several of the most compelling reasons why you should give free slots a try.
● Reason #1 – You can play your favorite slots to your heart’s content without losing a single dime. There is always the option to reload the game if you run out of demo credits during a bad streak.
● Reason #2 – You can feel safe knowing you will not get into any legal trouble even if you live in a jurisdiction where online casino games are generally prohibited. So far no one has been legally prosecuted for playing free slots.
● Reason #3 – You can test out newly released online slots in a risk-free manner and assess their volatility before you commit with real cash.
● Reason #4 – The demo versions serve as a great lead-in to online slots for unversed players who are just getting their feet wet in the genre.
● Reason #5 – There is no need to register, share your personal and banking details, or go through verification. You can start playing right away from the comfort of your surroundings.
Main Types of Free-to-Play Online Slots
Free-to-play slots come in many different shapes and forms but are generally grouped into four main categories, depending on their winning potential and payout mechanics. The slots from each category have their distinctive features and resonate with a specific audience of reel spinners.
● Classic slots are the perfect fit for purists looking for straightforward gameplay without any unnecessary distractions. Fruits, bars, jokers, and lucky sevens are the most common symbols you will encounter on their three reels. The number of paylines is limited and there are very few, if any, bonus features.
Top 3 Classic Slots Available for Free Play
● Video slots typically play on at least five reels and offer a higher number of paylines, which increases the possible winning combinations. The slots from this category come with added panache, fancier graphics, and immersive sounds. These are feature-rich games where players will benefit from wilds, scatters, free spins, multipliers, and bonus games.
Top 3 Video Slots Available for Free Play
● Megaways slots are a new and exciting breed of games pioneered by BigTime Gaming. They feature random reel modifiers that change the number of symbols appearing on each reel on every spin, allowing for up to a million win ways per spin in some cases. There are no conventional paylines in these games. Winning combinations are formed by landing three or more matching symbols in any position on adjacent reels.
Top 3 Megaways Slots Available for Free Play
● Progressive slots are not always available for free play but you can still test them out at no cost in some cases. The games from this category typically offer life-changing jackpots that increase incrementally with each bet players make. Once won, the jackpots are reset to a predetermined seed amount and start growing all over again. The start-up seed value is game-specific.
Top 3 Progressive Slots You Can Test for Free
Common Features in Free-to-Play Online Slots
Modern online slots offer no shortage of special features that not only keep you interested in the gameplay, but boost your chances of earning handsome payouts. It is always recommended to try and unlock the bonus features in demo mode before you commit with real money. This will give you an idea of how difficult it is to trigger the bonus games or free spins but your bankroll will remain intact.
● Wilds come in all shapes and forms but invariably serve the same purpose, namely substituting for all regular symbols on the reels to help you land more winning combinations. In modern free-to-play slots, you will encounter expanding, shifting, sticky, and stacked wilds, among other varieties.
● Scatter symbols are special for two reasons and the first one is they can pay in any position as long as several of them appear on adjacent reels. They often trigger the free spins and bonus games which is yet another reason to keep an eye out for them.
● Free spins are among the most popular in-game features you will encounter in free-to-play online slots. Players can usually unlock them by landing three or more scattered symbols anywhere on the reels. In some online slots, players can retrigger the free spins indefinitely, while in others there is a limit on the maximum number of retriggers.
● Bonus games are either unlocked by the scatters or by special bonus symbols. The most common variety you will encounter is the pick-me bonus where you collect instant cash prizes by randomly selecting various theme-related items.
● Respins are triggered either by special symbols or after the player lands a winning combination. The reels would then respin one or more times at no cost. This feature is sometimes combined with special multipliers that increase with each successive win.
● Cascading reels, also known as tumbling or avalanche reels, activate after you hit a winning combination. The symbols it consists of explode and disappear from the reels, making way for new icons to appear in their places. The chain reaction normally continues until a losing spin occurs.
Meet the Best Providers of Free Online Slots
Playing free online slots from the comfort of your surroundings would have been impossible without the software studios listed below. These companies have been pushing the online gambling industry to new frontiers for years, always innovating and coming up with clever ways to improve players’ gaming experience.
● Microgaming launched the first internet casino in 1994 and went on to become the largest supplier of free and real-money slots in the world. The company’s extensive portfolio boasts over 800 stunning slot releases, most of which are available for free in-browser play.
Top 3 Free-to-Play Slots by Microgaming
● NetEnt is an award-winning software supplier that hails from Sweden. It has been crafting superior slots for the online gaming industry since 1996. NetEnt has established itself as a leader in this field and has designed more than 200 visually stunning games over the last 25 years.
Top 3 Free-to-Play Slots by NetEnt
● Playtech is a name all online casino players are well familiar with. Established in 1999, the company has accumulated multiple awards on its trophy rack over the years. One of its most recent achievements is winning in the Casino Platform Provider of the Year category at the 2020 EGR Nordics Awards.
Top 3 Free-to-Play Slots by Playtech
● WMS is a Nevada-based company that started out as a manufacturer of physical slot cabinets for landbased casinos. It tapped into the iGaming realm in the early 2010s when it started to adapt some of its most popular slot games for online play. The company merged with Scientific Games in 2016.
Top 3 Free-to-Play Slots by WMS
Free Online Slots FAQs
Do free slots offer the same odds of winning as their real-money counterparts?
The random number generators that govern the outcomes of all online slots operate in the same way regardless of whether you play the demos or the real-money versions of the games. The theoretical return percentages coincide so your odds of winning are the same no matter which version you play.
Can I win anything while playing free online slots?
You can only win demo credits and use them for more free play but winning actual cash is impossible. For this purpose, you must sign up at a licensed online casino, verify your age and identity, and fund your real-money balance via one of the supported deposit methods.
Do I have to make a deposit if I run out of free credits?
No, unless you want to. If you happen to deplete your demo bankroll, all you have to do is reload the game and your initial demo balance will be restored. Many online casinos allow you to access the free versions of their games without registration because this helps attract new customers and get them to sign up eventually.
Are free slots available for mobile play?
The vast majority of free-to-play slots are playable on all devices and operating systems. Most modern releases have been designed in HTML5 which makes it possible for players to load and enjoy them in any mobile or desktop browser of their choice.
Should I play free slots before I transition to the real-money versions?
You most definitely should. Playing free slots is a great way to improve your learning curve if you are a rookie. It will allow you to master the rules and gameplay without the added pressure of knowing you are spending real money. Experienced spinners also benefit from the demo versions as they get to test newly released slots they are still unfamiliar with.