Fully licensed and regulated real money betting sites today tend to have thousands of computer-generated and live dealer online fruit machines and traditional favourites, such as poker, roulette, craps, baccarat, and roulette, to play in the real money mode, provided you are of legal age in your country.
I’ve found that most of the content available on today’s most trusted sites is playable from as little as $/€/£0.10 or $/€/£0.20 per spin, hand, round, or ticket, depending on the game, which is ideal for low rollers like me on a budget.
However, I’ve also found countless sites offering a free-play demo mode in most of their fruitys and other popular titles. In other words, you can practice playing hundreds of titles in the risk-free mode using fun money that has no monetary value in the real world instead of using real money.
This begs the question: do you always need to deposit funds to play at online casinos? Let’s dive straight in to find out.
Are deposits really necessary on websites with online fruit machines?
Yes and no. For example, I’ve never felt pressured or forced in any way to deposit on any of the sites I have registered an account with over the past ten or so years.
I’ve also found that most of their content is accessible in the fee-play demo mode, apart from the progressive jackpot fruitys and the highly sophisticated live dealer titles.
It’s too expensive for operators (and the software providers who specialise in live dealer software) to run these ones in the free-play mode, and you can only access the free-play mode content after registering a real money account.
In other words, you don’t have to deposit to play on sites like this, but then what’s the point in registering an account in the first place? Why bother providing an operator with your personal details and your preferred payment method information if you don’t intend to deposit?
I think it’s fantastic that websites like this have a free-play mode available in some of their titles, but I only ever tend to use this mode when I have run out of my real money balance or when I am trying out a new strategy in certain classics, like craps, roulette, poker, or blackjack.
Based on what many other people have said to me when I talk to them about the free-play mode, they also do the same and think that it’s handy to have it available. It also keeps registered members like me interested and means I can still play some of my favourite titles, even when I can’t afford to.
The only downside to this is the fact that I can’t win any real money when playing in this mode. However, I do believe that this fun technology is reshaping what it means to play on sites like this and makes them more appealing and transparent.
When depositing for the first time, don’t forget that you can also usually claim some kind of ‘no-strings-attached’ welcome bonus, so if you don’t deposit after signing up, you will miss out on this generous offer.
How else can I play in the free-play mode without signing up anywhere?
Some of you may also be pleased to learn that playing in free mode using fun chips is also now possible on the Ask Gamblers review site. Incredibly, this trusted site now has over 1,000 titles from the industry’s most notable, multi-award-winning providers.
I have also found many hit titles to play in the risk-free mode on this site that aren’t ever available to play for free on any of my favourite real money sites, so I often find myself playing here, too.
Some of the most popular free-play online fruit machines I can recommend checking out before trying any others are the following hit titles:
- Starburst
- Dead or Alive
- Gonzo’s Quest
- Immortal Romance
- Thunderstruck II
- Game of Thrones
- Book of Dead
- Jurassic Park
- Mega Fortune
- Mr Cashback
The top providers who make these famous online fruitys are Playtech, GamesGlobal, and NetEnt. They also have a selection of fruitys worth checking out from Thunderkick, Play’n GO, Novomatic, NextGen, RTG, Quickspin, and Push Gaming, to name a few.
How much do I have to deposit if I decide to play in the real money mode and claim my bonus?
If you decide to go ahead and play in the real money mode, you will need to, at some point, deposit. The good news is that most sites let you top up your account from as little as $/€/$5 to $/€/£20.
I have discovered that the minimum amount you can deposit on most sites will depend on the operator’s policy and which method you use to deposit.
For example, deposits typically start from as little as $/€/£5.00 are usually possible when using Visa debit cards, but the casino’s minimum deposit requirement might be $/€/£10 or $/€/£20 (or equivalent currency value).
If you want to play for free when you run out of cash, simply skip the games in the real money mode and try to find the ones available in the practice mode instead, just until you can afford to deposit and play for real. That’s what I do anyway.
Final thoughts
I have been able to remain within my budget when I play on sites like this because I have access to a range of effective controls known as safer gambling tools.
The most reliable ones I’ve found work for me, which I suggest you try using too, include session time reminders, win/loss limits, and daily/weekly/monthly deposit limits. You can set them manually in a matter of seconds on numerous sites when logged in to your account.
If you want to play any of the hit titles that I’ve mentioned above using your hard-earned money, I suggest you also consider using these responsible gambling controls, which most trustworthy operators today provide.
