Always check your spin bet before you play! Avoid making the mistake of betting over your budget by forgetting to check the default spin bet! (Images courtesy of Pragmatic Play)
When you open an online slot, depending on the software provider, the default spin bet is around €-£-$ 2.00 for players in Ireland, the UK, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. For players in India, it is roughly ₹ 200, and if you are betting using ZAR, it is 40 Rands.
This is not a trap for high rollers and many players out there. That’s because they prefer to play higher spin bets. However, you could easily get caught up in the default bet trap by not adjusting your bets before you play. This mostly affects players using bonus money bets and budget players.
What is the default spin bet trap?
It is when you open an online slot and begin spinning the reels immediately. However, you are a budget player and didn’t want to bet €-£-$ 2.00, ₹ 200, or R 40 on the spin bet.
Why does this happen? It is because we often forget to check or adjust the spin bet before we play.
It’s understandable because slots are exciting to play, especially if a sequel to a slot you enjoy or a new online slot has just emerged. For most players, one thing is on our minds: get spinning on those reels. I’ve been caught out a few times, and I consider myself a budget spinner at $0.50 per spin if I am in Canada and £0.50 if I am in the UK.
The idea of this guide is to give you tips that will help you avoid spinning the reels at a price over your budget. We’ll also look at some common mistakes I’ve heard many players make with default spin bets.
The auto-spin mistake – a scenario from personal experience
Here is lesson number one, coming from one of the worst mistakes I’ve made in the past.
That was opening a slot on my smartphone and setting 100 auto-spins. Now, this could have worked in my favour, but unfortunately, from memory, I remember it did not. I was spinning the reels for C$ 2.00 per spin and hadn’t even noticed. I was probably distracted because I had an unpleasant shock when I looked at my casino balance around 30 spins in.
When I realised what I’d done, I should have stopped. Yet, as my first 30 spins were so bad, I let it ride, hoping to catch a bonus round and make up for the mistake with a big win from a larger-than-usual bet.
Did it come? No, it did not, and I’d bet four times my usual spin bet budget. I was around $55.00, down from C$ 200 worth of spins. An RTP of 22.5% from 100 spins. However, if you read our guide to online slot variance, I could, in theory, continue with C$ 2.00 spin bets. Afterall, most slot have an RTP of 96% on average, yet there are 4 reasons I won’t repeat the same mistake.
- I am a keen believer in not chasing losses.
- I also believe in having a set budget using bet sizing versus bankroll management.
- I learnt from my mistake in the scenario above.
- Slots can sometimes take 1,000s of spins for variance go shift back in your favour, and I don’t want to raise my personal limit by four times to chase a loss made from a simple mistake.
Why did I make the autospin mistake?
| 7 Excuses I Made For Myself |
|---|
| I did not check the default spin bet. |
| I had no process to remind me to check the default bet. |
| I was distracted right after my spin began. |
| Mobile devices have smaller screens, so it was more difficult to spot my mistake. |
| I tried to chase my losses by continuing. |
| I had no max bet limits set up (further explanation below). |
| I had no max loss limits set up (further explanation below). |
Did you know? You cannot make the auto-spin default bet trap if you are in the UK. Under the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) rules, online casinos cannot offer online slots with this feature.
Falling for the default bet trap while playing bonuses
Most players that claim bonus offers have a maximum bet limit to stick to. It is typically €-£-$ 5.00, ₹ 500, or R 100 per spin max bet allowed while using bonus money bets. For a 100% deposit match up to €-£-$ 200, ₹ 2,000, or R 4,000, getting caught out by the bonus trap isn’t a huge issue if you spot it quickly and claim the maximum bonus amount. However, it can hurt budget players and no deposit bonuses.
- Low Budget Deposit Match Bonus: If you are a budget player claiming a 100% deposit match with a €-£-$ 20.00, ₹ 2,000, or R 500, getting caught out by the default bet can severely hurt your chances of converting the bonus into real money. See the deposit bonus page for more information on the types of deposit match welcome bonus offers are available.
- Free Spins No Deposit Bonuses: The same applies when claiming free spins with no deposit because the free spins winnings rarely give you more than €-£-$ 20.00, ₹ 2,000, or R 500, and on average, you’ll win roughly €-£-$ 5.00, ₹ 500, or R 100 in bonus money. See the free spins without deposit page for more information on the types of free spins no deposit bonus offers are available.
- Bonus Money No Deposit Bonuses: If you claim a no deposit bonus that gives you a straight bonus money balance, these are rarely worth more than €-£-$ 10.00, ₹ 1,000, or R 200, and some are as low as €-£-$ 5.00, ₹ 500, or R 100 in bonus money. See the bonus money without deposit page for more information on the types of bonus money no deposit bonus offers are available.
How does getting caught out by the default bet hurt your chances of converting these small bonus money balances?
Here are 3 steps to being patient, making sure you change the default bet, and giving yourself the best chance of playing through your bonus wagering requirement.
1. Scenario: You have a €-£-$ 10.00, ₹ 1,000, or R 200 bonus balance. You open the John Hunter Quest for Bermuda Riches slot, which features as the main image in the introduction to this guide. Its default bet is €-£-$ 2.00, ₹ 200, or R 40 per spin. Two spins on this slot without changing the default bet wipes out 40% of your bonus.
2. Why does this matter? Converting bonus money into real money is about getting into as many bonus rounds as possible and triggering as many additional features as possible. The only way to do this is by bet sizing to fit in as many spins as possible within your low-budget bonus money balance. Few software providers will tell you the average number of times you will hit the bonus round, but there is one. No Limit City! Check out the screenshot.
On average, you will hit the free spins bonus every 1 in 166 free spins on the Nolimit City Jingle Ball slot! (Images courtesy of Nolimit City)
3. Bonus Money Tactic: If you have a € 5.00 balance and want to hit that bonus to win big, you’ll need to bet a minimum of € 0.20 per spin. Plus, with a 22.67% hit rate, in theory, we expect roughly half the bonus balance to remain by the time you hit the bonus round. That bonus round could end up doubling your original bonus balance. With the max win bet of 12,250x, your bet from the bonus round, even winning 1,000x of this with a € 0.20 minimum spin, would give you a € 200 win. A simple 100x multiplier is still a decent win of € 20.00, 4x the original bonus you began with.
Do you see how accidentally not changing the default bet can harm your chances? On the Jingle Balls slot demo I can the default bet is € 1.00. If you accidentally press the spin button 2 or 3 times at this rate, you’ve lost a large percentage of your bonus, and limited your chances of hitting the bonus round where the big money payoffs are.
What tactics can you use to avoid the default spin bet trap?
Your biggest challenge is remembering to change the default spin bet limit. Some casinos will remember your default spin bet, or when you exit the slot, the next time you open it, it will have the previous spin bet you set. However, not all online casinos have this feature. Therefore, if you regularly get caught out by the default spin bet, you can also try some additional tactics to avoid making this error.
- The main point is to know that every slot has a default spin bet, so you know you need to change it.
- If you play on a desktop, leave a sticky note somewhere to remind you.
- If you play on mobile, when you save the casino shortcut, for example, Boo Casino, change the shortcut name to ‘Boo Default Bet’.
- Find online casinos with responsible gambling tools that allow you to set maximum bet limits to prevent you from spinning more than your desired minimum bet.
- Also, you can set a loss limit when you set up auto-play on some games, although this is rare nowadays. They will stop if the auto spins lose more than a certain amount. You can then assess whether you want to carry on and also check you are spinning at your usual minimum spin bet.
The most useful point: Responsible gambling tools, for me, are the most useful tools. Not all casinos offer session loss limits or allow you to set max bet limits. Yet, if you are someone that regularly forgets to change the default bet, hunt down casinos like LeoVegas and 888Casino that give you the tools so you can set max bet limits on slots.
FAQ – Avoiding the default bet trap
Why is it important for us to tell you about the default spin bet trap?
This is a topic that most online casino portals will not cover because it almost feels like a scam, and so most casino reviews and news sites will not cover the topic of default spin bets. We are here to help casino players by using our experience and not hiding the truth from them. We want you to convert bonuses and do not want you to accidentally bet more than you can afford.
Is there a default bet on table games?
Generally, the answer is no for most table games, whether we are referring to a live or virtual table game. This is because you select your chip value before placing your bet on the table. Therefore, in general, you are safe from making this mistake. The only time things can go wrong here is when you slip a finger and place the wrong size chip on the table.
How can I find online casinos with responsible gambling tools?
Check our online casinos portal. In the ‘50 Best Online Casinos with Real Money‘ list, casinos with responsible gambling tools will have the market (*Responsible Gambling Tools). If you scroll down to the bottom of the page to Step 9 – ‘Shortlisting Online Casinos with Responsible Gambling Tools‘. there is a guide to responsible gambling tools and a table with a list of suggested online casinos. It includes recommended online casinos such as Winstoria, Boo Casino, 888Casino, LeoVegas, and Leon Casino.
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