Test new game developers – As the online casino industry grows, and new developers come into the market, sampling games for free is also a way to get to know how the new boys’ games play and whether their themes and visuals suit you. If you’ve never played a game by Thunderkick, Ash Gaming or Yggdrasil, for instance, take advantage of the chance to play Flash versions of their games as a demo before you try them for real.

Learn the rules of the game – Free play is also especially useful for getting to know the rules of games that you haven’t played before. While some casino games are pretty straightforward to play and master, others such as craps, baccarat, Pai Gow Poker and Sic Bo have a terminology, betting rules and gameplay which, for the novice, can be quite intimidating. However, trying out these games in demo mode means you can take your time learning how to play without it costing you a fortune every time you make a mistake.

Experiment with strategies – Sampling free casino games also gives the chance to experiment with all of those wagering strategies you’ve read about but never really understood – how does the D’Alembert System work? Should I bother using the Martingale System? What exactly is the Labouchére System? You can put these and other strategies to the test in free games, confident that you’re not paying to learn. The same applies to online blackjack as well – if you’ve never quite mastered basic strategy or aren’t sure when you should double down or split, playing free blackjack will give you the chance to practice so that when you play for real money, you know what you should do in any given situation.

The big downside to free games is, of course, the fact that you can’t take your winnings home! Well…that’s how it seems, anyway. There is one way you can play for free and get a genuine cash payout: free casino games with bonuses. When you sign up to a new casino, you can almost always earn between 10-20 free spins on a variety of games.

All you need to do is provide an email address and phone number (when setting up your account) and you’ll be immediately credited with the free spins. Load the game, and choose to play with your bonus balance.

After all the practice you’ve been getting with the free games, you’re ready for this next level! Once your free spins run out, you’ll have a nice healthy balance of real cash – if you unlock a bonus round during your spins, you could even be looking at hundreds or thousands of dollars! You’ll need to risk betting your winnings a few times before the casino will let you make a withdrawal, but at the end of the day, every penny you have left will be yours to keep. It might sound like fiction, but you really can play free games for real money!