Free pokies online: how social casino pokies work in Australia

Pokies are Australia's name for slot machines. Online, you can play them for free at a social casino, where you spin with virtual coins instead of money.

This guide explains what makes a social casino different, how pokies actually work, and what the numbers on a paytable mean.

Free pokies vs real-money pokies

Under the Interactive Gambling Act, online casinos and pokies played for real money can't legally be offered to people in Australia, and the regulator (ACMA) blocks offshore sites that do. Free pokies at a social casino are different: you play with virtual coins that have no cash value and can't be cashed out, so there is nothing to win or lose in real money.

• You can't win money or prizes.
• Coins can't be withdrawn, sold or traded.
• Free coins come from daily rewards, missions and bonus codes.
• Social casinos should still be 18+, because the games look and feel like gambling.

How a pokie works

1. A random number generator picks where each reel stops. Every spin is independent: the last spin has no effect on the next one.
2. Wins are paid for matching symbols on a payline, from the leftmost reel. The paytable shows every win before you spin.
3. Wilds stand in for other symbols. Scatters usually pay anywhere on the screen and often trigger free spins or a feature.
4. Your bet is usually a coin value times the number of lines.

The numbers worth knowing

RTP is an average over millions of spins. In a short session, results swing a lot either way, which is why no pattern or system can change the outcome.

Hold & Spin pokies

Hold & Spin (also called hold and win) is the feature behind many popular pokies. Land six or more special symbols and they lock in place while you get three respins. Every new special symbol locks too and resets the respins to three. When the respins run out, you collect every value on the screen, and filling all 15 positions wins the top jackpot.

On All In, Lucky Dragon and Howling Moon both use Hold & Spin with four jackpots: Mini, Minor, Major and Grand.

Myths to ignore

• A pokie is "due" to pay: it isn't. Each spin is random.
• Stopping the reels early changes the result: it doesn't. The result is decided when you press spin.
• Bigger bets pay more often: they don't. They only change the size of the wins.

Play free pokies on All In

All In has 8 free pokies, from classic five-reel games to Hold & Spin, all played with virtual coins. It's 18+ and there's no real money involved. If gambling is causing you harm, Gambling Help Online is free and confidential on 1800 858 858.