I've chewed through enough sign-up freebies over the years that I can usually tell pretty quick whether one's a decent little crack or just bait. The flashy ones always look grouse at first, then you open the terms and it's 70x wagering, half the slots blocked, max cashout set so low it barely matters, and somehow they still want a full doc check before you can blink.
The ones I rate aren't even usually the biggest offers. I'd rather take a smaller freebie with normal enough playthrough and a cashout cap that doesn't feel like a joke. If I can use it on the main pokie library, the rules are written in plain English, and they don't suddenly hit you with some weird clause after a win, that already puts it ahead of heaps of the rubbish floating around.
Big red flag for me is when the promo page says one thing and support says another. Had that a few times now... bonus said all slots, support said selected games only, then the cashier had a different rule again. Bloody annoying. Also if the bonus is only there to funnel you into depositing before you can touch any winnings, I just move on. Not keen on wasting an arvo spinning for basically nothing.
If anyone's found a free chip deal lately that actually paid out without drama, chuck it in here. Keen to hear which sites are still worth bothering with, especially from Aussie players because half the time the terms look fine until you hit the withdrawal bit and it goes sideways real quick.