Not exactly: We suppose that, technically, any respin is a free spin, but we tend to classify “free spins” as those awarded in bunches of, likesay, 10 or 20. Respins are all about recreating the “do over” of playground days to get the bad taste of a losing spin out of the player’s mouth – and replace it with (hopefully) coinage.
Sadly, this is not always the case, though quite a few slots games generously continue the respins until a win is created. And not infrequently, games with respins also include sticky wilds or some other special symbol which might enhance the chances of winning -- on at least that spin.
Among all the slots game features, perhaps none has a wider variance in awards, payouts and gameplay than respins. We’d guess that the great majority of slots with respins award them randomly, typically spinning a losing effort again before the player has a chance to say “¿Que fucking pasa?”Others have you accumulate a certain number of symbols or symbol markers before awarding the respin. Yet others, as stated above, may include sticky wilds or some other bonus symbol into the bargain for even better results.
It’s hard to say for sure. It seems like, ever since the concept was first introduced into slots games that a certain percentage of new titles included the feature, and this sliver of the casino sub-subgenre seems to hold a minority (though still somewhat significant) ratio among slots. When you find such a game online, bookmark it; you’ll be back!