Sweepstakes casinos are an exciting and relatively new innovation in the world of online casino gaming. Providing a mix between standard gambling and social casinos, these sites are gaining popularity around the world.
At sweepstake casinos you can participate in plenty of games, including traditional table games like roulette and craps, card games like poker and blackjack, slot machines, and even sports betting in some cases. Unlike a purely social casino, where everything is free-play and no money is spent or won, at a sweeps casino there is the chance to win real money.
Because of the way that they operate, sweepstakes casinos circumvent a lot of online gambling legislation. So even if you live somewhere where online casinos are prohibited, the chances are that you can find a sweepstake casino and play there. Want to know more? We have all the information you need about online casino sweepstakes, right here on this page.
Before we learn how to get started, let’s first take a look at exactly what a sweepstakes casino is. The concept of a sweepstake is probably familiar to most people in the English-speaking world. Sweepstake games are commonly played in informal settings such as between a group of friends or work colleagues.
Each participant draws a random name as the potential winner of a competition, typically a big sporting event, and also contributes an equal stake towards the collective prize fund. Whoever picked the name of the eventual winner gets the full pot. Essentially, a sweepstake is a purely chance-based competition with a cash prize – a little like a lottery on a smaller scale and with better odds.
At an online sweepstake casino, players can experience a novel combination of social casino and real money gambling. How does this work? Get started by following these steps:
Find a sweepstakes casino by selecting from our recommended sites. We have made sure that all our selections are 100% legitimate, fair and licensed by a recognised online gambling authority.
Purchase coins or claim them from a bonus offer
Start playing the casino games of your choice.
At sweepstakes casinos you can play with gold coins or sweepstakes coins – but what exactly are they and what is the difference? The coins system is what sets sweepstakes casinos apart and makes them different from purely social casinos and from fully-fledged online gambling sites. Let’s take a look at the two different types of coins, and what you can do with them.
Gold Coins
Gold coins are a type of virtual currency or token, specific to each sweeps casino site. Most sweepstakes casinos award some free gold coins as part of a welcome offer, and more can then be purchased in bundles. Unlike a standard online casino, players do not deposit money into a casino account, but instead buy these tokens and use them to play. This is the part that is exactly the same as social casinos, because when playing with gold coins it is for fun only – no monetary prizes can be won.
The bundles of gold coins tend to be quite generous, giving players lots of time to play all the slots and games. Gambling with this virtual credit provides considerably more playing time than gambling with deposited cash at a regular online casino. For many people, extended gaming is an end in itself. But if there is no way to win cash, then why bother buying gold coins? This is where the sweepstake casino coins come in.
Sweepstakes Coins
Sweepstake casinos take social gaming one step further with sweepstake coins. These cannot be purchased directly, but can be obtained in a few different ways:
As a welcome bonus for new players
As a special offer when purchasing gold coins
As a prize in an online competition
By requesting them directly from the site (discretionary)
As a reward for logging in on particular days, or for logging in every day
As a prize when playing for fun with gold coins
Sweepstake coins are assigned a monetary value, which varies between sites, and when playing with these there is the potential to win money. Cash prizes – and other rewards such as gift cards – can be won on casino games or by using the coins to enter competitions. Alternatively, some players choose to save their sweepstake coins and cash them out, although in many cases you must play them at least once before they can be redeemed.
Because sweepstakes coins are not directly purchased, but rather won or claimed in a variety of ways, sweeps cash casinos are not classified as online gambling sites.
International Sweepstakes Casino Markets
As we explained in the previous section, sweep coins casinos are not considered to be real gambling, because there is no direct exchange of cash for real money casino credit. For this reason, they are legally accessible in many parts of the world, both in places where international online casinos are permitted and those where they are either prohibited or unregulated.
The United States is a good example because in the majority of states, online casino gambling is outlawed or severely restricted. Conversely, sweepstakes casinos are permitted in forty nine states and in the District of Columbia – only Idaho and Washington State place any restrictions on sweep coins casinos.
Playing at sweepstakes casinos is therefore a great alternative to online casino gambling for anyone who lives in a country or state where gambling is restricted. It is also popular in countries such as Canada, where private offshore gambling sites are accessible but operate in a legal grey area.
Another benefit of sweepstake casinos is that they offer a low-risk form of gambling. As the gold coin bundles are relatively low-cost and provide a lot of screen time, there is much less chance of players spending beyond their means. Think of it as social gaming – that is, playing casinos games for fun – with the added incentive of a prize draw on the side.
Online Casino Sweepstakes in Australia
Players in Australia may know online sweepstakes games by other names, such as a draw or simply a competition. Rules vary between states and territories, and most sweepstakes in the country are set up as promotional tools for businesses. In South Australia, any business can run a free-to-enter lottery with a prize of up to AU$5000 – for higher prizes a permit is required.
Gambling is extremely popular in Australia, a country which sees some of the highest casino spending per capita in the world. In an attempt to reduce casino use, tighter legislations have been imposed. However, the people can still make use of some offshore casino sites that accept Australian players, including sweepstakes casinos.
Online Casino Sweepstakes in the UK
Sweeps games are also better known as prize draws or competitions in the UK, and most UK citizens will have entered at least one in their lifetime. They are run frequently as promotions, and there are whole websites dedicated to entering sweepstakes games online.
Categorised as lotteries under UK gambling laws, sweepstakes are also popular within workplaces and in various private societies. Rules stipulate that all money added to the pot must be distributed as prizes, and they are not to be used as a money-making tool. When it comes to sweepstakes casinos, these are less popular than they are in the USA. The reason being that licensed online casinos are numerous and easily accessible to the public.
How to Win Real Money Playing Sweepstakes Casino Online
At a sweepstakes game room online, winning real money is secondary to the gaming itself. While winning cash is a big incentive, it is important to emphasise that players are unlikely to get rich quick playing at sweepstakes casinos. That said, it is perfectly possible to win real money on these platforms, so here are our tips for how to do that.
Firstly, playing with the site’s play money – sometimes called gold coins – is the perfect way to get to know the games and try out some different techniques and strategies. That way, when you play using the sweeps coins, there is less room for error and you may find winning easier. Winnings from play money are still of some value, as they give you even more extended playing time.
Depending on the site, there are various ways to win cash. Premium tokens or sweeps coins can be acquired via different means. The easiest way to get them is probably by buying the bundles of fun-play tokens, as each bundle comes with some sweeps coins as a bonus. As we saw earlier, many sites also award sweeps coins in online competitions, and some also give them away when players log into their account regularly.
What you can do with those sweeps coins also depends on the site. In some cases, premium tokens act as entries into a prize draw or competition. The more sweeps coins you have, the more entries you can make and the better your chances of winning.
Others allow players to accumulate tokens, which have an equivalent monetary value, and then cash them out when a certain threshold has been reached. Note that most sweepstakes casinos require that sweeps coins are used to play with at least once before they can be cashed.
The most interesting way to win cash is at the sweepstakes casinos that allow players to use premium tokens to play casino games. While these may not pay out in exactly the same way as a regular online casino game, there are still cash rewards to be had.
Free Sweeps Cash Casinos
The number of free sweeps cash casinos is still quite small compared to the huge online casino market. We expect this to change very soon, as more providers see the potential and open up new sweepstakes casinos.
The sweepstakes casino that you choose will depend on the type of games you prefer to play. Some provide a combination of classic casino table games and virtual slots, while others are more focused. Most can be played on PC or mobile, while some are mobile app only. All the sites that we recommend are safe and licensed.
We have reviewed and tested every online sweepstakes casino, and we are happy to endorse some interesting sites for you. The following free sweeps cash casinos pass all our selection criteria – great games selection, commitment to fair play, generous cash rewards, and full operating license:
LuckyLand Slots
Funzpoints Casino
Chumba Casino
Global Poker
Gambino Slots
For more sweepstakes casinos, check our listings on this page.
How to get Free Sweep Coins
Sweeps coins can never be directly purchased, but there are plenty of different ways to get them. We touched on this earlier, so let’s look at each method in more detail.
Welcome bonus. When new players register and make an account at sweep coins casinos, premium tokens with a monetary value are often part of the sign up casino bonus. In some cases, sweep coins are awarded as a no-deposit bonus, meaning that players do not need to buy any play money to get the offer.
Gold coins purchase. When buying a bundle of play tokens, which have no monetary value, sweep coins come as a free gift. The more tokens purchased, the more sweep coins will be included.
Competition prize. A fun way to win free sweep coins is with an online giveaway competition. These often run on social media and take the form of a trivia quiz. Players who answer correctly are in with a chance of winning part of the prize pool.
Direct request. In some cases, players can send a written request via mail, email, or direct message asking the site for sweeps coins.
Reward for logging in. Log into your account on certain days of the week, or if you log in daily.
Earn coins by playing. When using free tokens to play, some of the winnings can be given as sweeps coins or prize draw entries.
Redeeming Cash Prizes at Sweepstakes Casinos
When you have won a sweepstake competition, or collected enough cashable tokens, you can claim your cash and transfer it to an online e-wallet or bank account. Details of cashable winnings are available when you log into your account. Before you are permitted to cash out, you must first provide some proof of identity. This is to comply with international regulations, and it is needed at both sweeps cash casinos and regular online casinos.
Identity document. This can be an ID card issued by the government, or some other form of official photographic ID such as a passport or driver’s license.
Recent bank statement. This must be for the bank account where the money will be cashed to, and must be no older than three months.
Proof of address. Examples include utility bills in your name, or a notarised lease agreement.
When the casino has processed your identity verification, you can withdraw the cash via online bank transfer, or through some other approved method. These vary depending on your country, but e-wallets and services like Skrill or PayPal are popular choices, as well as credit and debit cards.
Top Sweepstakes Games Online
At sweeps cash casinos you can find a great variety of different casino games, just as you would at a standard online casino. The number of games is usually a little smaller, but most provide a good mix. Slots are always popular, and we will look at those in more detail in a moment.
Aside from slots, you will find a choice of other sweeps games such as blackjack, roulette, keno, video poker, tournament poker, and scratch cards. Many online sweepstakes games are unique to the provider, produced in-house, and available exclusively to the platform.
Global Poker, as the name suggests, is the site with the most poker variants in the collection. For poker tournaments, this is the best of the sweeps casino options.
Guide to Sweepstakes Casino Slots
Slots are always the number one draw for any casino player, so it’s no surprise to learn that sweepstakes casino slots make up the majority of the games on most platforms. Many of these are in the traditional 5×3 layout, although there are also some variations of reels and paylines.
Alongside the standard sweepstakes slots, some sites also have progressive games. At Chumba Casino there are three progressive slot titles – Reelin N Rockin, Stampede Fury, and Triple Double Fever. These games have led to prize money of over a million dollars awarded to lucky casino players since the site launched.
Most Popular Slots
Whichever site you choose, there will be a fantastic selection of sweep slots to play. Each site has its own unique collection – let’s take a look at some of the most popular slot games at some of our recommended sweepstakes casinos:
LuckyLand Slots:
Dragon’s Den
Buffalo Rush
Forbidden Fortunes
Mardi Gras Money
Funzpoints Casino:
Scatters in Space
Barnyard Frenzy
Enchantress Luna
Chumba Casino:
Big Gorilla
Stampede Fury
Western Gold
Gambino Slots:
Samba in Rio
Aztec Fortunes
License to Win
Jackpot City
Free Slots Sweepstakes
Free slots sweepstakes games operate in exactly the same way as any virtual slot game. They are controlled by a sophisticated computer algorithm known as a random number generator (RNG) that reproduces the conditions of a mechanical slot machine. The RNG ensures that each spin has a totally random outcome. The games are designed so that some outcomes are more likely than others, which gives the game its return to player rate or house edge.
The only difference is that to play sweepstakes slots you need special tokens – gold coins – and you cannot directly win any money when playing with them. Winnings are also in the form of tokens, which can then be used to play more. To win money you must use sweeps coins, which do have a monetary value and can be obtained in the various ways listed previously.
New Sweeps Casinos
The market for new online casinos is enormous and hugely competitive, but the same cannot yet be said for sweepstakes casinos. Several of the biggest brands – Chumba, LuckyLand and Global Poker – are run by the same parent company and were until recently the dominant provider in the sector.
The success of these and other platforms has encouraged others into the market, and we are starting to see new sweeps casinos starting up. We test and evaluate each new sweepstakes casino that comes online, and if we are satisfied we add these to our list of recommendations.
Sweepstakes Casinos FAQs
💡 Are sweepstakes legal?
Yes, in the majority of the US, Canada, and many other parts of the world, sweepstake competitions are completely legal. In the US, online sweepstake casinos are popular because they are permitted while regular online casinos are prohibited.
💡 What are the best sweepstakes casinos?
We have listed all the best sweepstakes casino sites on this page – they include Chumba, Funzpoints, and LuckyLand. Every time a new site is launched, we test it just like we do with the best casinos to see if it deserves to be recommended.
💡 Are sweepstake casinos licensed?
Yes. Just like normal casinos, sweeps cash casinos must operate under license. All of the brands owned by VGW (LuckyLand, Chumba, Global Poker) are licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority. The MGA is known worldwide as one of the biggest and most effective online gambling licensing bodies and regulators.
💡 Can I win money at sweepstakes casinos?
Yes, there are opportunities to win cash and other rewards at these sites. We have explained in detail exactly how this works further up on this page.
💡 Can I play with real money at a sweep coins casino?
No, the reason sweepstakes sites can remain legal in many countries where regular casinos are prohibited is because you cannot deposit cash and use it to play online casino games. Games operate using fun-play tokens, which you can buy from the site at a generous rate of exchange. No money can be won with these tokens. Cash and other rewards can be won with sweep coins, which are given to players for free. Because of this setup, sweepstakes casinos are not classed as online gambling.
With over twelve years of experience, Beth brings a lot of knowledge in the field of gambling and always deals intensively with casinos reviews. She is responsible for most of the content that is written on ja.japan-joycasino.site and she also manages all ja.japan-joycasino.site contributors. Beth is native English and graduated with an MBA from Anglia Ruskin University.
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