How Do Sweepstakes Casinos Work - Unpacking All the Facts

How Do Sweepstakes Casinos Work - Unpacking All the Facts

If you’ve spent any amount of time on Kick or Twitch over the past few years, you’ll have seen popular streamers like Adin Ross and xQc playing inside ‘sweepstakes casinos’. Or, you’ll probably have at least seen viral videos of them on social media winning big jackpots on the slot machines. This has led to a huge explosion in the number of people signing up with sweepstakes casinos, with most of them joining to see what the craze is all about.

Now, sites like Stake.us, Chumba Casino, and WOW Vegas have millions of worldwide users. Whether you’re a casual player yourself or someone with years of experience playing inside online casinos, you probably want to give them a try, too. However, as an outsider, sweepstakes casinos can appear quite confusing at first. After all, they’re a little bit different from traditional casinos, offering a completely fresh type of experience.

To get you setup and ready to go, this guide is going to unpack all the facts, including:

  • How sweepstakes casinos work
  • The difference between Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins
  • Which sweepstakes casinos are worth signing up with

There’s also plenty of other helpful information, too, so let’s get started and dive into the details.

What Are Sweepstakes Casinos and How Do They Work?

Sweepstakes casinos are a special type of online casino. Instead of betting real money, players use Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. These coins can be used to access hundreds of casino-style games — typically including slots, table games, and more — which are all free-to-play. Outside of having access to free games, players can also enter sweepstakes-style giveaways, take part in tournaments, and chat with other players, so there’s plenty to do.

If you ask an average sweeps casino player why they keep logging in everyday, they’ll likely tell you that one of the main reasons why is because of the prizes. Yes, sweeps casinos also have prizes that you can redeem, with some of the prizes including:

  • Cash transfers
  • Cryptocurrencies
  • Gift cards

The way it works is that you have to win enough Sweeps Coins by playing the different games on offer. As a general example, you might suddenly win 200 Sweeps Coins while playing a slot game like Sugar Rush. You could then go to the prize redemption section of the casino and choose any prizes you want within the threshold. Whether you redeem a cash transfer or a handful of gift cards, you can typically expect to receive them within 24-48 hours.

The Difference Between Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins

Sweepstakes casinos have two types of coins: Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. How are they different? Well, it’s easy. Gold Coins don’t have any value and are used just for fun. Sweeps Coins do have value and can be used to redeem any available prizes. This is why casual players usually stick with Gold Coins while the more serious prize-focused players use Sweeps Coins.

When it comes to getting either of these coins, most sweepstakes casinos will provide you with a coin package after signing up. For instance, Chumba Casino gives new users 2 million Gold Coins and 2 Sweeps Coins. Whenever you run out of coins or need a top up, you can buy additional coin packages from your chosen casino, which will usually be available through the casino’s coin catalog.

Some — but not all — sweeps casinos also offer daily login bonuses. What this means is that every day you login, you’ll receive some coins for free. At this moment in time, Pulsz, McLuck, and Stake.us are just some of the sites who provide this type of deal. And if you’re wondering why they give away coins for free, it’s because these coins keep players coming back, which is ultimately what the casinos want!

Which Sweepstakes Casinos Are Worth Joining?

As of right now, there are close to 50 officially licensed sweepstakes casinos on the internet. It’s a huge range of choices, so you naturally won’t have time to join all of them. This is why most players (on average) stick with just one site. And when it comes to which sweepstakes casinos are worth joining, there are quite a few that you might want to consider:

1. Stake.us

Stake.us - Americas sweepstake casino

Stake.us is a hugely popular sweepstakes casino, especially with Gen Z and Millennial players. With 900+ games, a huge range of prizes, and different tournaments and events throughout the year, it’s definitely one of the main sites you’ll want to consider joining. Plus, it has an excellent welcome bonus of 250,000 Gold Coins and 25 Sweeps Coins, which sweepsgods.com reports is one of the best deals currently on the sweeps casino market.

Verify and get $25 free at Stake.US!

2. Chumba Casino

Chumba Casino has been around for the longest time, having first hit the internet back in 2017. This legendary site was one of the first ever sweepstakes casinos to go live, which is why it’s become the go-to site for many players over the past decade. It’s fast, offers excellent prizes, and has some of the best on-site security around. Not to mention, Chumba Casino has a superb library of just 200 games, opting for a ‘quality over quantity’ approach. These games — which include slots, blackjack, and even bingo — come from the leading software providers in the industry, which makes for an excellent user experience.

3. WOW Vegas

Launched in 2022, WOW Vegas is one of the newer sweepstakes casinos on the market and has quickly built a positive reputation for itself among players. It has well over 1,000 games, a ‘WowVegas Star System’ loyalty program, and some pretty good prizes, too. If you win enough of the WOW Coins, there are three prize options in total: bank transfer, gift card, or Skrill. The best part about this is that WOW Vegas makes sure that prizes are redeemed ultra-fast, so you typically don’t have to wait long for them to arrive.

4. Hello Millions

Next, we have Hello Millions. This retro-style casino offers all the latest slots — including the likes of Sugar Rush, Buffalo King Megaways, and Fire 88 — along with a whole range of live casino games, too. Thrown on top of this are daily prize drops, weekly tournaments, and more. If you sign-up today, you can also get 150% extra coins with your welcome bundle.

5. Pulsz

The final sweepstakes casino you might want to consider is Pulsz. Pulsz is a lesser-known (but incredibly reliable) sweepstakes casino with over 700 social casino games, epic prizes, and exclusive VIP program, so it has pretty much everything you would want from a sweeps casino. And if you decide to join the VIP program, you’ll have the opportunity to claim exciting perks as you climb up multiple ranks. These perks include bonus coins, exclusive promotions, and more, which is great news for the people who like to play on a regular basis.

Unpacking the Legal Side of Sweeps Casinos (And Why They’re Not Classed as Gambling Sites)

Legal side of sweepstake casinos

Even though they are technically ‘casinos’, sweeps casinos are not classed as gambling sites. Why? It’s because they only use virtual coins. In the eyes of the law, if you’re not wagering real money, then it simply can’t be categorized as a form of gambling. Ultimately, this is why sweepstakes casinos are currently legal in most countries, as well as 48 out of 50 US states.

Naturally, this is causing some frustration for traditional online casinos. They see sweepstakes casinos as a threat due to the fact that they’re legally allowed to operate in a lot more countries and states than they are. Inevitably, this had led to the AGA (American Gaming Association) recently calling for action against sweeps casinos, asking state regulators to examine them more closely and implement new laws in the future that mean sweeps casinos are no longer allowed to operate as freely as they currently do.

Whether this will happen or not remains to be seen. For now, though, sweeps casinos remain 100% legal in most places and are proving to be extremely popular in the iGaming world, particularly with players from younger generations. Could the future of gambling shift towards virtual coins instead of wagering real money? It certainly appears that way, with all signs pointing towards a period of domination for sweeps casinos over the coming decade.

Summary: Should You Join a Sweepstakes Casino?

The short and sweet answer is yes — you should definitely think about joining a sweepstakes casino. You get to play all of the games for free, there are tons of tournaments to take part in, and you might even win some prizes along the way, too. It’s really a no-brainer, especially if you’re someone who has become bored of traditional online casinos and wants to try something new. Remember, sweeps casinos are also free to join, so there’s nothing to lose.


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