This guide is simply here to tell you all you need to know about legal sweepstakes casinos. From which states you can access them from, to what kinds of prizes you can redeem, it’s all here.
Sweepstakes casinos offer you an alternative to playing at standard online casinos. You play at sweepstakes for free and you can redeem prizes too. Plus the fact that you can access legal sweepstakes casinos in most states is definitely a good thing. Now it’s time to show you the best sweepstakes casinos you can play at right now.
Sweepstakes casinos may look and feel just like online casinos, but they operate very differently. Here are the key thing to be aware of when playing at sweepstakes casinos:
Sweepstakes casinos simply don’t feature any form of real money gambling. Instead of this, you will be playing the casino games with different forms of virtual currency.
You don’t directly win money from sweepstakes casinos. Instead of this, you will be given the opportunity of redeeming real-world prizes by playing with a form of virtual credit that is usually called Sweepstakes Coins.
Sweepstakes casinos don’t actually have the facility to accept deposits like real money casino sites. The closest thing that you get to this is the ability to make one-off payments to purchase a kind of virtual currency that is usually called Gold Coins.
One great thing about sweepstakes casinos is the fact that they are legally obliged to let you enter their sweepstakes with no purchase necessary. This means that you will always be able to play for free at these gaming platforms.
So now you know that sweepstakes casinos operate a little differently from regular online casinos, it’s worth thinking about which type of gaming platform suits your needs best. Here are the main pros and cons of using sweepstakes casinos instead of standard casino sites:
Sometimes it’s easier to explain things with an example rather than a theory. So here are three of the best sweepstakes casinos operating right now that’ll give you a good idea of what you should be looking for:
Stake.us has arguably redefined what it means to play at a sweepstakes casino. The brand has created a wonderfully stylish site that is packed full of hundreds of quality slot games from leading developers like Pragmatic Play and Hacksaw Gaming, and it’s got a great selection of table games and even a decent range of table games. However, it is those Stake Originals games that’ll keep you coming back for more as titles like Crash, Plinko and Limbo aren’t just simple to play as they can conjure up some huge multipliers too. Definitely an enjoyable way to work towards redeeming prizes like crypto, gift cards and merchandise.
The best thing is that if you sign up to Stake.us using the exclusive code, you can get a welcome offer that gives you 55 Stake Cash, 260,000 Gold Coins and 5% rakeback. When you combine that with lots of promos for existing customers like races, challenges and that VIP club, you’ll quickly understand why so many gamers have flocked to play here.
This is a relatively new sweepstakes casino that’s caused a stir courtesy of its partnership with a certain Paris Hilton. But don’t hold that against Wow Vegas as this is a great sweepstakes gaming platform that has got a superior range of slot games. There are well over 1,200 slots here which is more than enough for most people, and what’s best is that these slots come from legendary games developers such as Pragmatic Play, Three Oaks and Betsoft. Just note that Wow Vegas is a little lacking in terms of table games.
Signing up to Wow Vegas gets you a decent welcome offer that gives you 1.75 million Wow Coins that let you play for fun, while you also get 35 Sweeps Coins that can be used to work your way towards redeeming some cash prizes. Elsewhere you will find plenty of promos for existing customers with some daily login bonuses making sure that you don’t have to spend a dime at Wow Vegas.
This is another relatively new sweepstakes casino that has been making a lot of noise in a very small amount of time. Much of this is down to the impressive casino game selection at McLuck. Not only do you get over 1,000 slot games from leading developers ranging from NetEnt to Pragmatic Play, but McLuck also has possibly the best live casino that you are going to see at any sweepstakes gaming platform.
The welcome offer at McLuck is also worthy of a closer look as it’ll give you 27.5 free Sweepstakes Coins as well as 57.5 Gold Coins. Just so you know, those Sweepstakes Coins can be used to redeem prizes ranging from cash to gift cards. While McLuck is a little lacking in terms of reward programs, it does have a good range of promos for existing customers with that McJackpot feature being the pick of the bunch.
The good news is that sweepstakes casinos are far more likely to be legal in your state than regular real money online casinos. After all, sweepstakes casinos don’t feature any form of real money gambling and therefore do not require the same level of licensing or regulation.
However, it’s important to know that each state gets the power to decide which sweepstakes casinos are allowed to operate within its borders. For example, while you can play at Stake.us in most states, you cannot do so from the states of Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Vermont, Kentucky, New York or MIchigan. Thankfully, the banners on this page will automatically show you which sweepstakes casinos you can play at from your state.
Sweepstakes casinos feature two different kinds of virtual currency that can be used to play the casino games. While neither has any direct cash value outside the site, they will work in the following different ways.
Virtual currency | How to get it | What it’s used for |
---|---|---|
Sweepstakes Coins | Sweepstakes Coins must be given away for free, typically via a special offer | Sweepstakes Coins can be used to play in a promotional sweepstakes mode where you have the possibility of redeeming real world prizes with your winnings |
Gold Coins | Gold Coins can either be purchased as packages or given away for free through a special offer | Gold Coins can be used to play in a standard mode which is for entertainment purposes only with no possibility of redeeming any prizes |
Each sweepstakes casino will let you redeem prizes that could include anything from cash and cryptocurrencies to gift cards and merchandise. You can only redeem prizes from legal sweepstakes casinos by playing with Sweepstakes Coins and winning, then having fulfilling the following criteria:
While you should always be able to play at sweepstakes casinos for free, these gaming platforms will let you purchase Gold Coins packages. This enables you to keep on playing the casino games for fun, and you may even be given a bonus of free Sweepstakes Coins. Here are the main payment methods that you can usually use to purchase these Gold Coins bundles:
Each legal sweepstakes casino will have games that are just as good as those that you find at regular online casinos. This means that you should expect to find plenty of slot games, and there may be table games like roulette, blackjack and baccarat. Some of the more groundbreaking sweepstakes casinos are starting to include live dealer games, while Stake.us even has its own original casino games that defy categorization.
All sweepstakes casinos are legally obliged to let you play for free. This means that you should always be able to get free credit via a range of offers for new and existing customers. From welcome offers and daily login bonuses to social media giveaways and reward programs, they can all help you keep playing without having to spend a single dime.
Just because you are playing with virtual currency doesn’t mean that you can afford to be careless at sweepstakes casinos. After all, it can be all too easy to play more than you’d meant to. Thankfully, all good sweepstakes casinos will usually offer you the following player protection tools:
So now you know what a sweepstakes casino is, it’s time to start playing. Here is what you need to do:
I have shown you that sweepstakes casinos offer you a fantastic alternative to regular online casinos. Not only are sweepstakes casinos available in many more states, but they also let you play for free, and you even have the potential of redeeming real money prizes. As such, I think that we are going to see plenty more sweepstakes casinos being launched in the coming months to cater to the growing demand. So watch this space to see which sweepstakes casinos you should be playing at.
It depends which state you are playing from and which sweepstakes casino you are using. You can usually be a minimum of 18 years old to play at most sweepstakes casinos, but some sites like Stake.us demand that you be at least 21 years old.
Again, it depends which state you are based in. Most states let you play at sweepstakes casinos, whereas some states like Washington, Nevada and Idaho tend to be a little more restrictive.
A sweepstakes casino is a gaming platform where you play the games with virtual credit rather than gambling with real money. It should always be free to play at sweepstakes and you’ll have the opportunity to redeem real-world prizes subject to the T&Cs applicable.