The casino industry is always looking for ways to innovate and reach more people. These two goals have led to many developments over the years, with one of them being the relatively recent push for sweepstakes casinos and sweepstake games.
These sites are taking the US by storm and are creating a new generation of players. Often, they’re used as an alternative in areas where traditional online casinos are unavailable. Below, you can find out what these sites are, and why they are trending.
What are sweepstakes casinos?
Let’s start with an introduction to what these sites are and how they work. Sweepstakes casinos operate like this:
● No real money deposits.
● No real money games.
● Virtual currencies are used for gameplay.
● Players have a chance to redeem sweepstake prizes
You cannot make real money deposits at these sites using methods like Visa or MasterCard. Nor can you play any of the casino games using real money. Instead, you use virtual coins which can be obtained for free via means such as a welcome bonus and social media contests.
Why the draw then? Surely, people only play at online casinos to win money? Well, while you cannot win money directly, you can make cash prize redemptions. This ties into the two-currency system most sweepstakes casinos use, here’s how that works:
● Gold Coins: Gold Coins (GCs) have no monetary value and can never be redeemed for cash prizes. You can use them to play games.
● Sweeps Coins: Sweeps Coins or SC are referred to as the “premium” virtual currency. They can be redeemed for cash prizes once the right conditions are met. Usually, you must have a minimum SC balance to make a redemption, such as 100 SC. You can also play games using your SC currency. There is typically a 1x playthrough requirement for any bonus SC before it can be redeemed.
There are a ton of sweepstakes casinos in the market today. A good way to learn more about them is to stay informed with Deadspin.
Why the popularity?
You should already be able to see some of the benefits of sweepstakes casinos. Here’s a look at 3 specific features that make sweepstakes casinos attractive.
Greater availability
A huge benefit of sweepstakes casinos is how widely they’re available. Firstly, these sites are usually available in 40+ states, and only not available in places like Washington, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana (but this can vary depending on the site).
If you compare this to real money casinos, the difference is vast. Real money online casinos are only legal in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
So, if you live in a state where online casinos aren’t available, playing at a sweepstakes casino is the next best thing. It offers an alternative for people looking to play casino-style games online and legally.
Superb game selection
Sweepstakes casinos are packed with games that often rival the selection at online casinos. Indeed, the game variety frequently overlaps and you can typically find slots, table games, scratchcards, video poker, bingo, poker, and live dealer games at the best US social casinos.
The games are also often provided by top developers like Pragmatic Play, Evolution, Betsoft, Relax Gaming, and Booming Games. These are reputable companies that have their games tested by independent organizations for fairness.
Free to play
A major sticking point of sweepstakes casinos is that they are always free to play. This is a regulatory requirement. You can get Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins for free via:
● Welcome bonus or no deposit bonus.
● Daily login bonus.
● Mail-order request.
● Social media contests.
● Referral schemes.
● VIP and loyalty clubs.
This makes it easier to create an account and get started playing right away, without the hassle of dealing with deposits or juggling payment methods. This is great as many people simply want to play games for downtime and this is exactly what sweepstakes casinos provide.
That said, you can spend money at sweepstakes casinos. They’ll generally have optional Gold Coin (GC) packages available for sale. You can use those to extend your gameplay.
Sweepstakes gaming is here to stay
You only have to look at the waves of online reviews, articles, and media dedicated to sweepstakes casinos to see that they are here to stay and incredibly popular. Compared to traditional real money casinos, sweepstakes casinos are easier to access and let you get started with no money upfront.
They also easily compete with traditional online casinos in terms of the game variety offered and the available promotions. The fact that they are usually available in 40+ US states is a huge benefit too compared to the relatively small accessibility of traditional online casinos.