Best Sweepstakes Casinos

Sweepstakes vs Traditional Casinos

We’ve talked a bit about how sweepstakes work but how do they differ from traditional casinos exactly? We break it down below: 

• Accessibility 

One of the most glaring differences is the fact that sweepstakes casinos are much more accessible than traditional ones. Because gambling with traditional currency is so heavily regulated, casinos are not allowed to operate in every jurisdiction, with some states outright banning online gambling. Sweepstakes casinos, however, are able to get around these restrictions because they technically don’t involve gambling with fiat currency. 

As such, you can access a sweepstakes casino even in states where online gambling is heavily restricted. This offers a major benefit to players and keeps these casinos in business. 

• Cost of Entry 

Most casinos have some sort of cost to entry. After all, you need to deposit some money to place wagers, right? Well, sweepstakes casinos are unique because they don’t have such requirements. Technically, you can simply climb your sweepstakes coins and play for free as much as you like. Of course, you won’t win any money on tangible prizes but you can always play for fun.

A lot of sweepstakes casino users will eventually buy gold coins and start playing for profit but they nevertheless have a lower cost of entry than traditional casinos.

• Games Available 

This is one of the ways that sweepstakes casinos and traditional casinos actually have a lot in common. Sure, the financial setup of the two is different but at the end of the day, the games are the same. The classic and modern online casino games you’d find at a traditional casino are most likely available at a sweepstakes casino as well. The only difference you might find is that sweepstakes casinos have both the free version of those games you enjoy with sweepstakes coins and the ones you use gold coins for.

• Currencies Accepted 

One of the defining features of sweepstakes casinos is that they operate under a two-currency system. The first is the sweepstakes coins that allow players to wager for free and the gold coins that allow players to wager and actually win money and other prizes. It can be a bit tricky to navigate for new users but this multi-currency system has its perks. 

Traditional casinos, on the other hand, accept only traditional fiat currencies. Unlike sweepstakes coins, they are not given for free and have tangible value. Unlike gold coins, they don’t need to be ‘bought’ before they are used.

• Prizes to be Won

When you gamble on a traditional casino, the prize is pretty obvious; money. It is not quite the same with a sweepstakes casino and this all depends on the token you use. If you wager with a sweepstakes coin, your prize is simply the enjoyment you get from your game and nothing else. If you gamble using a gold coin, your prize will be more gold coins that you can either exchange for money or for non-monetary prizes. The variety of prizes between the two is often used to guide consumer choice in either direction. 

Pros of Sweepstakes Casinos 

Sweepstake casinos are popular because they offer players a ton of benefits, some of which are as follows:

• Free Entry: Anyone who wants to enjoy casino games can do so for free on sweepstake websites. Using the sweepstakes coins, they can play as much as they want and have them replenished periodically. 
• Risk-Free Gambling: Those playing with sweepstakes tokens get to enjoy the games they like without the financial risk attached. Whether they win or lose, they can keep playing and this is a major perk for them.
• Greater Accessibility: Since sweepstakes casinos technically do not involve people playing with actual money, they are not subject to stringent laws that plague other types of casinos. As such, sweepstakes casinos can serve many more people without restriction. 
• Variety of Prizes: Gold coins won at sweepstakes casinos can be swapped for either cash or non-cash prizes depending on players’ tastes.

Cons of Sweepstakes Casinos 

While sweepstakes casinos have their benefits, there are also some downsides to be aware of:

• Complex Token Process: For some players, keeping up with two different token systems and having to buy gold tokens before they can play is too convoluted. Some would rather just play their casino games the ‘traditional’ way and sweepstakes don’t allow for this. 

How We Chose Our Best Sweepstakes Casinos 

You might be wondering how we came about our list of the best sweepstakes casinos in America. After all, there were hundreds to choose from. Our ranking system was based on the following factors: 

• Variety of Games

Just because sweepstakes casinos are essentially free to use doesn’t mean that they should skimp on games. That is why we considered the variety of games each casino had before ranking them. Did they have classic games like poker and slots? Did they offer live games as well? Besides the number of games, we also tallied the number of titles. A casino with 20 different poker titles would inevitably rank higher than one with just 2 or 3. To make sure that our readers get the most value for their time and money, the variety of games was a big factor.

• Prices of Gold Coins

As we’ve said, you win money and other prizes on sweepstakes casinos by wagering gold coins (which you have to purchase). Because no two sweepstakes casinos are the same, some were more expensive than others and this was considered. We imagined a player having $100 to spend on gold tokens and looked at not only how many they got but also what they could do with them. If the $100 got you 100 gold coins but you’d need to spend around 75 to wager on a single game, that was no great value for money. The more affordable a casino’s gold coins were and the more you could do per coin, the higher it was ranked. 

• Prizes Attached to Coins 

Besides the cash that gold coins can be redeemed for, non-cash prizes are often available. These can include electronics and gift cards. As we reviewed each sweepstake casino, we first looked at whether or not they offered non-cash prizes alongside cash prizes. Those that did got ranked higher and we also looked at what types of non-cash prizes they had. If a casino only had Amazon gift cards, it would be ranked lower than those that carried gift cards for other brands. Finally, we looked at the process of redeeming non-cash prizes such as the wait time and used that to rank them. 

• Customer Service 

No one wants to deal with poor customer service so, we reviewed the customer service practices for each Sweepstake casino. Those with multiple customer service channels like emails, live chat, phone, and others were placed higher than those with only one customer service channel. We also looked into the average response time for these casinos. Through a combination of reviews and accounts from past users, we determined the ones with the shortest response times and ranked them higher.

• User Experience 

When choosing any casino to gamble on, you want to end up with one that gives the best user experience possible. This means one with clearly placed buttons, page classifications that make sense, and a flow that doesn’t overwhelm you. We tasked ourselves with finding a game of slots on each casino we reviewed and calculated how much time it took to get from the homepage to the game and how complicated it was. If we found ourselves struggling to locate the page or it took a long time, we ranked the sweepstakes casino lower on our list.

• Provably Fair Technology and Licensing

Because you’ll be spending your time and money on the sweepstakes casino, you don’t want to be cheated. That is why we looked into the provably fair technology behind each casino. If a casino was not forthcoming about the technology it used or we otherwise couldn’t confirm, it was ranked lower or excluded from the list. We also considered how many states the casinos were licensed to operate in and prioritized those with a wider access pool.

Getting Started With a Sweepstakes Casino

If you’re convinced by all the benefits of sweepstakes casinos and want to get started with them, here are a few steps to take: 

• Register 

Your first step will be looking through our curated lists of the best sweepstakes casinos in the US and choosing the one that best meets your needs. While we’ve explained the mechanism behind the rankings, decide what factors are most important to you and act based on these. After this, you’ll want to register by providing your email address, name, and other details to the site. Be sure to keep your details as safe as possible to avoid any issues in the future and take advantage of any loyalty programs the casino might have available. 

• Receive Your Bonus 

As we’ve said before, sweepstakes casinos offer free coins for users and to have the best experience possible, you want to take advantage of this. Contact the casino if you haven’t received your welcome tokens and take note of how often new tokens are handed out. By doing this, you should always have enough to gamble at any time.

• Play

Depending on your tastes, you can choose to play with sweepstakes tokens, or golden tokens, or go back and forth between the two. If you play with sweepstakes coins, it can act as a chance to hone your skills in the different gambling games before you play with the golden ones. Just like with any other casino, you’ll need a combination of luck and skill to come out on top. Also, be sure to reach out to casino management if you run into any issues and make sure you explore the full range of games afforded by your casino of choice. 

• Top-Up Coins 

While some players are happy to gamble with sweepstakes tokens for free, others want to win monetary and other prizes. If you fall under this category, you should look to top up your coins. Ach sweepstakes casino will have its process for topping up but most likely, you’ll make a purchase using a bank card or any other payment method and select the number of coins you want. Make sure to confirm how many coins you’ll need for the games you want to play to avoid having to top up too often. Also, take advantage of the free sweepstakes tokens given out periodically by the casino.

• Redeem Prizes

If you’re lucky enough to win your game using golden coins, you get to redeem them for rewards. First, decide whether you want cash or a non-cash prize and then redeem them for that. Your casino will have listings of the different items, gift cards, and cash amounts you may collect in exchange for your gold coins so look through them and make your choice. If you run into any difficulty redeeming these prizes, reach out to customer support.

FAQ – Frequently asked questions about Sweepstakes Casinos

Conclusion

Sweepstakes casinos are one of the most interesting types of casinos because, on the one hand, they technically don’t require money to play. On the other hand, they operate under a two-token system that lets players win money and other prizes indirectly. 

But while they offer more access than the average casino, some find their systems to be a bit too convoluted. If you decide to gamble in a sweepstakes casino, you’ll need one that gives you the most value for your time and money, both in terms of the experience itself and the prizes that it offers. But with some skill and luck, you can maximise these casinos and win big.