Pros and Cons of Sweepstakes Casinos

Sweepstakes casinos operate using virtual coins, usually in the form of gold coins and sweeps coins, to give you access to their games, and you also have a chance to win cash prizes. However, despite the potential benefits of these casinos, they have a few drawbacks, which I will also cover in this article.

Benefits of Playing at Sweepstake Casinos

There are several massive benefits of playing on sweepstakes casinos, and these far outweigh their drawbacks, in my opinion:

No Deposits Necessary to Win Real Money

A sweepstakes casino operates using virtual currency (coins) that you can claim for free, and you can win real money by playing with your coins without ever making a purchase or deposit. Through this simple feature, social casinos promote gambling for fun, which is a crucial responsible gaming habit.

Available in most US states

It has been over a decade since Delaware took the step to become one of the first states to legalize real money online casinos, and since then, we’re still stuck with just eight US states that support legal online gambling.

In comparison, online sweepstakes casinos are legal and safe to visit in over 35 states, which is their biggest advantage.

Games from Restricted Developers

In addition to the tight restrictions on real money casinos, the US also regulates the game developers that operate within its borders, making it difficult for certain big names like NetEnt to break into the US online gambling market.

However, sweepstakes casinos help change this narrative as they’re not bound by the same rules restricting real-money online casino developers. As a result, it’s possible to find sweepstakes games from some of the best game developers who usually wouldn’t be able to provide their services to the US casino community. Some names include BGaming, Relax Gaming, Evolution, Nolimit City, and BTG.

Unique Games not Found on Real Money Casinos

Most US social casinos have a catalog of games with exclusive titles you won’t find on traditional online casinos.

These exclusive titles may come from in-house developers or other vendors that don’t appear on US real money casinos, and I have been able to play games from unique categories like fish table games, Plinko, Crash, Mine, Limbo, Dragon Tower, Coinflip, Dice, and Slide.

Also, you’ll find titles like Bingo, progressive jackpot games, and Keno, which are already popular games but not available in most real money casinos.

Interaction between Players

In addition to free play, sweepstakes casinos also go a great distance to promote interactions among their community members.

On most sites, these interactions are encouraged via social media channels, while a few sites like Stake.us and Pulsz Bingo have chat rooms that you can access directly on their website. Through these chat rooms, you can get valuable tips from other players or show off your latest winnings to promote healthy competition among other players.

On other social casinos, you can add players to a friend list and send messages or gifts like free coins to anyone on your list.

Support for Cryptocurrency Payments

Another benefit of playing on some US sweepstakes casinos is the option to complete transactions using cryptocurrencies, which you wouldn’t find on any legal US real money casino. You can make crypto payments on Stake.us, Chanced.com, PlayFame, or MyPrize using Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, or Litecoin, which is an excellent option to maintain a low profile.

Additionally, these sweepstakes casinos offer standard payment options like bank cards, Skrill, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, online banking, and gift cards if crypto isn’t your cup of tea.

Regular Free Play Bonuses with Low Playthrough Requirements

Social casinos offer recurring daily promotions that ensure you always have the necessary virtual currency to play their games for free. Depending on the site you pick, you can claim two or more of the following sweepstakes casino bonuses every day:

• A no-deposit bonus
• First purchase special offer
• Mail-in (AMOE bonus)
• Referral bonus
• Daily login bonus
• Social media contests or tournaments
• Free coins promo codes
• Daily leaderboards
• Bonus wheel

Sweepstakes casinos also typically have a low 1x playthrough requirement on your SC that allows you to redeem winnings much faster.

Invaluable Tool to Enhance Responsible Gaming Habits

Responsible gaming habits are transferable skills that all casino players must develop. They apply to land-based casinos, real money online casinos, and social gambling sites.

For anyone new to the casino gaming scene, playing in sweepstakes casinos is one of the best ways to reinforce responsible gaming habits through the following methods:

• Encourages playing within a budget by providing a fixed number of daily free coins
• Minimizes financial losses through free-play options
• Promoting the idea of gambling as a form of entertainment

Cons of Playing at Sweepstake Casinos

There are several great benefits of sweepstakes casinos, but there are also issues with these gaming sites, including the following:

Issues with Rogue Casinos

A rogue casino refers to a site that showcases unethical or unfair treatment to its customers. In the sweepstakes industry, these casinos are common since there is no strict regulation to guide their operations.

The issues players have with rogue sweepstakes casinos vary, and common elements include the inability to process payouts, unfair games, high bonus playthrough requirements, or a lack of free play options.

Some common rogue casinos we recommend you avoid include sweepstakes cafes running on the Riversweeps software and online casinos like Milky Way, Vegas-X, and V-Blink.

Provision of Untested Games

A common issue with certain sweepstakes casinos is the availability of online casino games without information on the RTP, volatility, and maximum payouts. Many of these games also come from in-house developers, meaning you won’t find this information online, in addition to being untested by independent testers like eCOGRA, who help provide information on fairness and proper use of RNGs.

A Smaller Prize Purse

Sweepstakes casinos are free to play, so it’s understandable that the prize purse in these casinos is much smaller than what you find in real money casinos, where your deposits increase the prize pool on specific games and tournaments.

Restrictive Payout Options

Unlike traditional online casinos, where you have several payout options, most sweepstakes casinos restrict you to one or two payout options when you try to redeem cash prizes.

Summary

Sweepstakes casino sites may not be your first option to play casino games, but they provide the best alternative to traditional online gaming sites, which are still facing restrictions in most US states.

With the various advantages sweepstakes casinos provide, including access to progressive jackpots, unique game selection, and the option to redeem real cash prizes, they have everything you need for an excellent casino gaming experience.

If you’re worried about any of the drawbacks of these social casinos, you should note that most of these issues can be resolved by picking the right site to play on, and to help you out in this area, you can go through our reviews of the best sweepstakes casinos in the US.