Ever play the Pepsi under the cap game? The McDonald’s Monopoly at your favorite grocery store? These are examples of a sweepstakes. Sweepstakes casinos use similar mechanics to allow people to play games like slots, poker, even sports bets, and extract real money from them.
How does a sweeps casino work?
Welp, you get 2 currencies. Usually it is a Gold Coin and the other is a Sweeps Coin. It doesn’t really matter what they are called, but there are always 2 currencies and one is for fun and the other can be redeemed. I’m going to go with Gold Coins for fun and Sweeps Coins can be redeemed for this article.
The Gold Coins are just for fun. You can use them to play games and if you win, you get more Gold Coins. Gold coins can never be redeemed for anything of value. This is what you are technically purchasing anytime you purchase a coin pack.
The Sweeps Coins are the ones you can redeem for real prizes, aka cash or gift cards. Sweeps Coins are never purchased, but are given as a bonus for buying gold coins. Yes, this seems stupid. Yes, this is what makes sweepstakes legally compliant.
The best way to think about this is if you went to the casino, sat down at a blackjack table and gave the dealer $100. They would give you $100 in chips and another $100 in Monopoly money you can use to learn the game (but never cash out). In this analogy, the chips you can cash out are Sweeps Coins and the monopoly money you just use to learn are gold coins. Got that? Cool.
Is a sweeps casino any different than a normal online casino?
Other than the 2 currency thing, no not really. The games are the same, the odds are generally the same (although each site can pick their own odds). There is one thing…
Do sweeps casinos have to give you free money?
Short answer is yes but of course there is nuance. There has to be an alternative method of entry to any sweepstakes contest. This can be a handwritten note or some other mechanism. Most Sweepstakes casinos have a daily collect that they give. They don’t necessarily have to do it every day to meet their legal requirements, but many do. It’s a nice bonus, but usually small.
What should I watch out for?
There are a few things you should watch out for:
1. The odds are not the same everywhere, as mentioned above. So you can look at that. Generally though, not a big deal.
2. Welcome offers sometimes have terms and conditions that you wouldn’t expect. The most common is that you must play your bonus funds a few times before you can redeem them.
3. Usually these sites have a redemption threshold. This means your balance has to be above a certain level before you can redeem your money.
4. Your redemption may not be immediate. They will likely ask you to verify your identity. This is annoying, but it also prevents them from scammers and your account from getting hacked. Make sure you use your real information that is on your driver’s license when you sign up to make sure you don’t run into issues.
Are the games fair or rigged?
It would be stupid to rig any type of casino. The house always has the advantage, so “rigging” games will only make players leave. That said, not everyone is honest. If games are coming from known providers that you see on multiple sites they are almost definitely not rigged.
Where can I play?
Different sites operate in different states, but you can generally play a bunch of places where you might think sports betting or online casinos are “illegal”.