Interested in Sweepstakes Casinos? Here’s Everything You Need to Know Before You Get Started

Gambling is a popular form of entertainment that offers individuals the ability to make some extra cash along the way. In recent years, alternatives to gambling that utilize unique business structures and workarounds have emerged, making it possible for anyone to participate while avoiding the strict laws that might prohibit them from enjoying gambling opportunities otherwise.

One such alternative is sweepstakes casinos. Are you interested in trying out a sweepstakes casino for yourself? Here’s everything you know before you get started, so that you know how it works and can be confident once you begin playing.

What Is a Sweepstakes Casino?

A sweepstakes casino heavily retains the feel of traditional casino-style gameplay. These online platforms are available to players who are interested in playing slots, bingo, and even live games.

As you may have guessed, however, they’re not actually casinos. Sweepstakes casinos get away with avoiding the “gambling” designation because they are free to play. You don’t actually have to spend any money in order to enjoy the games offered by these platforms. You can only spend money if you want to.

So, how do you make money? This is often the part that confuses people interested in sweepstakes casinos.

Sweepstakes casinos feature two virtual currencies: gold coins and sweeps coins (we’ll take an in-depth look at these later). Sweeps coins are the ones that can make you money. These are offered to players in a wide range of ways. Once you meet the eligibility requirements set by the sweepstakes casino platform you’re playing on, you can use those sweepstakes to earn real prizes.

The most important thing to know upfront is that you aren’t going to be able to purchase sweeps directly or earn them via gameplay. The complexity of sweepstakes casinos is what allows operators to circumvent traditional gambling laws and make these platforms more available to those who are interested in online games where there’s the possibility of making money.

Understanding how sweeps coins and gold coins work will make it much easier to grasp how these casinos function and what you can expect when you start to play.

What Are Sweeps Coins?

Sweeps coins are a kind of coin that are often given to you as a result of performing a certain action or for free in certain scenarios.

As explained in the previous section, these are the specific coins that sweepstakes casinos will give to you that may potentially earn you prizes in the future, if you have the right amount and meet the eligibility requirements.

There are a few important things to know about sweeps coins that you should have in mind before using any sweepstakes casino.

• You cannot buy sweeps coins. Sweeps coins can only be in earned in certain situations. For example, you might get free sweeps coins when you make a purchase of gold coins. You may also get sweeps coins when you complete a challenge or log in to the sweepstakes casino every day.
• You can use sweeps coins to potentially earn more sweeps coins through gaming, although the specific model used by various sweepstakes casinos may vary.
• Sweeps coins may be used, most obviously, to enter sweepstakes for real prizes. However, other sweeps coins have a “real” dollar value and may be exchanged for things like gift cards. Explore various platforms to see what they offer and whether that appeals to you.

What Are Gold Coins?

As stated above, sweepstakes casinos are free to play. You don’t have to spend money in order to play the games offered at sweepstakes casinos.

That being said, this comes with the caveat that most free mobile or online games come with. You can avoid spending money entirely and only play for free. However, it can greatly limit how much time you’re able to spend playing. If you want to maximize your time at a sweepstakes casino, you’re inevitably going to reach a point where you have to buy coins in order to continue playing.

That’s where gold coins come in.

Think of in-game purchases in your favorite mobile game. You may be able to make it to a certain level without having to spend money. If you want to continue playing without worrying about more free time or other in-game mechanisms, you can make a purchase to play as much as you want.

The same principle applies to gold coins. Gold coins are simply in-game currency that you can use in a sweepstakes casino. They don’t have any real value aside from gameplay, and they cannot be exchanged for cash or used to purchase prizes.

Much like with sweeps coins, many sweepstakes casinos will offer free gold coins for their players. This may come in the form of daily check-ins or even referral bonuses. It may not give you all the gameplay that you want, but it can reduce the overall costs associated with using your favorite sweepstakes casino.

The Sweepstakes Casino Future and Market

The sweepstakes casino industry is quite popular, despite all of the challenges that it currently faces. The sweepstakes casino market is estimated to reach a total market valuation of around $195.31 million by 2032.

Sweepstakes casinos have been allowed to thrive due to their unique status. They don’t technically require users to spend money in order to gamble. Even if users do spend money, the “gambling” doesn’t follow the traditional framework that you’d find in a physical casino.

Because of this, and because there were no laws on record regarding these types of activities, sweepstakes casinos became a popular way to play casino games with the potential to make some cash along the way.

The biggest threat to the future of sweepstakes casinos is regulatory uncertainty. Every booming new industry that is not bound by regulations and laws inevitably experiences some challenges once lawmakers start to set their sights on it. Sometimes, they persist through these regulations. Other times, these laws and regulations prevent them from thriving.

More lawmakers are looking to potentially prevent players from using these platforms entirely, which could lead to the eradication of the industry, within the U.S. at least, that greatly reduces how much it’s worth and how available it is to citizens in the United States.

As it stands at the time of writing, the best way to summarize the future of the sweepstakes casino industry is: uncertain. We don’t really know where it’ll go next, whether it thrives and evolves under newer regulations or starts to diminish with more laws emerging that ban using these platforms entirely.

Where Are Sweepstakes Casinos Legal?

Sweepstakes casino legality is top of mind. If you want to play on a sweepstakes casino platform, you want to make sure that you’re not engaging in any activity that could land you in hot water.

So, are sweepstakes casinos legal?

The answer is complicated.

Sweepstakes casinos were allowed to thrive because they operated within a legal loophole that distinguished them from banned or regulated casinos. Because you don’t need to use real money to gamble, it’s not quite the same thing.

Unfortunately, many lawmakers are now setting their sights on sweepstakes casinos, and the laws are always changing. States where sweepstakes casinos were previously legal (or allowed) may no longer allow them. For example, Connecticut recently banned sweepstakes casinos in October of 2025.

Meanwhile, California previously signed a law that will take effect in 2026.

Because sweepstakes casinos are starting to attract attention from lawmakers, it’s difficult to confidently state where sweepstakes casinos are legal and where they’re illegal. The legality of sweepstakes casinos is always subject to change. Instead:

• Take a look at how your state regulates sweepstakes casinos. If they’re currently illegal, chances are that they’re going to remain that way unless current laws are altered.
• Keep up with current legislation in your state. Check to see if bills have already been passed or are being introduced to try to make sweepstakes casinos illegal.

Being well-informed will make it easier for you to learn whether sweepstakes casinos are something you can enjoy or if you will have to try to seek out a similar gameplay experience that hasn’t been banned by your state.

The Sweepstakes Casinos Craze in the USA

Sweepstakes casinos are quite popular in the U.S., and this is due to a number of reasons. Such reasons include:

They’re More Accessible Than Traditional Casinos

Traditional casinos are outlawed or highly regulated throughout the United States. What this means is that they’re practically inaccessible to a large chunk of the population. Unless you live in a state where casinos are more widely available (like Nevada), chances are that the options you have nearby can be lackluster.

Sweepstakes casinos are online platforms that are much more available to anyone with the right device and an internet connection. More broadly, people are interested in sweepstakes casinos because they’re easier to use and more accessible than most in-person and online gambling experiences overall.

They Offer All the Same Games

People go to casinos because they like to gamble. That’s likely the top motivation. Even then, they most likely have a favorite game or two. If they weren’t able to play those games, they might not have the same level of incentivization.

People like casino games, be it slots or card games like poker. Sweepstakes casinos bring your favorite games to you so that you can enjoy them with the added incentive of potentially winning prizes or cashing out over time.

They Often Feature More Social Elements

Some state that traditional casinos can be rather isolating. While this depends on the setting and the person, it might be the case that people have an easier time connecting with others online than they do walking up to someone randomly in person. One of the reasons why people state they like playing on sweepstakes casino platforms is that many of them feature social, collaborative environments where they can get with others and enjoy social games. This may even be one of the reasons why you’re interested in sweepstakes casinos and reading this guide.

They’re Designed for Everyone

Traditional casinos have one goal: to make money. As such, there’s not much you’re going to find in a casino that you’re going to be able to do for free. While you’ll still likely spend money when you’re playing on a sweepstakes casino, the opportunity is still there to play your favorite casino games without spending money. As such, they’re designed for everyone and not as prohibitive as their real-life counterparts.

It’s important to remember that there’s the added possibility of earning real prizes while spending very little to no cash along the way. While that’s not likely to happen for most users of sweepstakes casinos, it’s still within the realm of possibility. This caters to those who are wary of online gambling and see something that’s a bit safer for their tastes.

The United States as a whole makes gambling highly inaccessible. From online gambling to traditional casinos, most citizens who want to play casino games or gamble in any capacity would be hard-pressed to find opportunities online or in person. Sweepstakes casinos have managed to fill the void by bringing people online casino games that can be played for free or played with money in the hopes of getting prizes later.

If you’re considering signing up for an online sweepstakes casino, this guide gives you all the basics you need to know so that you can get started with confidence. Make sure to stay on top of laws regarding sweepstakes casinos in your state, as these are always subject to change, even if those sweepstakes casinos are currently legal where you live.