Sweepstakes platforms, also known as social casinos, social gaming sites, or no-wager sites are currently taking large parts of North America by storm. They’re hugely popular in the United States and are now gaining traction in parts of Canada as well.
These risk-free digital entertainment gaming sites don’t involve any gambling, but you must still be at least 18 years old to play on them. The question being asked here is, are sweepstakes casinos worth it?
On this page, I will be taking a quick look at why sweepstakes casinos have become so popular in recent years and how they are seen by many as the perfect alternative to regular [real money gambling] online casinos.
What are sweepstakes casinos, and why are they so popular?
The best way for me to describe a sweepstakes casino, or whatever you prefer calling it, is to compare it to a ‘regular’ online casino. However, the main difference between regular online casinos and sweepstakes casinos is that the latter was created with purely fun, risk-free, and light-hearted entertainment in mind rather than gambling.
On a regular casino site, you must deposit money to play their games, but on a sweepstakes site, you don’t have to deposit money to play the games available on that site.
Instead of using real money to play sweepstakes casino slots, classic table and card games or scratchcards, for example, instead of using real money, you use one of two virtual coins (aka virtual/digital currencies), which have ZERO monetary value in the real world.
All sweepstakes casinos run on this same two-coin virtual currency model, and users often receive X amount of both coins when they sign up to a sweepstakes casino as part of the initial welcome bonus (aka sign-up bonus).
If you want to learn more about today’s safest sweepstakes casino sites and the generous welcome bonuses that are currently up for grabs for participants in your region, then I would suggest heading over to the official CasinoTopsOnline iGaming review site, which is run by a dedicated team of writers and researchers who have pointed me in the right direction (to the safest sweepstakes sites) for as long as I can remember.
All of their feature brands are free to join and can be easily accessed in your web browser using any decently working, Wi-Fi/internet-enabled desktop computer, smartphone, tablet, or laptop.
What’s the difference between Gold Coins and Sweep Coins?
These fun gaming sites are popular with players like me who don’t like gambling with real money. The two types of coins I typically receive when I join a sweepstakes casino are called Gold Coins and Sweep Coins (also known as Sweeps Coins).
However, I’ve also found that the Gold Coins might be called something different, depending on where you play. I’ve also seen them being called Diamonds, Gems, Fortune Coins, and Rubies, for example.
Anyway, these ones are always free, meaning that when you run out, you can top them up for free in several ways. However, if your Sweep Coins run out, the casino won’t top them up for free.
Instead, you have the option to get more of these coins, normally by using PayPal or Visa (or whatever your preferred online payment method is) and buying them in bundles/packages that might set you back $5, $10 or $20. No purchase is necessary, don’t forget, and you won’t ever be pressured into buying more.
You might be asking yourself, why buy more coins when you can get Gold Coins/Fortune Coins, etc., for free when you run out? The answer is simple. Gold Coins can only be used to play games. They can’t be used to win real-world prizes.
In other words, these ones (your Gold Coins) cannot be exchanged for any of the prizes that are commonly up for grabs on today’s best sweepstakes casinos. The prizes that can be won using your Sweep Coins typically include the following:
- Cash prizes
- Merchandise
- Vouchers for your favourite online stores
- Luxury vacations
- The latest electronic gadgets
- Brand-new cars
Unfortunately, Sweep Coins have a tendency to expire if they aren’t used in 60 or 90 days (each site is different), so remember to use them before they expire. If you aren’t bothered about winning prizes and just want to play games, then use your Gold Coins, not your Sweep Coins.
If you run out, don’t panic because you can ask the friendly and professionally trained customer/player support agents via live chat to top your account up with more Gold Coins, free of charge (no strings attached).
Other ways that I’ve found to top up my Gold Coins balance are via on-site promotional offers, daily log-in bonuses, prize draws, raffles, giveaways, newsletters, social media channels, and so on. In other words, they aren’t hard to find and can easily be topped up whenever you run out.
Final thoughts
Although sweepstakes casinos aren’t gambling sites, I still practice responsible gambling, and I suggest you do the same. For example, if I decide to buy more Sweep Coins for a chance to win some real-world prizes, I always set a sensible spending budget before purchasing more bundles/packages.
I would also suggest never logging in to play while tired or intoxicated and taking regular session breaks.
Going back to the original question: Are sweepstakes casinos worth it? Based on my personal preference and the risk-free nature of these sites, I would say that the answer to this question is that they are 100% worth it.
Unlike real-money casino sites, I’ve found that sweepstakes casinos are far less stressful and more community-driven, meaning they are more focused on fostering a sense of belonging and growing online communities. You can enjoy shared experiences on these sites and forge new friendships with other like-minded players without the fear of losing any money.
In other words, if you are looking to play hundreds of world-famous live dealer and computer-generated online casino games from award-winning providers without the risk factor, then you might want to consider trying a sweepstakes casino instead of a real money online casino.
