Sportsgrid Staff
Host · Writer - Published: 01/17/25
Understand why sweeps casinos are legal in most states
Learn how to play at sweepstakes casino for free
Discover how to redeem Sweepstakes Coins for cash prizes

There is a lot of confusion about sweepstakes casinos and real-money casinos, and this guide is here to straighten things up once and for all. Essential to know which sites you can legally play at.
Here you’ll get to see how sweeps casinos are legal in way more states than real-money casinos and they also have the benefit of letting you play for free. Whether that’s enough to overcome the fact that there is no real money gambling at sweeps casinos is your call, but at least you’ll be able to make an informed decision.
On the surface, sweeps casinos look and feel like regular online casinos. However, check out the following table and you will see that there are some big differences between these two different kinds of gaming sites:
| Real-money casino | Sweepstakes casino |
|---|---|
| Real money gambling | Play with virtual currencies |
| Win real money | Redeem Sweepstakes Coins for prizes |
| Pay to play | Enter sweepstakes with no purchase required |
| Make real money deposits | Make optional one-off purchases of Gold Coins packages |
| Only available in six states | Usually available in 40+ states |
| Have to be at least 21 years old to gamble | Usually have to be at least 18 years old to play |
You don’t gamble with real money at sweepstakes casinos, nor can you make any real money winnings. Instead, you will be playing with virtual currencies that are called Gold Coins and Sweepstakes Coins.
One of the best things about sweeps casinos is that they have to let you enter their sweepstakes with no purchase necessary. This means that both new and existing customers should always be able to get some free Sweeps Coins via a range of special offers.
Rather than directly winning real money at sweepstakes casinos, you will get the opportunity to redeem any Sweepstakes Coins winnings for real-world prizes like cash and gift cards. Just bear in mind that there are usually some playthrough requirements and you’ll need to have the minimum amount of Sweepstakes Coins in your verified account before you can redeem any prizes.
You cannot make deposits at sweeps casinos like you can at real-money casinos. Instead of this, you get the option to purchase a Gold Coins package to play for fun. Just note that you can also get some Gold Coins for free via a range of social casino promo codes.
The fact that there is no real-money playing at sweeps casinos means that these sites can operate in states where real-money casinos are outlawed. Just note that you might face more restrictions in the states of Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and Michigan.
It’s probably best that we give you some concrete examples of some of the best sweepstakes casinos so that you can see how they differ from their real-money counterparts. Here are are some mini-reviews of some of our favorite brands:
If you like social casino promo codes, then you will love Real Prize. After all, this brand has just unleashed a phenomenal welcome offer that will give all new customers 125 Sweepstakes Coins, 625,000 Gold Coins and 1,250 VIP Points. This means that you will get to play over 550 quality slot games for free and edge closer to being able to redeem your Sweepstakes Coins for cash prizes and gift cards. It’s also worth noting that Real Prize has one of the best daily login bonuses in the business.
While this sweeps casino is called The Money Factory, it doesn’t actually feature any real money gambling. Instead, you can sign up here and get 15,000 Gold Coins and three Sweepstakes Coins and then use these to play over 900 slots, table games, live dealer games and even some instant win games. What’s best is that you can potentially redeem your Sweepstakes Coins for gift cards and cash prizes after meeting the T&C.
Yet another quality sweeps casino that is legally allowed to operate in way more states than any online casino. You can sign up to Sweepstastic from 44 states and get a welcome offer that gives you 21 Sweepstakes Coins as well as 20,000 Lucky Coins – the brand’s version of Gold Coins. All of these can be used to play over 900 quality casino games, and yes, you can redeem your Sweepstakes Coins winnings for cash prizes, gift cards and even some branded merchandise.
By now you should have a good understanding of what sweepstakes casinos are all about and will know that they offer you a great way to play. So here is a quick recap of why it might be worth playing at sweepstakes casinos rather than regular online casinos:
Let’s be honest and admit that lots of people are still going to want to play at real-money casinos. After all, most gamers are used to gambling with real money and they will have a tricky time getting used to playing with those virtual currencies.
Despite this, we still think that even the most seasoned gamblers will understand the appeal of always being able to play free online slots with bonus credit at the sweeps casinos listed here. When you combine that with their extra availability and the fact that you can redeem Sweepstakes Coins for prizes, you’ll understand why more and more people are playing at sweepstakes casinos.