How Do Sweeps Casinos Work?

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Sweepstakes casinos are a unique fusion of free social casinos that allow you to win real rewards. They have been around for a while and are widespread in the U.S. However, the uniqueness of their model can be somewhat confusing to absolute beginners.

With that in mind, we wanted to clarify what these platforms are all about and what you can expect from them. Join us for this quick but comprehensive dive into sweepstakes casinos.

What Are Sweepstakes Casinos?​

A sweeps casino is a social online casino with sweepstakes elements. In other words, it's like an online casino but with social components and a freemium model. You can play for free but still redeem your winnings for real rewards.

Here's how it works — there are two types of currencies that make this possible:

Gold Coins (GC) can be obtained for free through promotions or by purchasing Gold Coin packages. You can use this currency to play the majority of games at a sweeps casino.

Sweep Coins (SC) can be acquired through promotions and as free additions to Gold Coin packages. You use them to play all games on the site, and you can redeem them for real rewards after completing the playthrough.

It's not uncommon for both coins to have different names depending on the casino's branding. However, it’s easy to understand which is which, as SC numbers are often lower than GC. Moreover, the sweepstakes casino will address the difference either in the T&Cs or the Help Center.

What Is a Sweepstakes Casino Game?​

Sweepstakes casinos have large libraries of casino-style games. These titles are often the same as actual casino games but with specific functional differences. Naturally, they only work with Gold or Sweeps Coins.

Sweepstakes casino games come from the same providers you see in online casinos, like Booming Games, Pragmatic Play, Evoplay, Slotopia, Mascot Gaming, and Relax Gaming. As a result, you get the same diverse assortment of releases and often the exact titles with minor changes to accommodate the freemium model used in sweeps casinos.

Slots are the most prevalent category, but many sweeps casinos offer other casino-style genres like table and crash games, keno releases, bingo titles, video poker, and fish games.

Redemptions — How Do They Work?​

As you’ve seen, one of the currencies, Sweeps Coins, can be redeemed for real rewards. The sweepstakes casino you're using will often have a section called Redeem or Redemptions. In it, you can exchange your Sweeps Coins for monetary rewards, gift cards, and merchandise. The exact rewards and methods of obtaining them depend on the casino.

In most cases, you won’t be able to redeem the SCs unless they have been played through a specific number of times. The sweepstakes casino will usually require you to play the coins only once before they become available for redemption.

Besides playthrough requirements, sweeps casinos also expect players to undergo identity checks through the KYC model. In this way, they can amass a certain number of coins before requesting a redemption.