Sweepstakes Online Casinos and Free Sweeps
Sweepstakes and social casinos offer players a chance to play online casino games for free. No purchase is necessary to play, and in some cases the sites offer ways to redeem winnings for cash prizes. Sites like these are legal in most US states.
These sites fall under US sweepstakes law, and there’s no need for them to launch separate sites in each jurisdiction. If you register for an account with a sweepstakes site in one state, you won’t have to re-register if you move to another state. No geolocation software is necessary, either.
Read on for an overview of social and sweeps sites and how you can get started playing them from Tennessee.
Top sweepstakes and social casinos for US players
Players have won millions in coins and tokens at social and sweepstakes sites, and redeemed some of those winnings for cash prizes. Such sites present a viable alternative if you don’t live in a state with legal online casino gambling.
The sweepstakes and social sites reviewed here are worth checking out. They offer great games that you won’t find anywhere else, and they put a lot of effort into making the experience fun for all.
Keep reading for more details on how sweepstakes and social casinos, and poker rooms work, welcome bonuses for new players, the types of games you’ll find, and more.
Why should I choose a sweepstakes or social casino?
The No. 1 reason to choose a sweepstakes or social casino is that it’s free to play, and you have a chance at cash prizes.
The use of a sweepstakes entry currency that has no monetary value but can receive for free when you purchase something else is the same principal that many types of businesses use with their own sweepstakes promotions, such as McDonald’s with its Monopoly game, Publisher’s Clearinghouse and magazines, various soft drink companies with bottle cap prizes and so on.
When you run out of the sweepstakes currency, you have several options for getting more, including purchasing of the play currency, which may come with FREE sweepstakes currency.
You can then redeem any sweepstake winnings for cash prizes.
Are sweepstakes and social casinos really legal?
In order to comply with sweepstakes law, sweepstakes and social casinos and poker rooms use two virtual currencies. Neither one has any monetary value, and the sites will give both types away for free.
One of the currencies is the legal equivalent of a sweepstakes entry, while the other currency is just play money that you can use to play games for fun.
When you use a sweepstakes currency in promotional play mode, to play a luck-dependent game, such as a lottery-style drawing, casino slot, or table game, you can legally redeem any winnings for cash prizes.
Sweepstakes and social sites make money by selling play money, virtual chips that you can only use to play for fun in standard play mode. You can’t win any prizes playing with these virtual chips. But when you purchase them, the site includes additional sweepstakes currency for FREE.
Sweepstakes and social casinos have been around for more than a decade and are legal, legitimate businesses. Anyone located in most of the United States can sign up and play as long as they’re at least 18 years old.
Virtual Gaming Worlds, which operates sites like Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, Global Poker, and Pulsz Casino, has a fully patented sweepstakes-based business model.
We will cover Chumba, LuckyLand, and Pulsz later in this review, along with some information about Global Poker as well. VGW is licensed and regulated by the Malta Gaming Authority.
To ensure that the results of games are fair, sweepstakes and social sites also use random number generators that have been tested and certified by independent companies.
Top rated sweepstakes and social casinos
With multiple active sites, there’s no disputing the fact that VGW is the pioneer of online sweepstakes and social casinos. Chumba was launched in 2012 and became more widely known when it partnered with Facebook in 2017.
VGW’s Global Poker launched in 2016, and LuckyLand Slots, VGW’s second online social casino, debuted on Facebook in 2019.
Canadian company Woopla Inc. launched a new type of sweepstakes casino in 2019.
All of these sites operate in much the same way — it’s free to play games online, and you can redeem for cash prizes — although there are plenty of differences that make each site distinct and worth checking out.
Chumba Casino
Australian Laurence Escalante founded VGW in 2010 to provide casino-style games for cash prizes to underserved markets in the United States.
Since then, as mentioned above, VGW has launched several sweepstakes sites ranging from casinos games to poker to sports predicting. VGW sites call their Coin System Sweeps Coins to be used in promotional play mode and their play Token System Gold Coins to be used in standard play mode.
Chumba Casino has given out more than 60 million Sweeps Coins over the last decade, making it likely the first site that comes to mind when players think about sweepstakes and social casinos.
Chumba’s games were originally all developed within the company, but now licensed software is offered, as well. Third-party game studios on Chumba Casino include 2 by 2 Gaming, Golden Rock Studios, 5 Star Animation, and Reel Play Games.
Chumba Casino’s Fireshot Inferno progressive jackpot series has seen multiple players win well over 1 million Sweeps Coins, including one who hit the jackpot for 1.8 million Sweeps Coins in 2020.
LuckyLand Slots
VGW acquired San Francisco game studio and software company Open Wager in 2019. Instead of incorporating the games and stand-alone platform on Chumba, VGW launched a new site, LuckyLand Slots, later in 2019.
As the name implies, LuckyLand exclusively offers slots games, so you won’t find any table games on the site. You will, however, find some of the most technologically advanced games of all sweepstakes and social casinos.
Although LuckyLand is entirely web-based and available on any desktop or mobile browser, the site also uses the platform developed by Open Wager. The site and games are somewhat heavy on graphics, so you’ll need a good Wi-Fi connection to play. If you experience problems, you can always return to Chumba, which will load smoothly and easily from any device.
Funzpoints
Funzpoints Casino is a relative newcomer to the ranks, but the site has earned its place as a top sweepstake and social casino just on the basis of its engaging variety of games.
The first thing you need to know about the site is that all but three games will be locked to new players when using play money. Funzpoints calls its sweepstakes currency Premium funzpoints, while its play money is Standard funzpoints.
Standard funzpoints that you purchase from the site will unlock all games and extra perks for 30 days after your most recent transaction. When you play with Premium funzpoints, games and extra perks are always unlocked.
Some games will be locked if you play with Standard funzpoints that you received for free, either as part of the welcome bonus or that you won on the prize wheel. You can spin the prize wheel for guaranteed prizes of Standard funzpoints every three hours. As you play games, you earn points that will help unlock additional games.
You can also win sweepstakes entry tickets into the daily jackpot draw for a share of $350. You won’t be able to purchase tickets; they’re legally sweepstakes entries. In addition to the prize wheel, you can win tickets by earning points playing games. Points that you earn playing games will also trigger mini side games, called boosters and the Funzone. You can win entry tickets playing these games, as well.
How do I play sweepstakes casino games?
If you’re at least 18 years old and a resident of most US states, you can sign up with any sweepstakes or social site for the chance to claim cash prizes. To get started, just use one of our links to qualify for your welcome bonus (more on that below), then click on the sign-up button located prominently on the page.
Some sweepstakes and social sites will let you sign in with your Google or Facebook account for instant registration. If you prefer to sign on with the site directly, you’ll need to provide just a few details about yourself, which shouldn’t take long.
You’ll need to set up login credentials for your new account, as well, including a username and password of your choice.
Once that’s taken care of, you can log in and start looking around. On sweepstakes sites with dual currencies, generally the site is set to play money by default. You can switch between sweepstakes currency and play money manually, usually via a toggle switch at the top of the page.
It’s easy to move back and forth between virtual currencies, but it’s a good idea to be mindful as to which currency the site is currently set to use. To start playing, just click a game graphic and wait for your window to load. You’ll be able to switch between the two currencies from within the game, as well.
Keep in mind that sweepstakes and social sites will need to verify your identity, address, and bank account ownership. Generally, you’ll need to take care of those details when you request a cash prize redemption, but you can go through the process in advance, if you like.
Getting free sweepstakes coins
Other than with purchases of play money getting additional FREE Sweeps Coins, there are a number of other ways to get both currencies. The social casinos reviewed here all offer bonuses to welcome new players. Some offer a daily login bonus or social media giveaways.
Welcome bonuses
All sweepstakes or social casinos offer a sign-up offer of play money and sweepstakes money, along with a special deal on your first purchase. Here are some examples of the offers that are available right now:
- Chumba Casino: 2,000,000 FREE Gold Coins and 2 FREE Sweeps Coins; a 30 deal for $10 on first purchase, with 10,000,000 Gold Coins and 30 FREE Sweeps Coins.
- LuckyLand Slots: FREE 7,777 Gold Coins and 10 FREE Sweeps Coins; $10 GC Purchase for $4.99, with 50,000 Gold Coins and 10 FREE Sweeps Coins.
- Funzpoints: $2.50 or 250 Premium funzpoints as a sign-up bonus. On first purchase, 2x the regular amount of Standard and Premium funzpoints, up to $20.
Social media giveaways
Chumba, LuckyLand and Global Poker host regular Sweeps Coins giveaways on Facebook, if not on a daily basis. To enter, you might need to answer a game-related trivia question or share a post.
A number of winners randomly chosen from all valid entries will generally win five Sweeps Coins, but special events may offer social media prizes of up to 350 Sweeps Coins.
You might also see posts offering discounts on Gold Coins. Funzpoints social media may post discounts on play money, as well.
By mail
All sweepstakes and social sites will credit your account with a number of FREE sweepstakes currencies if you write to the company and ask for them. Check the sweepstakes rules on each site for complete details.
Other methods
VGW sites — Chumba, LuckyLand, and Global Poker — offer a daily log-in bonus of FREE Gold Coins and anywhere from 0.3 up to one Sweeps Coin just for signing in to your account. The amount increases if you sign in up to seven days in a row.
As mentioned above, you can spin the Funzpoints prize wheel every three hours to get play money, and the tickets you earn playing games will give you a chance to win a share of the $350 daily jackpot draw, which you can use to purchase Standard funzpoints, along with FREE Premium funzpoints.
Games you can play at social and sweepstakes casinos
Sweepstakes and social casinos add games on a regular basis. Most sites like Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Funzpoints focus on slots. Chumba and LuckyLand offer progressive jackpot series, with top payouts up to seven figures. You can play table games at Chumba as well, and some sites even have live dealer games.
Games are top notch, generally developed in house, although Chumba offers some titles from third-party developers. You’ll find standard five-reel games, 3D video slots and paylines with 243 and 1024 ways to win. Meanwhile, the Funzpoints games tend to be low variance, meaning they pay out a lot of small and medium sized wins.
How does social poker work?
Global Poker primarily offers Texas Hold’em ring games, sit and go’s and multi-table tournaments for a large crowd of poker players of all skill levels. About 90% of the site’s traffic, which will range between 5,000 and 10,000 players at any given time, will typically play for Sweeps Coin stakes.
There is room for novice players on the site, but you are likely to find plenty of serious players, as well.
Global Poker welcomes players with a two-part offer. Upon signing up with the promo code FLUSH, you can get 150,000 Gold Coins for $10, plus 30 free Sweeps Coins. After that, get 200,000 Gold Coins for $20 (normally $40), plus 40 more free Sweeps Coins.