How sweepstakes casinos work
Two kinds of coins, one set of rules, and a free way in. Everything on this page applies to all eighteen casinos we rank.
Start with the coinsGold Coins and Sweepstakes Coins
Every sweepstakes casino runs on two currencies. Gold Coins are for play. You get millions of them free, you can buy more in packages, and you can never turn them back into money. Some casinos use their own name for the same thing: WOW Coins, Crown Coins, Lucky Coins, Tournament Coins. The name changes; the rule does not.
Sweepstakes Coins are the ones that matter. You cannot buy them. They arrive free as a bonus with Gold Coin purchases, through daily login rewards, through promotions and through a postal request. Play them through the required number of times, reach the casino’s minimum, and they can be redeemed for a cash prize, usually at one dollar per coin. Fortune Coins uses its own coin at a thousand to the dollar; the principle is identical.
Promotion law, not gambling law
A sweepstakes is a promotion where entries are free. The coin packages are sold as entertainment, and the Sweepstakes Coins that come with them are a free gift attached to the purchase. Because anyone can obtain the same coins without paying, through daily bonuses or by mail, the promotion is not a lottery and does not need a gambling licence in most states.
That structure is the reason “no purchase necessary” appears on every page of this site and at every casino. It is also why the rules change at state lines: thirteen states have decided the model should be treated as gambling anyway and have closed it, and Oklahoma follows on November 1, 2026. The state guide has the list.
The whole process in six steps
- Register
Name, email, date of birth, address. Use the real ones; verification checks them later.
- Collect the welcome offer
Gold Coins land immediately. The free Sweepstakes Coins land with them at most casinos, within a day at a few.
- Verify your identity
Upload a photo ID and proof of address now, not when a prize is waiting. This is the single biggest cause of slow redemptions.
- Play
Switch the toggle to Sweepstakes Coins when you want play to count towards a prize. Gold Coin play never does.
- Reach the minimum
Fifty SC at most casinos, one hundred at a few. Daily bonuses and the postal route add coins at no cost.
- Redeem
Request a redemption to a bank account or gift card. Approved requests arrive in seven hours to three days depending on the casino.
Getting Sweepstakes Coins without buying anything
Every casino on this list offers a daily login bonus that includes a small number of Sweepstakes Coins, and every one accepts a postal request: a handwritten card with your details, mailed to the address in the casino’s rules, returns a fixed number of SC per card. The exact amounts and any limits are in each casino’s terms and in our reviews.
The free route is slower than buying a package, which is the point of the package. But it works, it is used by plenty of players, and it is the legal foundation of the whole category. A casino that made it hard to use would be breaking its own rules.
Three numbers that decide your experience
Redemption minimum
Fifty SC is standard. One hundred doubles the road to a first prize.
Playthrough
How many times bonus coins must be played. Sixteen of our eighteen use 1x; two use 2x.
Redemption time
From seven hours to three days. We measure it monthly from player reports.
See the numbers for every casino
Minimums, playthrough and redemption times for all eighteen.
All 18 casinos