Tens of millions of people play inside social casinos every day. Stake.us, High 5 Casino, Slotomania, and other sites seen on SweepsKings.com have created what’s now a $10 billion+ market, made up of mostly young Gen Z and Millennial players hooked on the prize-winning format. Unlike traditional gambling casinos, social casinos use virtual ‘Sweeps Coins’ that can be exchanged for prizes once you collect enough of them, and it’s completely transforming gaming. 

What Is a Social Casino? 

Social casinos, also often known as sweepstakes casinos, are sites where you play Vegas-style casino games using virtual coins instead of money. You can either play for free using ‘Gold Coins’ or bet ‘Sweeps Coins’ and potentially redeem prizes from them. And along the way, there are daily missions, tournaments, and other similar features to engage with. 

It’s a different type of gambling altogether. The game makers themselves say it isn’t gambling at all, as everything is done under a ‘sweepstakes’ model where you’re not actually betting any money at all (each Sweeps Coin is essentially a substitute for $1). Ultimately, it’s why social casinos are legal in 33+ states and don’t have to follow traditional gambling laws, and this has allowed them to attract millions of worldwide players. 

Social casinos are also huge on streaming platforms like Kick and Twitch. The likes of Adin Ross and Trainwreckstv regularly use them to play slots, roulette, and other types of games, where big wagers are often placed. Even the iconic rapper Drake struck a marketing deal with ‘Stake’, promoting the brand’s crypto and social casinos across his social media. 

The Social Casino Recently Surpassed $11 Billion 

So, because social casinos are widely accessible throughout the states and have a prize-winning element that appeals to even Apex Legends players and casual gamers, they’ve been able to get plenty of players on board (sites like WOW Vegas and Chumba Casino all report having well over 1 million registered users each). 

This has created a $11 billion social casino market according to Bloomberg, driven by social casino sites and the app versions of these casinos that you can also find in the iOS and Android app stores. Further growth is projected over the coming years, too, particularly now that casino gaming has become part of mainstream gaming. Ten years ago, it was unheard of, but now everyone knows about Stake.us and all of the other popular social casino names. 

Operators Give Out Free Coins to Keep Players Engaged 

The way in which social casinos work is actually quite simple. 

New players who sign up are almost always given a small stash of coins to start out with. Several hundred thousand Gold Coins, the free-play currency, along with a handful of Sweeps Coins, the prize-winning coins. 

From there, players can pick which games they want to play, from classic slots to live dealer games. The games function just like they do in regular online casinos, except the difference is that you’re betting virtual coins instead of real money. 

The lucky players who are able to collect enough Sweeps Coins, which have on-site value, can then exchange those coins for prizes. The most popular prize is a cash transfer, such as 50 Sweeps Coins for $50. But players are given the additional option to redeem gift cards by most social casino operators, with gift cards tending to have lower minimum redemption requirements. 

Are These Casinos Safe? 

One of the main reasons why social casinos appear to have gotten so popular is simply down to them being the ‘safer’ alternative to regular online casinos. 

With social casinos, there’s a no-deposit required approach, meaning new players never have to deposit their own money in exchange for coins if they don’t wish to. 

Combined with the fact that you’re not directly wagering actual money when you play the games, it does become clear that these sites are safer than they seem. 

Of course, though, players are given the option to purchase virtual Gold Coin and Sweeps Coin packages from the social casino stores, which cost real money and should therefore be treated with care. 

By purchasing too many coin packages, you can essentially gamble your own money away, and this has even caused controversy in the US where over 100 player-filed lawsuits have hit social casino operators, as reported by Yahoo Finance. 

So, social casinos are safe, regulated, and function under sweepstakes laws, but players should be mindful not to splash too much cash on packages if they ever run low on coins, as spending can quickly add up. 

The much safer option is to simply take advantage of the Daily Login Coins and social media giveaways that social casino apps tend to offer, which essentially let players stack up free coins before playing.