In recent months, there has been growing concern in some parts of North America, especially in a handful of American states, that there could potentially be a ban on sweepstakes casinos.
However, this is highly unlikely to happen because sweepstakes casinos are not considered real money gambling sites, as no deposit is necessary, and real money isn’t used to play games on these popular social gaming sites.
Let’s dive straight in to discover more about the latest developments in 2025 surrounding this hotly debated topic.
What is a sweepstakes casino?
Sweepstakes casinos are digital entertainment websites that can be likened to regular online casinos. However, to play games on a sweepstakes casino, also often referred to as a social casino or social gaming site, players use a two-coin virtual currency system, and neither coin has any monetary value in the real world.
They are compared to regular casino sites, where real money is required to play their games, because they have hundreds, sometimes thousands of computer-generated and live dealer games to play, including online slot machines, video poker classic table, and card games like poker, blackjack, baccarat, craps, and roulette, online scratchcards, and other bingo & lottery style games.
You can also now find a range of sweepstake casinos with highly sophisticated live dealer games, and the companies that supply them are the same ones that supply games to real money betting sites. However, as mentioned, deposits aren’t a requirement.
When you sign up, you receive free coins to play their games, known as gold coins, fortune coins, diamonds or gems, or words to that effect. It varies from one site to the next. Whenever you run out of coins and want them topping up to continue playing your favorite games, you have several choices.
You can either contact the support and ask them politely to top up your balance for you [free of charge] or you can get them topped up for free in many other ways – no strings attached.
For example, you can win more gold coins by taking part in onsite promotional offers or slot machine tournaments (and winning more coins). You can find codes to unlock more free spins on their social media channels or via their weekly or monthly newsletters and by taking part in daily log-in bonuses.
There are many other ways to receive more free gold coins, but these coins can’t ever be exchanged for real-world prizes or withdrawn. The other type of virtual currency on most sweepstakes casinos is called sweeps or sweep coins, which cannot be topped up in these ways.
However, these coins can be used to win real-world prizes, such as the following:
● The latest electronic gadgets
● Luxury vacations
● Cars
● Store vouchers
● Merchandise for your favorite brands
● Cash prizes
Although you get free sweeps coins and free gold coins when you sign up (usually as part of the sign-up/welcome bonus), sweeps coins can only be purchased in bundles or packages when they run out. These packages/bundles may cost $/€/£5.00, $/€/£10, or $/€/£20, for example, and they often expire after 60 or 90 days if you don’t use them.
The easiest way for players to purchase these coins on a sweepstakes casino is to use Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, cryptocurrency, or any other secure online payment method currently accepted on that website.
Are sweepstakes currently legal, and will there ever be a ban on sites like this?
According to sources, over 45 states legally permit sweepstakes casinos. In other words, they are not illegal. However, in Idaho, Nevada, Michigan, and Washington, sweepstakes casinos have been outlawed for various reasons.
Even though no real money gambling is involved in sweepstakes casinos, you must still be at least 18 years old to join them and play their games.
Also, if you want to deposit money to purchase sweeps coins for the chance to win prizes and then withdraw any cash prizes you win, you also have to complete the KYC (Know Your Customer) age and ID verification checks.
The main problem with their classification is that many states simply don’t know how to approach them. In fact, New Jersey recently introduced a bill to have them fully regulated, whereas a handful of states have gone in the opposite direction and want them outright banned.
For example, Mississippi could soon ban them because of revisions recently made to the Mississippi Code of 1972, which specifically targets sweepstakes casinos, declaring them unlawful in the state, despite them not being real money betting sites, so it is still very much a grey area in some regions of North America.
Final thoughts
To sum up, sweepstakes casinos in Mississippi, which all come under the watchful eye of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, could potentially be banned, and if a ban does come into effect, the operators who control these sites could face hefty fines or even jail time, but people who play on these sites would not be breaking any laws.
The new bill, currently under review, would take effect on July 1, 2025, if it’s passed. Forty-five other states have a more liberal approach towards sweepstakes casinos and don’t look to be following in the footsteps of Mississippi and banning them any time soon.