For casual fruit machine fans and high rollers alike, nothing beats the thrill of the Vegas Strip. Unfortunately, finding a similar experience online is tricky â with stringent US anti-gambling rules making it near-impossible to enjoy real money gambling online.
With that said, Iâve found a solution: Vegas style sweepstakes casinos. These unique online gaming platforms mimic the excitement of the Vegas Strip in a totally legal and accessible way, helping you to feel one step closer to the allure of Caesars, Bellagio, and Mandalay Bay. And with cash prizes available, who needs the Nevada desert anyway?
Sweepstakes casinos are gaming sites designed to mimic their real-money counterparts. Thereâs one big difference, though, and thatâs the lack of real-money gambling.
Instead of cash, sweepstakes casinos utilize two forms of free-to-collect virtual coins. These include:
| Coin type | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Gold coins (GC) |
|
| Sweeps coins (SC) |
|
Using virtual tokens might sound like a far cry from the real-money Mecca of the Vegas Strip. But if you love playing casino games for a chance to win real prizes, Vegas-style sweepstakes casinos are a solid alternative that offer a surprising level of fun and thrills for sweepstakes casinos.
Youâre not exactly âwinningâ real money as you would at a regular Vegas style casino, but it is possible to exchange sweeps coins tokens for prizes â including genuine cash.
Once youâve collected enough sweeps coins to meet a casino brandâs minimum redemption requirement, you can exchange these free tokens for a prize. On most sweep coin casinos that Iâve encountered, 1 SC is equivalent to $1. So, if youâre redeeming 100 SC, you could get $100 in your bank account.
I should point out that, like regular casinos, Vegas style sweepstakes casinos do tend to enforce playthrough requirements on redeemable SC tokens. That means youâll need to play each sweeps coin a set number of times before it can be redeemed. Sweepstakes poker can also be played using these virtual currencies.
In many states, yes. Washington is the main exception, but bear in mind that not all brands operate in all of the other 49 states.
Since sweepstakes with real money prizes arenât classed as real gambling sites, theyâre permitted in the vast majority of US states. So if you live somewhere that feels a million miles from Vegas due to strict local gambling regs, online sweeps casinos could be an excellent option for you.
For a Vegas-style sweepstakes casino online thatâs widely available across the US, why not consider RealPrize? It operates in all but four states â Idaho, Nevada, Michigan and Washington, making it one of the most widely available online sweepstakes casinos around.
New players receive 100,000 GC and 2 SC for signing up and verifying their account. Once youâre all set up, the bonus will instantly arrive, and you can start by playing any of the 500+ available.
Popular games providers such as Kalamba Games, 4Theplay and 1×2 Gaming are behind some of the top titles on the platform. There are plenty of different casino-style game types to choose from, including a variety of slots, bingo, video poker and crash games. There really is something for everyone at RealPrize.
After youâve claimed the signup bonus you can start claiming the bonuses that keep existing customer playing for free. These are the daily login bonus, refer-a-friend bonus, VIP program rewards and social media giveaways. Between the variety of games and all the ways to receive free virtual currencies, youâll have plenty to keep you entertained for free.
Stake.us is another great sweepstakes casino that offers vegas-style games. The welcome bonus is a massive 560,000 GC + 56 SC + 5% rakeback, meaning youâve got a lot of chances to play for free when you sign up.
After the initial bonus, thereâs a daily login bonus which runs for 30 days and could give you 300,000 GC and 30 SC if you remember to sign in every day. As if that wasnât enough, players can also benefit from bonus drops, slot challenges, social media giveaways, chat rains, daily races, VIP program rewards and even a postal request entry.
Itâs a good job they give you plenty of virtual currencies to play with because there are over 900 games to choose from including things youâd expect to see like slot varieties and table games, to less common options like originals, live dealers and Slingo. These are all provided by top software developers such as Evolution, BGaming and Octoplay.
Stake.us is available in 36 of the 50 states, so itâs important to check whether youâre in a restricted state before you try and sign up.
If you like a large variety of casino-style games, McLuck has over 1000 on offer. The signup bonus is modest compared to some â siting at 7,500 GC and 2.5 SC, but itâs still enough to get you started.
Once youâre signed up, youâll be able to collect more virtual currencies via a daily login bonus, prize drops, tournaments, a mail-in entry, loyalty club rewards, social media giveaways and referral bonuses.
McLuck is available in 36 states and has an app available on both App Store and Google Play, making it a very accessible social casino.
As for games, there is a variety of games available from top developers like 3 Oaks, RubyPlay and other player favorites. The games on offer include slots, Jackpots, crash games, table games and a live casino, which is plenty for any Vegas fans out there.
Sidepot has over 1000 casino-style games on offer and gives new players 10,000 GC + 5 SC for free as a welcome offer. Itâs widely available across the US and available in 39 states.
Vegas-style gaming fans will be pleased to know there are lots of different games available, including a variety of slot types like Megaways and Hold & Win, alongside table games, Sidepot Originals and video poker. These games are all brought to you by big names like BGaming, Booming Games and other industry favorites.
Keep your eyes peeled for Goldrush Giveaway, where you can win a share of 500,000 GC and 500 SC. Thereâs also a happy hour discount on Fridays between 6 and 8, a lucky spin promo that gives players 30 free spins and if your SC balance drops below 1 SC, youâll qualify for the daily login bonus of 10,000 GC and 1 SC.
Jackpota gives new users 7,500 GC and 2.5 SC to sign up and verify their account. This is awarded instantly, giving them access to over 700 games to choose from.
Among these Vegas-style games, expect to see classic sweepstakes slot games, Jackpots, Slingo, table games, poker tournaments and live dealer games. NetEnt and Relax Gaming are some of the big names responsible for providing the games at Jackpota.
This social casino is widely accessible across the US, and is available across 36 states. There is currently no app, but the site is fully optimized for mobile, so that shouldnât really matter.
Although the welcome bonus isnât the biggest weâve seen, there are a few extra ways to get free virtual currencies from the site. Thereâs a daily login bonus of 1500 GC and 0.2 SC, certain slots trigger jackpot play, there are weekly tournaments, a mail in option and a refer-a-friend bonus also available.
If youâre long overdue a visit to the Nevada desert, Vegas style social casinos can replicate the fun and thrills of the famous Strip in a surprisingly authentic way. These legal online gaming outlets bring slot machines and classic table games to your front room, not to mention the opportunity to redeem free coins for very real prizes.
There are a couple of things to note before I go, though. Remember that sweepstakes casinos have T&Cs like any other casino-related platform, so itâs important to check these through thoroughly. Be sure to take a look at the banners on this page, too, where youâll find top recommendations and all the latest sweepstakes casino bonuses.
Sweepstakes casinos are free gaming sites that offer casino games like slots, roulette, blackjack, and baccarat. Theyâre legal in many US states because theyâre classed as gaming sites and donât offer real money gambling. These sweepstakes apps have brought lots of entertainment into the social casino arena.
It is possible to get real prizes on sweepstakes casinos that mimic the Vegas experience. To get cash and prizes on these sites, youâll need to collect free sweeps coin tokens and exchange these for prizes.
Some of my favorite new sweepstakes casino brands that are reminiscent of real Vegas-style casino gambling include Stake.us, WOW Vegas, and High 5 Casino.
Users must be 18+. If you are having trouble with gambling then help and advice can be found at responsiblegambling.org
