Social Casinos 2024: The Best Sites To Play At For US Players

Written by: Richard Janvrin |✅Fact Checked by: Michael Savio

Online real-money casinos are only legal in seven states across the United States. Thus, that leaves 44 states that are looking for alternatives to play their favorite casino games online.

While numerous offshore online casinos are available, those present a heightened level of risk.

So, what’s the alternative?

Social casinos (also known as Sweepstake Casinos).

Here, we’ll discuss what a social casino is, the legality of them, the differences between these and real-money online casinos, how to choose the best site, and more.

• What Is A Social Casino Online?
  • Are Social Casinos Legal?
  • Social Casinos: Pros and Cons
  • Social Casino vs Online Casino
• The Best Social Casinos
  • Best Social Casinos Comparison
  • How We Choose The Best Social Casinos Online
• How to Play On A Social Casino
  • How to Choose A Social Casino
• FAQs
• Conclusion

Social casino online sites are platforms that offer similar games to real-money online casinos. Still, the distinct difference is that most of your gaming is done for fun and entertainment.

At any online social casino , you’ll interact with two virtual currencies: Gold coins and Sweeps Cash (or whatever the site’s equivalent is).

Gold coins are used for free play, while Sweeps Cash can be used on specific games to win additional Sweeps Cash. Sweeps Cash can be redeemed for real money or via gift cards.

When you sign up, you’ll receive a welcome package including many gold coins and a small amount of Sweeps Cash.

Numerous social casinos give you gold coins as you play and for accomplishing things while playing.

Instead of making deposits and withdrawals, you’ll make purchases and redemptions. If you run out of virtual currency, you can purchase currency packages to keep playing, but it’s not always necessary.

As mentioned, Sweeps Cash can be redeemed for real money, but it’s not uncommon for you to need 100 Sweeps Cash to redeem it as cash (these carry a value of $1) or 25 Sweeps Cash for a gift card.

Most social casinos strictly offer slots, but some have select table games.

To create an account, you’ll more than likely have the option of using your email or linking your Facebook or Google account.

Yes. Social casinos are legal across the majority of the United States. The only states where social casinos may not be available are Washington, Nevada, and Idaho.

To play at these social casino sites, you must be 18 years old.

That said, paid and free sweepstakes games are technically only illegal in Washington.

Social casinos are more widespread because they fall under a different law than real-money online casinos.

Regarding legal language, social casinos fall under the jurisdiction of sweepstakes laws.

Social casino online sites fall under this law because, while real money can be redeemed from them, it’s considered a sweepstakes promotional event.

It depends on how each social casino structures its games that determine its legal standing under sweepstakes laws.

Some states have some unique characteristics to their sweepstakes laws that slightly differ from the nationwide standard.

Below are some of those differences as they pertain to online social casinos. Several states have other differences, but they’re irrelevant to social casinos.

• Colorado, Maryland, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Vermont: Contests and sweepstakes are not allowed to require players to make purchases to enter a promotion.
• Idaho: social casino gaming is allowed, but sweepstakes casinos are usually not accessible.
• Florida: If there’s a sweepstakes where players are randomly chosen in Florida, and it exceeds $5,000, the player must be registered seven days before it begins.
• New York: Same law as Florida, with the only difference being you must be registered 30 days ahead of time instead of seven. Because of this, you’ll sometimes see that certain social casinos aren’t available in New York.

Real-money online casinos and social casinos have one extremely clear-cut difference: You wager real money with each game you play online, while most of the time you play at social casinos, you’re playing for fun. If you play strictly with Sweeps cash, these could be considered real money social casinos, but again, they’re mostly for entertainment only.

However, social casinos fill a void left by online casinos. The states with legal online casinos are Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, West Virginia, Delaware and Rhode Island.

Social casinos are only strictly illegal in Washington, though most sites and social casino apps have limitations in a few other states.

Both sites offer welcome bonuses and promotions, but online casinos are geared toward winning real money, while social casinos are typically for free-to-play virtual currency.

You’ll have the same types of games available, but online casinos will have a much better library of table games, virtual sports, variety games, and live dealer games. In terms of developers, however, it’s not uncommon to find overlap here. There are developers like BetSoft and Pragmatic Play that are usually geared more toward social casinos.

These platforms are incredibly similar, with the massive difference being the emphasis on real money exchange. Sweeps Cash can be redeemed for cash, but you’re not depositing $100, wagering it all, and withdrawing like you will at legal real-money online casinos.

While you may be familiar with top online casinos like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, Golden Nugget, and more, you may not have that same knowledge of social casinos.

There is definitely social casino online equivalents to those sites in terms of notoriety, dependability, and overall quality, though.

Below, we’ll look at a list of social casinos, discuss them, and review the best games.

• Chumba Casino: Chumba Casino is routinely viewed as one of the best social casinos. You’ll receive a daily login bonus featuring 2 million gold coins and 2 Sweeps Coins. You’ll have numerous game types, including slots, Slingo, and table games. You can toggle between the two currencies at the top of the page. You can purchase seven packages, ranging from $1 to $300. The best social casino site games here include Better Wilds, 7 Mega, Fire Fighter, Stampede Fury 2, and more.
• Pulsz Casino: At Pulsz Casino, you’ll be limited to just slot games, but there are more than 500 titles to choose from. The welcome bonus here offers players 32.3 Sweeps Coins and 367,000 gold coins. You can toggle between light and dark modes here as well. Top games include Starburst, Disco Beats, Sugar Rush, Laughing Buddha, Gold Party, and more.
• WOW Vegas Casino: WowVegas offers players over 330 games, a welcome bonus containing 4.5 Sweepstakes Coins and 8,500 Wow Coins. However, the 330 games are all slots with top titles, including Cleopatra, Extra Juicy, Madame Destiny, Aztec Bonanza, and more. Packages start as low as $0.49. WowVegas also has one of the best user interface designs and runs incredibly smooth on desktop and the social casino app.
• LuckyLand Slots: As it reads in the title, LuckyLand Slots focuses on slot games. However, there is one blackjack title available. The LuckyLand welcome bonus contains 7,777 gold coins and 10 Sweeps Coins. The user interface design is a bit dated, but you’ll receive daily login rewards, such as 0.30 Sweeps Cash. You can purchase multiple packages starting at less than $2. LuckyLand Slots also offers various tournaments and events that award gold coin prizes. Some popular games include Aztec Quest, 10,000 Wonders, Snow Queen, Atlantis, Ole Flamenco, and more.
• FunzPoints Casino: Funzpoint also comes with a user interface that’s a bit dated. They offer a competitive welcome bonus, including 1,000 Funzpoints and $2.50 in site credit. When you log in, you’ll be greeted with an option to play for free or purchase the premium version. With the premium version, you’ll gain benefits like jackpot draws, ad-free play, unlocking all games, and more. You’ll only have access to so many games as a standard player. You’ll unlock more as you play more. There are three types of currency, including the standard free-to-play and Sweeps Cash equivalent. Still, there are also tickets that you can collect to help elevate your chances of real-money drawings that happen periodically on the platform. Top games include Buffalo Fury, Moolah Mansion, and more.
• Global Poker: Global Poker and Chumba Casino are under the same umbrella. While “poker” is in the name here, and yes, you can play poker for free, Global Poker does offer slots and table games. As far as the poker games go, you can play various types of poker, including Hold’Em, Omaha, Omaha High/Low, Bounty Poker, Jackpot Sit’N’Go, Crazy Pineapple, and Surge Poker. There are limited slot options (31) compared to other sites, but some top games include The Big GoREELa, Super Hot, Western Gold, and more.
• Stake.us: Stake.us is the social casino alternative to Stake.com, one of the more well-known online gambling platforms partnered with Drake and one of the new social casinos. Here, you’ll have access to almost a never-ending number of promotions and over 400 games. There are close to 400 slots available, as well as options for live dealers, table games, and scratchers. To this point in the list, Stake.us is the only live social casino on this list. Some of the top games include Mochimon, Legend of Heroes, and Hand of Anubis. Each game on the site will also have a challenge you can achieve for additional winnings.
• Loyal Royal Casino: Loyal Royal Casino offers six currency packages ranging from $4.99 to $99.99. A few promotions are available centered around daily and specific day match plays. Some of the top games include Pot of Gold, Golden Scarab Spin, and Tree Bears. However, the game library is by far the smallest on the list, with just a few options.
• Fortune Coins Casino: Fortune Coins Casino is impressive from the moment you land on the site. You’ll receive a massive welcome bonus, $32 in Fortune Coins and 20,000 gold coins. There are mostly slots available here, but there are table games, too, such as Wheel of Luck, War, Jacks or Better, Poker Poker, and Keno. Lucky Panda is the top slot on site, a progressive jackpot slot that increases one fortune coin in less than a second.
• MyChoice Casino: MyChoice is known for being a rewards program at most real-money online casinos, but it does offer a social casino. The most popular slots here are China Shores, Jumping Jack Cash, and Big Prize Bubblegum, and they’re advertised as soon as you open the page. There are leaderboard contests and events available, and you can join the myChoice Rewards system for additional benefits like currency.
• Caesars Slots: Falling under the Caesars umbrella, Caesars Slots welcomes you with 100,000 gold coins. The user interface is probably the most dated of any social casino on the list so far, though. There are over 100 games to play, but you can only access them as you improve your level. You’ll level up in accordance with how successful you are when playing. You’ll start with games like Bear Family Gold, Wild Howl, and Foxtrot Follies.
• House of Fun: House of Fun begins with an exciting feel, including the soundtrack and a voice track welcoming you to the site. You’ll receive 100,000 gold coins and 100 free spins equivalent currencies. The site claims to have more than 50 million players, and there are several bonuses you can unlock daily, including a bonus that’ll ramp up each day you log in. As the site lists, the top games are Vile Vixens, Chunky Charms, HOF All Stars Bingo, and Gummy King 2. There are over 300 slots, and like Caesars, you’ll advance in level, though no games appear level-locked.
• Slotomania: When you open Slotomania, you’re greeted by Lucy, the virtual host of the platform. She’ll walk you through the initial stages of playing, including the promotions, bonuses, and how to start playing. You’ll begin with 1,000,000 gold coins. This site is similar to Caesars in terms of user design and level-locked games. You’ll start off with being able to play King of the North, Mighty Silver Deluxe, Silver Jr., Puss the Cunning, Medusa Magic, and Crazy Train.
• Double Down Casino: With over 250,000 active players, Double Down Casino promises new weekly games and a 1,000,000 gold coin welcome bonus. There are several types of slots to choose from, including Classic, Vegas, Egyptian, Wheel of Fortune, MegaBucks, Facebook, and more. The top games include Cleopatra, Da Vinci Diamonds, and more. If you sign up with your Facebook account, you’ll have access to 150 exclusive slot games.

While social casinos and legal online casinos are similar, we determine the best sites in many of the same ways, but of course, there are some attributes we look for that are unique to these platforms.

Below is a list of our initial criteria.

Game Library

Going into social casinos, we expect each site to offer more than just social slots. If that’s the case, we look for the number of titles available and the developers. Beyond this, if table games, Slingo, or live dealer games are offered, this is icing on the cake.

Welcome Bonus

Legal online casinos are pretty uniform in terms of welcome bonuses, but social casinos can be different, as “gold coins” aren’t a uniform currency in terms of how much they’re worth. For example, 1,000,000 coins could be 5,000 elsewhere.

When evaluating welcome bonuses, we look to see what the minimum gold coin wagers are and how they correlate to the gold coin aspect of the welcome bonus.

Most offers will have 1 Sweeps Cash/Coin, so we take notice when sites don’t offer this.

Lastly, we look to see if there are any reduced package rates, as this could provide additional value for gold coins and Sweeps Cash.

Package Prices

In addition to the number of packages, we look at the minimum price because social casinos are meant to be for entertainment. However, depending on how much you play, you may run out of gold coins. Thus, if you want to continue playing, what’s the lowest amount you need to spend to get back in the game? This is something we look for.

Purchase and Redemption Methods

Whether you’re making a purchase or redeeming Sweeps Cash, we look for sites that offer the most possible methods, including e-wallets, banking, and gift cards. You won’t deposit money at online social casinos like a real-money site. Instead, you’ll have the option of purchasing virtual currency packages if you want to. If you decide to, the most common methods we’ve seen available are your debit/credit card, PayPal, and online banking.

As for redeeming Sweeps Cash, there are typically just a few methods like PayPal, online banking, or requesting a gift card to popular retailers like Starbucks, Best Buy, and more.

Social Casino Site App / Online Compatability

You’ll be able to play at any social casino site on your mobile web browser, but we do give bonus points to those that have a dedicated mobile social casino site app. Regardless of the medium, we look to see how the social casino site app operates, whether there’s lag or aggravating buffering.

In addition to the criteria we use above to determine the best sites for our list, there are more things you should consider and questions to ask yourself.

• Is online gambling legal in your state?
  Even if real-money casinos are legal in your state, these sites provide a free alternative. However, if you’re interested in winning money consistently, real-money sites are likely the better spot for you.
• What’s my level of casino knowledge?
  Whether you’re a novice or a veteran, social casinos have a place for you. However, if you’ve never played casino games, these are the perfect sites to learn at.
• What are my favorite casino games?
  If you enjoy table games, very few social casinos offer this. However, if you enjoy social slots, you can play anywhere, as all social casinos have these.
• What’s my intention behind playing casino games?
  If you’re looking for something mainly for entertainment and not risking any real money, social casinos are a fantastic option for you. However, as mentioned, if you want to deposit money, wager, and win or lose money, social casinos won’t offer that to you.

Online sports betting is expanding rapidly throughout the United States, with more than half of the states having it. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for legal online gambling.

As you’ve learned, social casinos provide players with a way to play their favorite online casino games and provide avenues to play strictly for free or ways to win some real money.

There are numerous sites to choose from, each with unique features and welcome bonuses.

If you’re looking for a place to play some slots casually and for fun, social casinos are likely the spot for you.