The world of online sweepstakes casinos has quickly become one of the betting industry’s most important developments. Thanks to its unique payment and prize systems, many people who once had no interest in gambling of any sort are flocking to sweepstakes sites and apps to get in on the action.
While sweepstakes aren’t the most dominant form of online gambling, they have made sweeping changes to the gambling market in the United States. Let’s take a look at the impact that sweepstake casinos have had.
Attracting more players
Online gambling has been exploding in popularity over the past five or so years. Though there are many reasons that contribute to this, online sweepstakes casinos are one of the main ones.
For many people, the idea of spending money for a chance to win more at a casino is too risky to handle. However, sweepstakes casinos — sometimes referred to as “social casinos” — are fundamentally different since you can actually play for free.
The fine print at online sweepstakes differ between states. However, one thing holds true among all of them — sweepstake casinos don’t use real money for betting, technically speaking. Instead, you can use promotional coins which are given to you daily or as awards. If you want to play even more, then you can purchase a coin pack.
There are two types of currency that you can use to gamble at a sweepstake casino: Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. These currencies can sometimes be called something else, but they tend to function the same across all sweepstake casino sites.
Gold Coins are essentially play money. They have no monetary value in any way and can’t be traded for prizes. Sweeps Coins, on the other hand, can be traded in for gift cards and sometimes even real cash, normally at a 1:1 ratio to USD.
Since you are technically gambling with game coins instead of money, sweepstakes casinos have managed to set themselves apart from traditional online casinos in a legal sense. The atmosphere and game library are similar, but the currency system is unique as it has created a loophole that lets people play in many states where real-money online casinos are illegal.
Emphasizing casual play
As mentioned above, online sweepstake casinos involve gambling with coins instead of real money, so they can emphasize certain elements that would be harder to achieve at a standard casino.
Casual play is one such aspect. Though there are many people who visit standard online casinos for casual fun such as online slots or more technological advancements in the industry like live dealer games, people who want a more relaxed atmosphere tend to enjoy sweepstakes casinos more.
Part of the reason for this is because you spend a set amount of money when purchasing your coin packs, if you choose to purchase more coins. This makes a sweepstakes casino feel less like a standard online casino and more like a carnival fair or an arcade, where you purchase tickets that you then spend on select games.
With regular gambling, every turn or every slot spin requires spending cash and there is no designated limit on spending. With a sweepstake casino, you can spend $10, $20 or $100 on coins before you start playing or simply play with the free coins you have available. In other words, you set your budget before you even begin gaming, which makes it easier to keep track of the money you are spending.
This system also creates an environment where there is no constant worry of having to break even or getting back in the green, making the games feel less intense and relaxing. This also makes sweepstake casinos more enjoyable to play for people who are worried about going over their budget.
Encouraging better legal terminology
All online casinos need to be properly licensed in order to function legally, but technically, sweepstake casinos aren’t required to be licensed since they’re not considered to be real money gambling in the eyes of the law. However, the sweepstakes industry has evolved the legal landscape of online gambling.
Since you are not technically gambling for money or with money, sweepstake casinos are in a different legal category than standard casinos, which require their own laws and rules. This has forced the industry to draw new lines and designate scenarios where gambling is “real” or not.
The popularity of sweepstake sites has helped develop the legal landscape in the United States for online casino owners and customers alike. With online casinos respecting their regional laws, this creates a better relationship between lawmakers and casino proprietors. The result is more online casinos popping up all over the country in states where they are legal.
Though there are still some big legal battles out there, sweepstakes sites have made the overall landscape less volatile for the industry thanks to their prioritization of casual play.
Improved diversity of games and prizes
With standard online casinos, the saying “what you see is what you get” can come to mind from time to time. Everyone knows these days what to expect from an online casino in terms of its gaming selection and cash prizes.
However, with a sweepstake casino, things are very different. While they offer a lot of the same game types, such as slots, poker and blackjack, many of them have partnered with different kinds of software providers to make games that look, sound and feel different than what casinos tend to offer. This is important for more casual players who don’t want games that remind them of traditional gambling atmospheres.
Even more than the games, sweepstake prizes are plentiful these days. Instead of a standard cash reward, you can often redeem your earned Sweeps Coins for gift cards and branded merchandise, such as mugs, stickers, shirts, tools or gadgets. They’re the types of prizes you’d expect to see at a carnival or a fair.
For players who are used to playing at standard online casinos, registering with a sweepstake casino can be a great opportunity to play new games and win something other than cash rewards.