One of the first things people tell you to look for when choosing an online casino is bonuses. These are the special offers and promotions that casinos use to attract new players. Sometimes they can be extra money, free spins, or other rewards that you can take into the casino and use to create more chances of winning. Sounds simple, right? Well, it is. However, traditional online casinos are not the only casinos that offer bonuses.
Over the last few years, sweepstakes casinos have only grown more popular, as more people want to indulge in the iGaming world without the risk of losing any money. For these sorts of players, sweepstakes casinos allow people to play with virtual cash, rather than real cash, with the chance to either play games with no reward or play games with the incentive to convert virtual cash into real currency.
But choosing sweepstakes casinos can be difficult. Even for me – someone who has been exploring different types of casinos for years – I found it hard to get my head around the different bonuses and unpuzzle exactly what the casinos are offering. Thankfully, I did get my head around it, and I’d like to impart a bit of my research! Below, you’ll find a guide to unravelling sweepstakes offers and coins.
Sweepstakes Coins
To understand sweepstakes offers, it’s first important to understand the difference in coins. For instance, if you visit the page examining the top 2024 sweepstakes casinos, you’ll see Fortune Coins casino in the top spot. As a welcome reward, Fortune Coins casino is offering up to 930,000 gold coins and 1,200 Fortune coins. So what’s the difference between the two?
Well, a gold coin is a virtual currency that can be acquired through purchasing, bonuses, or promotions – so in the case of Fortune Coins, you could acquire a good deal of gold coins through sign-up alone. Their purpose is purely recreational. With gold coins, you can play a wide collection of casino games without the concern of losing real money, but you don’t claim any real cash as a reward.
When it comes to Fortune coins, these act as ‘sweepstake coins’, which are the main coin behind the sweepstakes model. Players can earn these coins and use them to play their favourite games in the hope that they can be redeemed into real cash prizes. This is what makes sweepstakes casinos different to regular online casinos – because you’re playing with virtual coins, you’re not technically gambling your own money. It is a dual currency system, therefore, the casino is not subject to the same legal and regulatory obligations.
Sweepstakes Offers
Now that you know the two main mechanics of sweepstakes casinos, you can start to understand how the offers work. Across the web, you’ll find plenty of lists that run through the best bonuses and coins that you can claim.
As we mentioned before, the Fortune Coins bonus is one of the most attractive out there, but there’s also the Gambino Slots bonus, which gives you 200 spins, and the Sweeptastic Casino bonus, which gives you 1000 daily coins after registration. Bonuses, in this way, will typically involve a large amount of gold coins, and a lesser amount of sweepstakes coins – perhaps to incentivise players to ‘have a go’ before looking to turn their virtual sweeps coins into cash.
Sweepstakes casinos also offer a wide range of promotions, not just sign-up bonuses. These include daily login offers – designed to reward players for regular play – refer-a-friend programs, social media promotions – which involve contests and giveaways across Facebook and X – and even mail-in offers. One of the key things to note about sweepstakes bonuses is that they’re not just a marketing tool. Because these are ‘social casinos’ with a strong emphasis on communication and community, these offers are designed to enhance the continued player experience, creating more opportunities to connect, win, and foster a localised player base.
Which Casino Should You Go With?
Sticking with the social aspect, if you’re looking to get involved with a sweepstakes casino, I’d say the best one to go with is a casino that clearly has an engaged player base. What do the reviews say? How many sign-ups do they have, and how many active users play on a regular basis?
Sweepstakes casinos with an engaged audience are doing something to keep them engaged, and most of the time, this comes in the form of offers, bonuses, and promotions. If you can find a sweepstakes casino that regularly offers you rewards, then you’re on the right road to a fully positive experience. So take a look around, read their offers carefully, look into their community, and decide what’s best for you!
