Casinos have provided customers with many exciting games to play throughout the years. Brick-and-mortar venues evoke images of blackjack, roulette tables, and rows of slot machines with smartly dressed customers lining up in the hope of a lucky win. As technology evolved, so too did casinos. Traditional online casinos paved the way for more adventurous games while maintaining the core of what made casinos so popular in the first place. Whether you’re interested in table games, live dealer alternatives, or immersive slot machines with exciting and recognizable themes, there’s something for everyone.
Online casinos have evolved so much these days that the original incarnations seem incredibly dated to many people. One of the newest updates to the online versions of these platforms is sweepstakes casinos. They’re increasing in popularity daily because they offer entertaining games and can be played in many places where traditional online gambling is restricted due to regulations.
What Are Sweepstakes Casinos?
Sweepstakes casinos are alternatives to traditional online casinos, although they offer many of the same games you’ll find at the latter. Sweepstakes casino games are played with virtual tokens rather than real cash, which can be earned in several ways. For example, sweepstakes casinos often reward users with virtual tokens for signing up, logging into their accounts daily, and through competitions and giveaways.
How Do Sweepstakes Casinos Work Differently to Regular Online Casinos?
The main difference between traditional online casinos and sweepstakes casinos is the currency that is used to play games.
When you join a traditional online casino, you must make a real cash deposit to play. For example, spinning the reels will cost you real money if you’re playing a slot game. Then, any winnings will be returned to your balance in real money that can be withdrawn.
Sweepstakes casinos are different because you don’t use real cash to play. Instead, two types of virtual tokens can be used to play – Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins.
Gold Coins can be purchased with real money but do not hold any monetary value. Their only purpose is to be used to play games, and they cannot be withdrawn.
Sweep coins are handed out as bonuses when buying Gold Coins. However, they are also given to players for logging in regularly, entering giveaways, and other creative things. They also don’t have any monetary value. However, when you play games with Sweeps Coins, you can exchange them for prizes, including real cash that can be withdrawn.
What Games Can Be Played at Sweepstakes Casinos in the USA?
The great news for people interested in sweepstakes casinos in the USA is that they offer many of the same experiences found at regular online casinos. Indeed, the top casinos for sweepstakes have a wide selection of games for users to enjoy, including but not limited to the following:
Blackjack
Many sweepstakes casinos offer different forms of blackjacks to users. It’s a classic card game where the objective is to end up with a final hand value closer to 21 than the dealer’s without going over.
The game starts with players being dealt two face-up cards and the dealer being dealt one face-up card and one face-down card. The players can then hit (take another card) or stand (keep their hand). After this, the dealer reveals their face-down card, and the hands are compared. If the player’s hand is closer to 21 than the dealer without going over, they win.
Roulette
Roulette is another classic table game that is available at many sweepstakes casinos. It involves a spinning wheel divided into red and black numbered sections, as well as one green (typically) zero section.
The game starts with players choosing an outcome. This can include choosing a color, individual numbers, odd or even numbers, and group numbers. The wheel is then spun in one direction, and a ball is spun around it in the opposite direction. The winning outcome is decided once the ball has settled into a section.
Slots
Slots have evolved massively over the years. Back then, brick-and-mortar casinos housed mechanical slot machines that often had three reels and symbols like bells, shoehorns, and card suits. As technology has evolved, online casinos have offered customers a large variety of digital slot machines, often themed on popular movies, TV shows, and so on.
Sweepstakes casinos also provide customers with a huge range of slots to enjoy, and they’re just as advanced as traditional online casinos.
Megaways Slots
Megaways slots have taken the slot world by storm. Unlike traditional slots with fixed paylines, these slots have dynamic reel systems, and the number of symbols on the reels changes every time they’re spun. This creates a lot of excitement because spins with many symbols can provide large numbers of win lines and, therefore, bigger wins for the player.
These Megaways slots are available at many sweepstakes casinos, showing how similar the playing experience is to that of a regular online casino.
Progressive Jackpots
Progressive jackpot slots have captivated players for a long time because they offer an opportunity to win big. Every time the slot is played, a small portion of the cost to spin is added to a jackpot pool, which can be won at any time. Every time a spin does not trigger the jackpot, it grows even bigger until a player eventually wins it, and the process starts all over again.
Live Dealer Games
Live dealer games have made online casinos more immersive than ever before. As the name suggests, they involve a live stream where users can play games like blackjack and roulette with a real dealer and alongside other players. They often have chat features, so they are enjoyed most by people looking for a more traditional casino experience.
Sweepstakes casinos sometimes offer live dealer games, but it’s worth checking if this is the case before you sign up for an account.
