What are sweepstakes machines?
Sweepstakes slot machines are found, virtually speaking, in the many sweepstakes casinos across the country. These are legal in many of the states where regular real money slots are not available, so are very popular. They are not to be confused with the sweepstakes machines found at physical locations in some states. The slots being discussed in this guide are purely online and can be played for fun as well as for cash prizes.
This situation is possible because the casinos you will find these sweepstakes slot machines in are free-to-play, and use virtual coins instead of real money. These virtual coins are typically called Gold Coins, and this is often shortened to just ‘GC’. A pile of these is given to you as a reward for signing up when you join, and you are usually given more each day you log in. You play with GC, and any winnings or jackpots that come your way via gameplay are also in GC, as this is for enjoyment only.
Sweepstakes slots real money prizes
The reason you can win real money prizes using sweepstakes slot machines is that sweepstakes casinos also use another type of coin. These are called sweepstakes coins, and you will see these called SC for short, although some sweepstakes casinos will brand them according to the name of the casino. For instance, you will find that the sweepstakes coins at Fortune Coins casino are called, as you might expect, Fortune Coins, and the ones at Stake.us have been renamed Stake Cash.
These are played on the same sweepstakes casino slots as you might play with GC, but with some small but important differences. First of all, when you play with SC, you play in a different mode, which might be called ‘premium’ or ‘promotional’ mode. Secondly, any winnings from these coins, once they meet other criteria that will vary between casinos, become redeemable for cash prizes. This might be in the form of a gift card, but more often as an EFT to your bank or e-wallet.
Sweepstake machine table games
Of course, slots are not the only types of games available at a sweepstakes casino. While slots will make up the vast majority of what you will find, it is usually not the entire story. Many social and sweepstakes casinos will have table games like roulette or blackjack available, and some will have video poker as well. Other games like HiLo and Keno are available too, but these can only be found at the very best sweepstakes casinos, typically ones that have their own range of in-house games as well.
How to beat sweepstakes machines
Unfortunately, there is no secret formula for beating sweepstakes slot machines. However, there are some things that you can do to help you get the kind of experience you want and to get more virtual coins of both types and make them go further.
#1 Manage your bank and stake sensibly
These coins might be free, but that doesn’t mean you should burn through them in half an hour - especially if you have no plans on buying packs of coins to keep playing. To make sure the coins you have last that bit longer, you need to plate sensibly only staking minimum amounts, at least until you are happy that you know your way around a slot.
#2 Don’t play emotionally
No matter what the game is, you will get better results if you keep emotion out of it. Keeping playing the same game because you are sure that the next win is just around the corner, or trying to win back earlier losses when you should walk away is a poor strategy, even with virtual coins.
#3 Have a plan (and stick to it)
For that reason, you need to have a plan for what you want from your experience. If it is just having fun then you need to play in a way it stays fun - or, if you are after cash prizes, then working out a strategy to use your SC to maximum effect is a good start. This might be only playing the games you know, or using your GC to learn more about new slots first.
How to win prizes on sweepstakes machines
Much of the appeal for sweepstakes casinos over regular social casinos is the fact that you can use these SC to win cash prizes. This was touched on briefly earlier on, but to know what to expect when you claim a prize you need to look at the process in a little more detail. The important thing to remember here is that you cannot redeem coins as soon as you are given them, whether that be from a welcome bonus or your daily top-up. Even those you get as a free gift when you buy a coin package cannot be exchanged until after you play them.
As mentioned before, these SC can be played on the same sweepstakes slot machines as GC, and the number of times they have to be played can vary from casino to casino. Once those criteria are met, however, they become redeemable. Even then, you can’t just simply exchange them until you meet certain thresholds.
Again, this will vary according to where you are playing, but there are typically two thresholds. The first of these will be when you have SC to the equivalent of around $25, and at this point, you can exchange your SC for a gift card, which will usually be emailed to the email address the casino has on record for you.
Larger balances of SC - like those to the equivalent of $100 and above, are the ones that can be redeemed for cash and transferred to your bank account or another source. This in some cases will be the payment method you might have used if you have purchased any coin packages before.
Where to find the best online sweepstakes gaming machines
Regardless of what you want from sweepstakes slot machines, whether it be just enjoyment or cash prizes, you will have a better experience doing it with a large range of quality slots. There are sweepstakes casinos with literally hundreds of slots, and one of the most popular of these is Stake.us. They have close to 400 slots to play, but before you can access any of them - you will need to register.
This is a straightforward process, but the key thing you need to remember is that when you complete the registration form, you need to claim the bonus offer from sweepstakes casino promo codes. And there's an exclusive one you can unlock using the code PMGSOCIAL. Enter it at the very bottom of the form, next to the box marked ‘code’ which you also need to tick.
$25 No Deposit + 250,000 Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
Close to 400 sweepstakes slot machines at Stake.us
After that, you can access the games on the site which you can play with both your GC and SC. The impressive roster of games available at Stake.us is predominately made up of titles from Pragmatic Play and Hacksaw Games, who are big-name suppliers that have games available at many real money casinos as well. You will also find slots from Kalamba and One Touch, as well as 3 Stake Originals; which as the name suggests, are exclusive to the site.
Stake.us is a very easy site to use and makes finding your way around these easy. They are displayed in simple tile format, where you can sort the games by type and by supplier to find which ones you want to play.
The only issue you might have here is that there are too many quality slots to choose from, and you won't know where to start. You might have some preferences already if you have played slots elsewhere before, but if you are new to sweepstakes slot machines you will need some guidance about what games are on offer.
The most popular slots at Stake.us
One possible starting point is to use the experience of others and find the most popular games at the moment. Luckily this is one of the things you can sort for and currently top of the pile are Sweet Bonanza, Gates of Olympus, Sugar Rush, and The Dog House Megaways from Pragmatic Play, as well as Wanted Dead or a Wild from Hacksaw Gaming.
If these titles seem a little complicated to you, one useful tactic is to use the Gold Coins from your daily reload or one of the many promotions at Stake.us to try them out, This way, you are using easily replaceable coins rather than your Stake Cash, which is slightly harder to come by and you should maybe avoid playing with until you understand all of the ins and outs of the slot.
Our favorite sweepstakes casinos
1.
$25 No Deposit + 250,000 Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
Players from Virginia accepted
2.
30 SCs on 1st Purchase + 4.5 SCs FREE
Players from Virginia accepted
3.
25 SCs extra free on first purchases + 2 SCs FREE to claim
Players from Virginia accepted
4.
$5 No Deposit + 250 GameCoins + 600 Diamonds
Players from Virginia accepted
5.
1,000 ($10) No Deposit Free Coins + 360,000 Gold Coins + $8 FREE Coins
Players from Virginia accepted
Other games at Stake.us that you can play
It is not just the slots at Stake.us that are worthy of your attention, as Stake.us has one of the widest ranges of games you will see at a sweepstakes casino. After all, it is uncommon for any type of online casino player to just be interested in slots, so you are bound to be interested in what else is available.
The first games you are likely to come across are the regular table games. These are just like the ones you may have played before and include roulette, blackjack, and video poker as well as baccarat and HiLo. If you are looking further than that, you will also find live casino options at Stake.us, as it is one of the few sweepstakes casinos to offer this to players. Here you will find roulette, baccarat, and blackjack, and you play over a live feed to dealers where the deal or spin is real, and not generated by an RNG. This is desirable to some players as it provides them with a more authentic casino experience.
Stake originals
However, what might be of most interest to those who like sweepstakes slot machines are some of the titles in the Stake Originals section. While these are technically table games, slots players will be drawn to some of these titles as they are quick to play and have a very high RTP percentage.
These titles include Dice, where you place your stake according to the roll of a 100-sided die, and another where you play based on whether the next card drawn will be higher or lower than the one before. The most eye-catching game here, however, is one based very loosely on the stock market - and you have to decide your ‘cash out’ point before the market crashes and you lose.
How to get sweepstakes casino free spins on slots
To play all of these games at Stake.us or anywhere else, you will need plenty of spins in your bank, and luckily, getting sweepstakes casino free spins is not hard to do. You might reasonably argue that as sweepstakes casinos are free to play, all spins are free. However, what we will cover here looks at how you get more coins without paying for them after you have got your initial welcome bonus.
This is an almost universal feature among sweepstakes casinos and encourages you to log in and play every day. The number of coins you get might be set, incrementally rise, or be decided by the spin of a wheel, but you should get some every day you log in. The balance between GC and SC will differ depending on where you go, so pick a sweepstakes casino that gives you the daily bonus that suits your playing style.
#2 Social media promotions
Sweepstakes casinos are a subset of social casinos, and the social element is stronger in some than in others. You can find daily and weekly promotions on your casino's social media pages, offering GC and SC for liking and sharing posts, as well as larger amounts for winning competitions.
#3 On site promotions and bonus drops
As you have already seen, some slots are specifically tied to promotions, and playing on them improves your position on a leaderboard. This position dictates your share of a prize, as might hitting certain multipliers or other criteria. There are also promotions that involve your overall play, and this can get you entries into a draw for large hauls of coins for more free spins.
This won’t work everywhere as not every sweepstakes casino will have a VIP Club. These typically award points for gameplay, which moves you up through the various tiers of whatever program they happen to have in place. The bonuses here will of course vary, but will involve free handouts of coins at one point or another - be that monthly, weekly, or even daily.
This is another niche technique, and one you might feel is too much effort - but you can get more coins by simply mailing in a request. This needs to be handwritten and satisfy certain criteria set out by the casino, but once approved, your written request should see some more SC added to your account.
Conclusion - how to find and play the best online sweepstakes slot machines
Armed with all of this information, you should have a better idea of what to expect when using sweepstakes slot machines. There are different types available, and what you need to get the best experience possible will be dictated by what your goal is. Playing for fun can mean exploring a wider range of games, or trying to win a prize might mean finding a favorite and sticking with it.
Either way, this guide has pointed you in the direction of a sweepstakes casino that has everything you need. It also shows you ways to make the fun last longer and details the steps you need to follow to potentially win a cash prize.
Don't miss out our page for sweepstakes casinos no deposit bonuses which we keep up to date!
Our favorite sweepstakes casino bonuses
1.
$25 No Deposit + 250,000 Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
Players from Virginia accepted
Requirements (WR): 3x Deposit
2.
30 SCs on 1st Purchase + 4.5 SCs FREE
Players from Virginia accepted
Min. Deposit: 9.99
3.
25 SCs extra free on first purchases + 2 SCs FREE to claim
Players from Virginia accepted
4.
$5 No Deposit + 250 GameCoins + 600 Diamonds
Players from Virginia accepted
5.
1,000 ($10) No Deposit Free Coins + 360,000 Gold Coins + $8 FREE Coins
Players from Virginia accepted
Sweepstakes slot machines FAQ
💡 Which are the best sweepstakes slot machines?
Deciding the ‘best’ of anything is subjective and will be based on personal taste and experience, so what somebody else declared the best might not be right for you. By reading our latest report, you will see where to find some of the best games, so you can find your own favorite there.
💭 Can you win prizes using sweepstakes slot machines?
There is plenty of confusion about how sweepstakes casinos work, and what you can win while playing them. Our latest guide covers the process of playing sweepstakes slots, so you know what to expect and if you can win a cash prize.
🎈 Are sweepstakes slot machines legit?
With the chance to win prizes, and the games being free to play, some people doubt sweepstakes slots are legit. It is not a simple question to answer, but our recent report has all of the details you need.
💸 How do you beat sweepstakes slot machines?
Many people will tell you that trying to beat sweepstakes slots is not possible, and others will tell you it is easy to do. To help clear things up, in our latest report, we look at this question in some depth and report back on our findings.
🙋 Who has the biggest range of sweepstakes slot machines?
When it comes to sweepstakes slots, many casinos compete to have the most. You also need to look at quality as well as quantity, however, in our latest report, we look at all of these factors and tell you the best place to play sweepstakes slots, whether it be just for fun or to win a cash prize.
