Sweepstakes Casino vs Social Casino: What's the Difference?

What is a social casino?

A social casino is a free-to-play game app where every coin is virtual. You get free coins to play, you can usually buy more, and nothing you win can be turned into money.

That makes it plain entertainment, the same as any other mobile game with an in-app store. Coins stay inside the app. There is no cash-out button because there is nothing to cash out.

WinSweeps has a version of this too. The WinSweeps Coins you earn from daily rewards work a lot like social casino coins in one way: they never pay cash. You spend them in the Coin Store and the weekly raffle, and both of those pay Free Play, never money.

How does a sweepstakes platform like WinSweeps work?

A sweepstakes platform lets you play games where winnings can be redeemed, and it offers a free way in that needs no purchase. At WinSweeps your money moves through three balances, in this order:

1. Fund your wallet. Pay with Cash App, Apple Pay or Google Pay ($9.99 to $199.99), a debit or credit card ($10.99 to $199.99) or Chime ($20 to $500). Your wallet is credited automatically once the payment clears.
2. Load a game. Move up to $500 per load from your wallet into one of 12 live games, such as Juwa, Vegas Sweeps or Game Vault. Your first load on the account gets 50% extra, and that bonus goes into the game.
3. Play and check your balance. The Check Balance button reads your live game balance.
4. Redeem. Once your game balance reaches 3x your last load, you can redeem to your cash-out balance, up to 8x that load in total, at least $5 at a time.
5. Cash out. You request a cash-out on the Wallet page, and the WinSweeps team reviews it and pays it to Cash App, PayPal or Chime.

No purchase necessary: a hand-written mail-in request gives $5.00 of free credit with no wager requirement.

The full steps for that request are on the Sweepstakes Rules page, and our guide to no purchase necessary sweepstakes explains why the free route exists at all.

Some sweepstakes sites run on two kinds of coins, one for fun play and one that can be redeemed. WinSweeps keeps it in dollars instead: a wallet, game credits and a cash-out balance, each shown on its own. WinSweeps is open to players 21+ in states where it operates; sweepstakes rules vary by state, and the service is void where prohibited.

How is a real-money online casino different?

A real-money online casino skips the middle steps. You deposit dollars, bet those dollars on each spin or hand, and withdraw whatever is left.

There are no separate game credits, no redeem step and no mail-in entry. Every bet comes straight out of the same balance you deposited into, and every win goes straight back to it. That is simpler on paper, but there is no mail-in entry.

For a closer look at how the money side differs, read sweepstakes vs real-money gambling and WinSweeps vs online casinos.

Which one fits what you want?

Start with what you want out of the session, then pick the model that matches it.

• You only want to play for fun. A social casino does that, and nothing you win or lose is money.
• You want winnings you can redeem, and a free way in. A sweepstakes platform gives you both, with a wallet and a cash-out balance you can see.
• You want to bet in dollars and be paid in dollars directly. That is what a real-money casino is built for.

Whichever you choose, decide your budget before you start and stick to it. With a sweepstakes platform, that budget is simply what you put in your wallet.

FAQ

Is a sweepstakes casino the same as a social casino? No. Social casino coins can never become money, while a sweepstakes platform like WinSweeps lets you redeem game winnings to a cash-out balance and get paid to Cash App, PayPal or Chime.

Can I play at WinSweeps without buying anything? Yes. A hand-written mail-in request gives $5.00 of free credit with no wager requirement, and the Sweepstakes Rules page explains how to send one.

Do WinSweeps Coins work like social casino coins? In one way, yes: they never pay cash. You spend them in the Coin Store and the weekly raffle, which pay Free Play.

Why does WinSweeps have a separate cash-out balance? Redeemed winnings wait there until the team reviews and pays them, so the money you deposited and the money you won never get mixed up.

Who can play at WinSweeps? Players 21 and older in states where WinSweeps operates; sweepstakes rules vary by state, and the service is void where prohibited.

Create your free account and see the three balances for yourself.