When you’re looking to play online casino games, there are two places you can do this: sweepstakes casinos and real money casinos. Back in the day, it was just real money casinos, but post-2020, sweepstakes casinos have joined the party and become a major hit with Gen Z players. And if you’re unsure which type of casino to join, this guide has got you fully covered.

How Are Sweepstakes Casinos Different from Traditional Real Money Casinos?

Sweepstakes casinos are different from real money casinos because they don’t let you bet real money. Instead, players have to use virtual currencies. These are called ‘Gold Coins’ (GC) and ‘Sweeps Coins’ (SC).

• Gold Coins let you play all of the available sweepstakes casino games for free

• Sweeps Coins are valuable and can be redeemed for prizes if you collect enough of them

If you visit the site from experts SweepsGods, you can see there’s now a huge number of sweepstakes casinos to pick from at the moment, with all of them offering you the chance to win prizes by collecting enough Sweeps Coins.

You’ll also find that most sweepstakes casinos are jam-packed with tournaments, leaderboards, chat rooms, and those sorts of things, so it’s very much a gaming-focused experience.

Outside of that, sweepstakes casinos and real money casinos aren’t all that different. Even the games — from slots to roulette — are the same. Really, the only major difference is that you’re playing with virtual coins instead of actual money.

The Best Sweepstakes Casinos and Real Money Casinos

Sweepstakes Casinos	Real Money Casinos
👑 Stake.us	👑 DraftKings
👑 Chumba Casino	👑 BetMGM
👑 LuckyLand Slots	👑 FanDuel
👑 CrownCoins Casino	👑 Caesars Palace Online Casino
👑 WOW Vegas	👑 BetRivers

The online casino market is booming right now, so the internet has flooded with both sweepstakes casinos (200+) and real money casinos (2,000+).

From the sweepstakes side, our top pick is Stake.us, a social casino that brings 1,500 games, rakeback, weekly & monthly bonuses, and even some site-exclusive titles like ‘Stake Poker’.

DraftKings is top of the pile when it comes to real money casinos, having been around since 2012 and offering 1,500+ slots, fast payouts, and regular promos for its users.

Should You Play Inside Sweepstakes Casinos or Real Money Casinos?

Sweepstakes Casinos	Real Money Casinos
✅ Let you play for free	✅ Require real money
✅ Can win gift cards and cash transfers	❌ No prizes available — only real money
✅ Available in 40+ states	❌ Only available in 7 states
✅ Weekly tournaments and prize drops	✅ Sign up bonuses and matched deposits
✅ Available on iOS and Android	✅ Available on iOS or Android

The truth is that sweepstakes casinos and real money casinos are both excellent options for casino game fans.

If you’re a player who doesn’t want to bet real money and would rather play for free, go with sweepstakes casinos.

Alternatively, pick real money casinos if you’re focus is to win actual money

What’s interesting about this, though, is that sweepstakes casinos do actually offer real money cash prizes, so even then they have a slight edge over real money casinos.

For example, if you play inside Chumba Casino — the #1 sweepstakes casino in the eyes of many — and win 100 Sweeps Coins playing on the slot machines, you’d then be able to redeem those coins for a $100 cash transfer to your chosen bank account.

Sure, you don’t win the money directly, but collecting enough Sweeps Coins does open the gates to cash prizes inside sweepstakes casinos, which is why many new-generation players are starting to pick them over traditional casinos, as you’re effectively getting the best of both worlds.

Want to play just for fun? You can. Want to win real-money prizes? Sweepstakes casinos also let you do that. But with real money casinos, you can’t play for free and the only option is, indeed, to bet real money.

Sweepstakes Casinos Are Legal in 40+ States

One of the big reasons why sweepstakes casinos have been able to create a billion-dollar market backed by famous influencers is because they’re legal in 40+ US states, whereas online casinos are only legal in 7.

Essentially, it’s a lot easier to play inside sweepstakes casinos than it is online casinos, which is why the likes of Chumba Casino, Stake.us, and WOW Vegas boast millions of combined players.

Over the past five years, sweepstakes casinos have become extremely popular off the back of this.

If you go on Twitch or Kick, streamers like xQc and Adin Ross regularly stream themselves playing inside sweepstakes casinos, while the legendary rapper Drake even has a reported $100 million-a-year sponsorship deal with the sweepstakes operator Stake.

So long as sweepstakes casinos continue to operate under ‘sweepstakes’ laws (remember, you’re betting virtual coins, not real money) it’ll give them a major edge over real money casinos from a commercial standpoint.

Conclusion

There’s never been a better time in history for online casinos.

Now, players are completely spoiled for choice, with hundreds of different sweepstakes casinos and real money casinos to enjoy.

Obviously, these two types of casinos are different from each other.

Sweepstakes casinos are meant for the free-play prize-winning market, while real money casinos are still reserved for those who prefer traditional gambling.

Whichever you opt to go with, make sure to play responsibly and find the specific casino games you like.