What is a sweepstakes casino, anyway?

Not a specific operator, this one's a plain-language explainer

This isn't a review of a single brand. "Sweepstakes casino" is the category name for the whole space this site covers, so it earns its own page instead of a fake grade.

A sweepstakes casino runs on two currencies. Gold Coins are for fun, they let you spin slots or play table games, but they can't be turned into anything. Sweeps Coins are the ones that matter: you either get them free (through a daily bonus or by mailing in a request, the "no purchase necessary" path every legal operator has to offer) or as a bonus attached to buying Gold Coin packages. Win with Sweeps Coins and you can redeem them for real cash or prizes once you hit the site's minimum.

That two-currency structure is what lets these sites legally operate in most states where real-money online casino games can't. It's not a loophole exactly, it's a different legal category, closer to how a fast food chain can run a sweepstakes giveaway than to a licensed online casino. Our methodology page goes into how we grade individual operators within this category, track record, redemption speed, game library, and state availability.