We break down how the sweepstakes model keeps these platforms legal in most states, and where restrictions currently apply.
Social casinos don't take real-money bets. Instead, most operate on a dual-currency sweepstakes model: Gold Coins, which are for entertainment only and can never be redeemed for cash, and Sweeps Coins, which can be won for free through an "additional method of entry" and later redeemed for cash prizes. Because no purchase is required to obtain Sweeps Coins, these platforms are generally treated as promotional sweepstakes rather than gambling under most states' laws, similar in principle to a fast-food restaurant's mail-in sweepstakes.
Not every state treats the model the same way. As of this update, sweepstakes-style social casinos cannot legally operate in an estimated 14 states. Some, including California, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma and Tennessee, have passed explicit statutes banning the model. Others, including Idaho, Michigan and Washington, restrict it by enforcing existing gambling law against sweepstakes operators rather than through a dedicated statute.
Real-money online casinos are a separate category, legal in only a small number of states such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Connecticut and West Virginia, and are regulated entirely differently from the sweepstakes model this guide covers. If you're comparing the two, our Responsible Play page explains how the Gold Coin and Sweeps Coin model actually works.
See our full casino comparisons, or learn how redemptions work once you've won Sweeps Coins.