There has long been an issue in the United States for people wanting to play online casino games. However, the sweepstake model has been introduced to the country by clever iGaming operators and sweepstake casinos are proving to be a big hit.
The Problem with Online Casinos
Before we take a closer look at the sweepstake casino model, it is important to consider why the model has been created.
In the United States, there are only six states where it is possible to play online casino games and win real money. People in West Virginia, Delaware, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey are lucky because they have access to traditional online casinos and can enjoy playing a wide range of games. For everyone else in the US, this is a problem because they have no access to real money online casino games. That means there are millions of people who are looking for a way to gamble online without having to risk using illegal casinos. The potential answer to this problem lies with sweepstake casinos.
What are Sweepstake Casinos?
Online sweepstake casinos offer games that are played using virtual currency. They do not allow any games to be played using real money and that is how they can offer their services in states where real money casinos are illegal. However, it is still possible to win real money when playing games at sweepstake casinos because sweeps coins can be redeemed for real cash prizes.
Sweeps coins cannot be purchased at sweepstake casinos and are awarded as a bonus when joining or when buying gold coins. The gold coins are awarded for free when signing up at a sweepstake casino, of which there are now many, and you can see the full list of operators here. Gold coins hold no real-world value and can only be used to play games at sweepstake casinos for fun. However, it is possible to purchase gold coins at sweepstake casinos and when doing so, you can be awarded sweeps coins.
The Loophole
It quickly becomes clear, when learning more about sweepstake casinos, how clever iGaming operators are exploiting the model. In all but six states in the US, online casino gaming for real money is illegal but there is nothing stopping people from playing online casino games using virtual currency. Sweepstake casino operators are clever because they have introduced two forms of virtual currency, neither of which has any real-world value, but one can be redeemed for real cash prizes. They work in a similar vein to traditional sweepstake model which has been available in the US for many years.
So, it is possible for players outside of West Virginia, Delaware, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New Jersey to play online casino games legally and have a chance to win some real money. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, it is illegal to play sweepstake casino games in the State of Washington.
Quality Games
Such is the continued rise in the popularity of sweepstake casinos, the best online casino game developers have started producing games for sweepstake casinos. Pragmatic Play and NetEnt are two examples of top casino game producers who have started creating games for sweepstake casinos. These companies would not be wasting money and time making games for sweepstake casinos if they did not think they were going to be successful in the long term. In addition to games from the leading developers, sweepstake casinos create their own games and they are fantastic. Before the outside developers started making games for sweepstake casinos, they had no choice but to make their own.
The pressure was on to ensure the casino games were good enough to keep players coming back for more and they delivered, with sweepstake casinos creating some high-quality exclusive games. The fact that many of the games are exclusive to sweepstake casinos is another draw for players.
So, online operators are being extremely clever by adopting the sweepstake casino model. There are millions of people in the United States who want to play online casino games with the chance of winning money and sweepstake casinos provide that service. It will be interesting to see how the regulations adapt to sweepstake casinos in the future. Will states pass new laws governing sweepstake casinos or will they be able to continue as they are today?
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