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Social casinos are all the rage if you’re into free online gameplay with the chance to win real money prizes. But what exactly are they and how do you find the best of the best with hundreds of sites around?
In this guide, we will walk you through the basics of social casino sites. You’ll even discover a list of today’s hottest social casinos based on popular features that real players are searching for. Which site is the best for bonuses? Prizes? Games? The list goes on. Find the top social casinos based on what matters most to you!
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If you already have a decent understanding of what the social casino hype is all about, it’s time to start discovering which sites we actually like. Here’s our full social casino list of sites that are giving real money casinos a run for their money in the US. Read up on any of our social casino reviews to find out how they keep attracting more and more new players! Now, if you’re not familiar, don’t worry. We’ll cover all the basics of social casinos later in this complete guide. So keep reading on!
20 is a big list to choose from, we know, and finding the “best” is honestly 100% subjective. But that’s why we’ve taken the time to sort our list by major categories. We’ll list our top 3 social casinos for each one!
Everybody is searching for the biggest, baddest and free-est social casino bonuses out there. However, not all social casino bonuses are the same, that’s for sure. Many even seem to offer a lot of free GC and SC upon sign-up, but you later realize that purchases are involved.
Pro tip: 2-coin type offers are better than one, and they should be 100% free.
You get an ample amount of Gold Coins for plenty of free spins. You also get a nice sum of Stake Cash, which you can play with to start working towards some awesome crypto prizes. But what really stands out is the 5% rakeback offer, which means you’re getting coins back every time you play. That’s a great long-term feature you won’t find at many other social casinos.
For starters, you get an automatic 75,000 Tournament Coins (your GC) just for signing up, followed by another 10,000 TC when you verify your email. Then you get a free daily spin on the Funrize Wheel. This means you can get up to 220,000 TC and up to 400 Promotional Entries (your SC). It’s still not over! Complete your profile and verify your phone number, and get 40,000 TC and another free go at the Wheel. That means you’re getting at minimum 125k TC, plus the chance to win up to 800 PE free with your free Funrize Wheel spins!
We put High5 Casino on our list because it’s not everyday you come across a social casino that offers not one, not two, but three social currencies. All three come nicely packaged as a welcome treat when you first sign up. The amount of GC and SC might pale in comparison to sites like Stake.us or GHG, but 600 Diamonds is a unique perk.
What do they do exactly? They act as game superchargers, which means you’ll be amplifying the amount of GC/SC you win when you play with them. That can quickly add up if you play them right.
Beyond the first welcome bonus, social casinos are using daily login bonuses as easy incentives for players to keep coming back to their sites — and it’s working. They’re perfect for fueling daily gameplay, or just to collect to save up to use on a rainy day.
Pro tip: Search for indefinite login bonuses and consecutive login bonuses that increase every day.
As far as consecutive daily login bonuses go, Fortune Coins does it right. The first time you login, you get 300,000 GC and 100 FC. By day two that jumps to 350,000 GC and 110 FC, and by day three you’re landing 444,444 GC and 120 FC. That’s a pretty competitive free package for just 3 days of being on the site!
Why claim daily login bonuses when you can get hourly bonuses? That’s exactly the approach BetRivers has gone with, offering VC$20 every 4 hours you’re on the site. The beauty of a daily login bonus like this is that it doesn’t really matter when you come online. 24 hour daily login bonuses tend to reset after you claim them. But if you have a bonus every 4 hours, you’re getting free credits even faster!
Stake.us aims to compete in a modest, yet sustainable way. 10,000 GC and 1 SC might seem pale next to the Fortune Coins 3-day consecutive daily login offer, but let’s remind you that it lasts indefinitely. After just 30 days, that stacks up to 300,000 GC and 30 SC, so imagine how much you’d get if you truly become a long-term player.
If you’re a truly dedicated sweeps player, at some point you’ll probably be interested in making a real purchase. Yes, there will always be tons of free GC and SC around, but sometimes players simply want to get a jumpstart towards a prize, and GC purchases are key to doing so.
Pro tip: Take advantage of first-purchase offers. Choose packages that offer free SC.
WOW Vegas blows other social casinos out of the water simply based on how many GC package options there are to choose from. We counted over 20! The selection will accommodate ALL budgets. Plus, the vast majority will throw in free SC too.
Watch out for sites that hand out special first-purchase offers too, like Golden Heart Games. Apart from their regular deals starting as low as $5, when we signed up, they had a special for $9.99 which would get you a whopping 1,750,000 GC and 12,500 SC!
At some sites, you’ll notice that the Lucky Coin (their GC) packages never change. That’s not the case at Sweeptastic. Here you’ll find new purchase promotions streaming in, from 2-time offers and welcome offers to Deals of the Day and Lucky 105s. So keep your eye out for value deals, which often come with a handsome amount of SC free!
Many players love sweeps casinos precisely because they get the chance to exchange their SC for awesome cash prizes and other fun rewards, like gift cards, tickets, or merchandise. However, the rules vary between all social casinos.
Pro tip: The lower the SC playthrough requirement the better; the minimum redemption amount and the exchange rate matter too.
Top 3 Social Casinos | Playthrough Requirement | Minimum Redemption | Exchange Rate |
---|---|---|---|
🥇Hello Millions | 1x | 10 SC for gift cards; 75 SC for cash prizes | 1 SC = USD 1 |
🥈Pulsz | 1x | 10 SC for gift cards; 100 SC for cash prizes | 1 SC = USD 1 |
🥉WOW Vegas | 1x | 25 SC for gift cards; 100 SC for cash prizes | 1 SC = USD 1 |
To give you a better idea of how our top 3 choices’ redemption rules compare to other sites’, consider the following:
The lowest and average playthrough requirement for Sweeps Coins is 1x, but we’ve seen sites with higher ones (e.g. Stake.us’ is 3x, Fortune Coins’ is 2x, Sweeptastic’s is 5x…Moonspin’s is 35x!).
The average minimum redemption amount for prizes usually starts at 100 SC.
The standard exchange rate is typically 1 SC to 1 USD, but it always depends (e.g. Fortune Coins: 100 FC = $1; Golden Hearts Games: 500 SC = $1; Stake.us: varies by cryptocurrency)
Players who stick around on a social casino site usually get rewarded. After all, the best social casinos need a loyal fanbase to stay afloat.
Pro tip: Some loyalty programs are free to enter; others might require purchases to qualify.
WOW Vegas’ Star System VIP program is great in the sense that you’re automatically enrolled. Rewards start instantly too. Many social casino loyalty programs make you earn your way to level 1. Here, you are a Rising Star from the beginning. This comes with special privileges like a monthly bonus and a daily login reward. When you do finally level up, the upgrade in rewards is evident. You get bigger logins, purchase extras, access to the community chat, priority customer support, faster 1-day redemptions, and more.
The final touch? WOW Vegas offers VIP Transfer Service. This means if you’re coming from another site and already have accumulated a high loyalty status, they’ll respect that status on their site.
The Players’ Club is Sweeptastic’s loyalty club, consisting of 22 different levels. It’s free to join, and you can level up both through regular gameplay and through making optional Lucky Coin purchases. Each level has unique challenges with tangible goals. You collect status points as you play, which you’ll even get to show off to others! The main rewards here are Lucky Coins and Sweeps Coins, but you’ll also see the occasional surprise offer.
The Stake.us VIP program is like Sweeptastic’s Players’ Club due to the sheer amount of levels involved. You’re automatically enrolled, but you’ll have to make your way to the first Bronze tier. But when you do, you’ll get tons of benefits such as weekly and monthly bonuses, extra boosts, level up bonuses, rakebacks and so forth. It’s easy to track your VIP status and see how far the next level up is. This isn’t often clear on other sites. Finally, it doesn’t matter if you’re winning or losing as a Stake VIP member. You can still expect bonuses, but just a bit more if you’re on a bad streak!
It’s not much of a shocker these days that some online gamers prefer to make purchases or receive prizes in cryptocurrency rather than in standard FIAT currencies.
Pro tip: Cryptocurrency social casinos don’t usually charge fees; the best ones offer a mix of crypto and FIAT options.
Stake.us is naturally one of the first social casinos that come to mind. It offers over 20 different crypto payment options including: BTC, ETH, LTC, USDT, DOGE, BCH, XRP, EOS, TRX, BNB, USDC, etc. For those who love the site but don’t actively use crypto, the good news is that traditional card methods are slowly phasing in.
We like Sweeptastic because it has a great selection of payment options that will have your bases covered no matter what preferences you have. On the crypto side, you’ve go BTC, ETH, LTC, USDT, and USDC. On the FIAT side you’ve got everything from Visa, Master and AMEX to all the US banks you can think of.
Vegas Gems is one of those hybrid options, offering classic Mastercard and Visa card options, but also seven different cryptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, USDT (TRC20) USDT (EDR20). You should expect fees with card, but with crypto, rest assured no additional fees are attached.
Let’s face it: A social casino can have a great site, excellent terms and conditions, and even a cool app. But if it doesn’t actually offer quality slots and other casino-style games, who’s going to stick around for the long run?
Pro tip: Quantity is not always an indicator of quality. Game software providers matter, and so does game variety.
Stake.us offers over 800+ games which is on the much higher end of the scale. You quickly discover that those games are backed by many BIG names in the gaming world. We’re talking Pragmatic Play, Hacksaw Gaming, Bgaming, Slotmill, EvoPlay..and even Stake.us Originals. What kind of games will you find? Everything you can think of! Slots, table games, live dealer, scratch cards, etc. Trust us when we say you won’t get bored easily here.
Quantity is not everything, but High5’s rather large game collection will certainly detract from other social casino’s with smaller libraries. The game portfolio is stocked from a diverse range of providers. You’ll find big names, including the ones we mentioned at Stake.us, but also smaller less known ones like G Games and Thunderkick. You’ll find your classic table and live dealer games here too. There’s even a substantial collection of exclusive titles.
McLuck holds up well in terms of software providers and even a more modest collection of some 700+ slots. It even has a handful of live casino games to show that its adapting to more than just slots lovers. However, what catches our eye most are the special game features at this site. We’re talking about games like Slingo (a mix of slots and bingo), unlimited play versions for those looking to practice before they spend their own virtual credits, and a sizeable stash of Jackpot Play games.
As we mentioned before, mobile gaming is huge, yet surprisingly, not all social casinos have apps to match their desktop sites the same way you’d find the best betting apps for real casinos or US online sportsbooks. Still, that doesn’t mean social casino apps are necessary to provide an incredible mobile gaming experience, given how most sites are built to adapt to any screen size.
Pro tip: Only use official brand apps. Sometimes you’ll notice that the top social casino apps don’t match up to the actual official brand name. When in doubt, check the main website for app details or ask customer service.
Top 3 Social Casino Apps | Available on iOS? | Available on Android? | Overall User Rating |
---|---|---|---|
Pulsz | ✅ | ✅ | 4+/5 stars overall |
High5 Casino | ✅ (called High 5 Casino Vegas Slots) | ✅ (called High 5 Casino: Real Slot Games) | 4+/5 stars overall |
McLuck | ✅ (called McLuck Casino: Jackpot Slots) | ✅ (called McLuck Casino: Jackpot Slots) | 4+/5 stars overall |
Not all apps are created equal, and the quality may vary depending on which type of mobile device you are using. Some sites (like Vegas Gems) have web apps that you can download from their desktop site. Some social casino sites are only adapted for mobile players. So don’t get deterred if you’re struggling to find the best social casino apps. Sometimes they simply don’t always exist.
New social casinos have the advantage of drawing more attention to themselves from online players because they can see which current social casino sites are doing well and how they could potentially offer an even better gaming experience.
Pro tip: Newer sites tend to have the most modern features available, such as live chat, unique payment methods, active social media accounts, etc. As newer sites, expect smaller game libraries that are still growing.
Sportzino tops our list for the best new social casino because of how dynamic the site is. They’ve got all their bases covered with active accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and Reddit. They even have their own blog. You’ll find a growing collection of around 450 games, backed by over 20 different software providers. They also have Sportzino Originals. They’ve got a VIP program, daily login bonuses, refer-a-friend, and weekly events too.
We haven’t even gotten to the good part, which is that they offer both casino-style gaming AND social sports betting. This means you’ll get to experience it all, whether you love spinning slots or placing virtual bets on your favorite sports teams, or both!
Hello Millions probably has one of the most modern social casino interfaces around. The whole site looks like an online comic book, which is breath of fresh air compared to older sites with outdated looks. You’ll get a simple-to-navigate layout that makes it super easy to find everything you need. It’s got a big presence on social media like Sportzino with tons of promotions.
And, as you may have caught earlier, it has one of the best minimum redemption limits for prizes. It starts at just 10 SC for gift cards and 75 SC for cash prizes, the latter of which is setting a new low standard. Don’t forget to use PLAYERSBEST to unlock a special welcome bonus when you sign up!
If you’ve signed up here, you’re probably not impressed with the site itself. It’s not that cool. The graphics feel outdated. However, the site is actually rather functional. Everything works as it should, the font and images are clear. And we actually like how the designers opted to hide all main site sections in the hamburger menu. Why? It keeps the purpose of the site — free gameplay — at the forefront.
With that said, for a new social casino, Zula Casino has an excellent starting game library with over 700 slots. The games come from 25+ providers, which is by far the most we’ve seen. There’s even Zula Casino Homemade titles. You’ll find a nice mix of everything: table games, exclusives, scratch cards, jackpot games, instant games, crash games, etc. The only category missing is live casino. But with new games being added regularly, we wouldn’t be surprised to see that in the future.
Imagine a world where you could play typical casino-style slots, table games, and poker, all risk-free. Now imagine that you don’t have to pay a single cent and even so, that you could walk away from a social casino with real money prizes. Sound too good to be true?
Well, you can stop daydreaming because it’s real! Social casinos provide a safe and legit environment where you can engage in free online casino-style gameplay that offers you a virtual experience of all the casino fun and action, all for free.
Despite the fact that social casinos give players the chance to get their hands on real money prizes, at the end of the day, they are not legally considered real money casinos. You see, the gameplay at real money casinos involve just that – real money.
At social casinos, you will find no such thing as part of the gameplay experience itself. Instead, you get to play with virtual currencies, often called Gold Coins (GC) and Sweeps Coins (SC). Neither of these currencies are actually worth anything at all, so it’s not like you’re investing real money to play as you would at a real casino.
Think of a social casino more like a classic arcade gaming center. You get to play games with special tokens, and later you get to exchange your tokens for real prizes.
If we’re getting technical, social casinos and sweepstakes casinos are actually two different types of casinos you’ll find online. Nowadays, the two terms are basically used interchangeable. Still, it’s nice to know what sets them apart.
At its core, a social casino has a huge emphasis on free social gameplay. Think of special features that foster some sort of online gaming community where you can play with friends, family, or other online gamers in general. There may be fun social elements like tournaments, matches, and leaderboards.
You see, contrary to popular belief, gambling is not always just about financial reward; the best online social casinos across the USA provide a fantastic social experience that will let you create new friends, form fun memories, and claim bragging rights by winning Friday night’s weekly blackjack night!
Sweepstakes casinos, or sweeps casinos, follow a similar pattern to social casinos; they also involve free gameplay but the main difference is that they also happen to have the unique incentive of letting players claim real prizes with their credits. This may include money, merchandise, tickets, gift cards, etc., via a prize redemption system. These days, most sweeps sites are a blend of both social and sweepstakes casinos.
You can most definitely walk away with real money prizes at social casinos but how you do it is entirely different from what you would expect at a traditional casino. Let’s break it down simply:
Traditional Real Money Casinos | Social/Sweepstakes Casinos | |
---|---|---|
How to get real money prizes | Use real money to play games and win real money | Use free virtual tokens to play games and win more virtual tokens; exchange eligible tokens for prizes such as real money, gift cards, etc. |
Real money (e.g. USD) involved? | Yes | No; tokens are not real money. Sweeps Coins and Gold Coins are not USD. |
Financial risk involved? | Yes | No; you can always get game tokens for free. |
If you’ve ever wanted to experience online casino gambling yourself, you’re pretty much out of luck if you’re based in the US. We’re not saying that it’s impossible to find traditional online casinos here entirely, but overall, real online casinos are still largely unavailable. This is due to strict state-by-state regulations. So, for instance, if you are looking for online casino offers, you’ll more than likely end up looking at social casino offers.
So why are social sweeps casinos so popular in the US? This is because social and sweeps casinos offer US residents the chance to engage in casino-style gameplay online under a special system called the “sweepstakes model.” Playing with free virtual tokens is not classified the same as gambling with real money, as we explained earlier. That makes social casinos completely legit alternatives to standard casinos.
As with all of our online casino reviews, security and legitimacy will always be at the heart of all we at PlayersBest aim to provide our readers. If a site isn’t secure – it will not be featured!
Of course, our approach to security and safety differs between online casinos and social casinos, or any other type of gambling-related activity. Just as our sports betting site reviews have their own specific criteria, with an online casino, we need to consider different state laws and regulations. Now with a social casino, we mainly review that they follow state regulations. We also check if they have secure sites with protected user data and reputable payment methods.
There are generally 2 groups of people you’ll find signing up at social casino sites:
Like we said before, real online casinos are not that common in the US, and social casinos are the perfect way to get a full experience hitting the virtual slots and tables. Users can still enjoy the thrill of winning, the dazzling lights and sounds of the slots, and the fantastic bonuses and promotions. The tournaments and table chat rooms are a great way for users to socialize with other players. Plus, the ability to create your own social hub with friends and families makes things extra interactive.
Some players based in the US might have already played at real online casinos or in-person casinos. It might even be a cultural norm for those who originally come from countries where gambling has deep historical roots. Until regulations change, social casinos are their chances to relive the excitement, but in an even safer and controlled way.
It depends on who you ask, but aside from the distinct use of virtual currencies and prize redemptions, we’d say that best online social casino sites the USA hold up pretty decently well next to actual online casinos for several reasons:
Regardless of your online casino, whether based on free play or real money, it should be 100% user-friendly. Most social casinos now have a simple sign-up process that takes a few minutes. Some even allow you to join via social media accounts, like Google or Facebook. The best social casinos will simply let you choose from multiple options.
Next would be a practical site layout. This means a site that is easy to find exactly the games your looking for, as well as basic features like your account, the store, prize redemptions, etc.
Desktop-based platforms are standard, but nowadays, most players are looking to play on the go on their smartphones. You find yourself a social casino that has an app or at the very least a mobile-supported browser version. Most sweeps sites will support mobile gaming; in fact, some sites purely cater to mobile players.
To be the best social casino in the USA, you need to have quality games, period. New casinos are working with top studios that already make games for real casinos. Expect several games to be near exact replicas of those online slots you would find in legitimate online or retail casinos, with vibrant displays, gameplay features, and similar RTPs.
The top social casinos also offer a range of the best casino social slots, as well as new releases. If they’re really on top of things, they provide variations of classic table games such as roulette, blackjack, and Texas Hold’em.
You obviously won’t find friendly face-to-face support like you would at an in-person casino, but knowing that there’s help if you do not receive a bonus or if purchase fails offers great peace of mind. Most of the top social casinos will provide their customers with FAQs and help centers. Many even have a comprehensive customer support team that are accessible via email, phone, or live chat.
The best social casinos provide quite competitive bonuses, free spins, and VIP programs that look very similar to those at real money gambling establishments. VIP programs come in handy too, offering some great perks to committed players, such as specialist customer support, personalized bonuses, and the ability to trial new games before other members.
These incentives play important roles in helping players accumulate and play through enough Sweeps Coins to exchange later for popular prizes. Plus, social casino bonuses are significantly less restrictive than traditional online casino bonuses. The playthrough requirements at social casinos are much easier to meet, for instance. They are often just a fraction of the wagering requirements at real casinos.
Check out these huge offers from some of the most popular social casinos around:
Finding a social casino that ticks most of your boxes will ensure your online casino experience remains happy, healthy, and enjoyable. Here’s a list of questions to consider to help you find a social casino that appeals to all of your prerequisite needs.
Before signing up for the first social casino online, consider where you plan to do your gaming. If you are a desktop user, you’ll have endless options. However, if you are looking for some risk-free casino action on the go, you may need to look a little harder to discover a casino that offers an app or mobile browser function.
Not all online social casinos offer extensive social features on their sites. However, knowing when your friends will be playing could add to your overall social casino experience. Online chat facilities like live chats, blogs and forums are built into the best social casinos across the US, allowing for easy communication with others online.
The beauty of social casinos is the ability to learn on the job. You will often find the best social casinos USA will provide you with walkthroughs, FAQs, and guides to help you out, and in the best situations, a competent support team to answer your final doubts.
There are many reasons why people sign up at social casinos. You might be preparing to play at real casinos, simply killing time, or playing purely for the cash prizes. Whatever it is, figure out what your true motives are. That will quickly help decide which social casinos are right for you.
Signing up at a social casino is usually straightforward. You’ll follow a quick series of steps, like inputting your basic personal details, creating a password, and ticking some standard boxes to agree to the site’s T&Cs and Privacy Policy. And then you’ll probably get a verification email.
Here are a few do’s and don’t’s when signing up:
As our live social casino guide draws to its conclusion, we wanted to leave you with a few key takeaways.
Firstly, remember that social casinos are NOT real money casinos. They are all 100% free to play and will never require you to spend your actual money to enjoy their games.
Second, every social casino is unique and stands out amongst the rest for particular reasons. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a site that checks every single box on your list. Try to decide what aspects really matter to you as a player.
Finally, keep it social and fun! We know being an online social casino with real money prizes is awesome, but at the end of the day, online gaming is not always just about money. Invite your friends, create new ones, join in tournaments, and enjoy an online casino experience that is truly engaging and dynamic!
Not like in real money casinos. Social casino platforms generally offer players ‘free to play’ entertainment. However, there is a way to redeem your Sweeps Coins (or equivalent) for cash rewards. You play with credits to win credits, and that’s what can be exchanged for real money social casino prizes. Scroll up for our top choices for the best online social casino with easy real money redemption rules.
There are numerous types of social casino games available at the best social casino sites. This includes slots, table games, live casino, slingo, jackpot games, scratch cards, etc. Though, the most prominent game category will most definitely be slots.
Yes! These days, most social casinos offer tons of different free bonuses for new and existing customers. Leaf through our site to read up on current social casino bonuses, and make sure to use our free social casino promo codes when we offer them!
Not exactly. A social casino refers to a free-to-play gaming site that has social gaming features. Think player chats, leaderboards, races, etc. A sweepstakes casino is a free-to-play site that lets you exchange virtual credits for real prizes, like cash rewards. Basically, it’s a social casino online with real money incentives. Fortunately, social and sweeps casino sites in the US tend to merge both aspects, which is why people use the terms so often interchangeably.
The best social casino in the US largely depends on what you’re looking for. That’s why we’ve reviewed over 20 sites and picked out a few that are ideal for specific reasons! Read our full list guide to sort through our favorites!
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