Lawmakers in various US states are often pushing to legalize online casinos, but it can take a concerted legal effort and a lot of support to pass such bills.
Therefore, as of now, you can only gamble legally on online casinos in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. So while you wait for more states to fall in line, sweepstakes casinos are your best bet to fulfill your casino gaming needs.
Since they follow sweepstakes laws, they’re generally legal in most US states except for Washington, Michigan, Montana, and Idaho. The great news is that finding one that’s operational in your state is super easy, as you’ll learn in this guide.
We’ll also show you the differences between states, how the platforms stay legal, and more, so read on!
Legal Sweepstakes Casinos Across States
Sweepstakes casinos are legal alternatives to traditional online casinos, making them a great option for residents outside of the seven legal iGaming jurisdictions. You’ll find that the vast majority of US states have sweepstakes casinos available to play at, although, to reiterate, there are four main states where even the sweeps format is banned:
- Idaho and Washington have strict sweepstakes laws, meaning that these places are typically off limits for sweeps players. That said, you may find pure social casinos available in Idaho – these are similar to sweepstakes casinos but don’t offer any prize redemptions.
- Then we have Michigan and Montana, which have both cracked down on the sweeps format in recent years. Beginning in 2023, Michigan authorities made it clear they did not want sweepstakes casinos operating within state borders, resulting in most operators leaving of their own accord. Then in Montana in 2025, lawmakers passed a bill effectively banning the format, and it’s expected that law will come into effect on October 1, 2025.
- In addition to this, two states apply purchase and withdrawal restrictions, namely Florida and New York – they cap your single win redemption limits at $5,000.
Outside of these states, you should be able to find a strong selection of sweepstakes casinos elsewhere, which is great news.
We always recommend you go through the terms and conditions of a platform before registering to be 100% sure, but we have plenty of helpful references, like the table below. If you find a casino that doesn’t list your state as restricted in the right-hand column, you should be good to sign up!
| Sweepstakes Casino | Restricted States |
|---|---|
| WOW Vegas | Washington, Nevada, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Connecticut |
| Fortune Coins | Washington, Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, New York |
| Stake.us | Washington, Nevada, Idaho, New York, Kentucky, Michigan, Vermont, Connecticut, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland |
| Pulsz | Alabama, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, Washington, Maryland, West Virginia |
| High 5 | Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, West Virginia |
| McLuck | Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Idaho, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia |
| Vegas Gems | Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Washington |
| Funrize | Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Michigan, Nevada, Connecticut, Delaware, Montana, West Virginia, New York |
| NoLimitCoins | Washington D.C., Idaho, Wyoming, and Michigan |
| TaoFortune | Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Michigan, Nevada, Connecticut, Delaware, Montana, West Virginia, New York |
| Fliff | Washington, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Tennessee |
| Pulsz Bingo | Alabama, Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, Washington, Maryland, West Virginia |
| LuckyBird.io | Michigan, Nevada, Kentucky, Idaho, Washington, Connecticut, Delaware |
| Vegas Coins | Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New York, Tennessee, Washington |
What are Sweepstakes Casinos? Are they Really Legal?
Sweepstakes casinos are legal alternatives to real money casinos that let you enjoy casino-style games like slots, blackjack, and roulette using virtual currencies.
These casinos remain within legal boundaries in the US due to the absence of real money gambling and the no purchase required policy. This means they’re great for players in states where real money gambling isn’t legal.
You can register at a sweepstakes casino and get free Gold Coins (GC) or Sweeps Coins (SC) to play with. Using these virtual currencies, players can enjoy free games and win more coins without the compulsion to make a purchase.
What’s more, winning cash directly at these casinos is impossible. Instead, the online casino allows you to redeem SC for cash prizes. These SC can’t be purchased, as you only get them as a bonus when you buy a GC package or via other promotions. With this, sweepstakes casinos can offer an experience like traditional online casinos while remaining legal.
- SGLA founding member
- 57,500 GC + 27.5 SC for $9.99
- SweepsKings Top Pick for June
- Jackpot network
- iOS and Android apps
- 1,000 slots and live dealer games
- Live casino & 1500+ slots
- 150% welcome offer
- App for Android players
- Free SC on socials
- User-friendly website on all devices
- Low gift card redemption threshold
Find Out if Sweepstakes Casinos Are Legal in Your State
Signing up at a sweepstakes platform without proper research can cause you problems down the line. Therefore, before you pick a platform and register, we recommend you verify its reliability using the tips below:
Visit the homepage and check the registration form
A great way to determine if a sweepstakes casino is legal in your state is to visit it and click the ‘Register’ button – most reliable sweeps casinos will include the list of accepted US states in their registration form. Go through the list, and if you find your state, it means it’s legal there. But if you don’t, we recommend you find an alternative.
Go through the terms and conditions
While this may be a little time-consuming, going through the T&Cs of the sweepstakes casino will provide you with vital information (in fact, it can be a fast process if you use CTRL + F and input your state). In this way, you can verify the states the casino offers its services in. Remember, you are bound to these rules when you sign up.
Read our reviews
Our specialists always perform extensive research to find new sweepstakes casino sites and their legal states. We invest time that you may not have to provide all the info you’ll need on sweeps casinos, including their legality, bonuses, game offerings, and more.
Since we pride ourselves on accuracy, we also ensure the information is updated in case of legal changes so that you are never blindsided. Simply head to our review pages, search for your preferred casino, and check if it’s legal in your state.
How Sweepstakes Casinos Are Legal
You may be wondering how sweepstakes casinos manage to remain legal in the US when online casinos often aren’t. Here are some of the key reasons why the sweeps format succeeds:
No licensing necessary
Sweepstakes casinos don’t need a traditional license because they’re structured to avoid being classed as gambling under US law.
While the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) monitors these platforms to make sure they follow consumer protection rules, like offering no-purchase-necessary access, operators must still consider all the various state laws.
Still, no license is necessary, meaning the industry is growing fast. Therefore, you should be on the lookout for illegitimate sweeps sites, which do exist.
No purchase required
Sweepstakes casinos operate under a legal framework that allows them to offer games without being classified as gambling, mainly by removing the requirement for ‘monetary consideration’. This is why you can play for free at sweeps sites if you choose to – no purchase is necessary. This is perhaps the most important rule that sweepstakes casinos follow to remain legal.
To say it another way, sweeps casinos don’t require you to make any purchases, except if you decide to. Whichever sweeps casino you register at, if they’re legit, you’ll get free Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins so you can enjoy the free online casino games.
No direct prizes
While you can win cash prizes on sweepstakes casinos, you don’t receive them directly like at traditional online casinos.
At sweepstakes casinos, you play casino-style games with Sweeps Coins in promotional mode. You can’t purchase these Sweeps Coins either, as the casino hands them out when you purchase a coin package or as part of bonuses. After playing with SC, you can redeem them for cash prizes, usually after gathering at least 50 or 100.
Operating in this way allows sweeps sites to work around the laws that traditional online casinos are bound by.
KYC checks
To stay legal, a sweepstakes casino must carry out Know Your Customer (KYC) checks; they’re required before players can make a deposit or redeem cash prizes.
Legit sweepstakes casinos like WOW Vegas and Pulsz Casino carry out KYC checks by requesting your ID card, proof of address, and other related documents. This serves many purposes, including keeping players safe, as well as preventing money laundering and fraud.
Responsible gaming policies
It’s possible to develop a gambling problem playing games on sweepstakes platforms, so it’s vital for each site to have proper responsible gaming features in place.
In most cases, you’ll find a section dedicated to teaching players how to play responsibly, including useful features like deposit limits, cool-offs, self-exclusion, and instant account termination. Other times, you’ll find links to helpful third-party organizations that can aid players who are experiencing symptoms of gambling addiction.
Legal & Operational Differences: Social Casinos, Sweepstakes, and Online Casinos
Many beginners struggle with this but it’s important to know the differences between each of the above terms.
- Social Casinos: These are casinos that only allow you to play games for free. Like sweepstakes casinos, they are legal in US states where online gambling is illegal. However, you can only use Gold Coins in free play on these platforms, and you can’t trade these for cash prizes. On the bright side, you can purchase more gold coins when you exhaust the ones you get for free.
- Sweepstakes Casinos: Sweeps casinos share many similarities with social casinos, except that you can play with both Gold and Sweeps Coins, so both free play and promotional play (leading to cash redemptions) are available. Again, you can purchase more Gold Coins when you exhaust the free ones, and most bundles will come with free Sweeps Coins. You can also obtain both currencies in various bonuses too – many players enjoy playing with bonus currency only.
- Online Casinos: These are your regular real money casino sites (AKA iGaming) that let you deposit and gamble with real cash instead of virtual currencies. If you place a bet and win, you get real cash, which you can withdraw and use as you please. However, for now, you can only gamble on these casino sites if you reside in Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.
Conclusion
As you can see, finding a legal sweepstakes casino in your state is pretty straightforward with the help of SweepsKings. Simply pick any of the platforms covered in this guide, then read our reviews or check the T&Cs to confirm that it’s legal in your state.
If the answer is yes, use the link in the review to register and claim your free Gold and Sweeps Coins to enjoy free casino-style games.
If no, just keep searching until you find an option. There are even sweeps casinos that operate in Idaho, like Runewager.
One easy recommendation for you is WOW Vegas, as you can claim 250,000 WOW Coins (equivalent to Gold Coins) + 5 Free Sweeps Coins without a purchase there. This site also has a relatively small list of restricted states, so it’s open to many players!
Author: Sara Miljkovic
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