Sweepstakes casinos are not real money gambling, but they do offer real money prizes through the redemption of the Sweeps Coins currency. These sites often advertise big SC wins to attract players looking for that same kind of fortune, but it’s easy to imagine that they won’t be too happy with players winning consistently large amounts, thereby hindering their profits.
The question is, are they willing to go as far as banning you to prevent you from winning too much?
This is a rather tricky topic, so I’ve done a bit of research on it to see how likely this is, if and when it does happen, and what you can do to prevent or mitigate it.
Why Do Sweepstakes Casinos Usually Ban Players?
Sweepstakes casinos can ban players for any reason they deem fit, honestly. These are privately owned companies anyway, and there are always those nasty clauses in the terms and conditions reminding you that the casino reserves the right to do stuff (limit redemptions, void bonuses, etc.) at its discretion.
However, there’s usually some underlying reason when they ban a player’s account. Here are the main issues that can get you kicked out of these online platforms:
Misusing free bonuses and daily logins
Some players may open multiple accounts on the same platform in order to claim more bonuses. The casino is well within their rights to ban such players. This would be a valid case of bonus abuse, which operators heavily frown upon.
While it hasn’t happened to us at SweepsKings, we’ve heard stories of casinos banning players for abusing free play bonuses and daily logins by claiming them back-to-back while never making a Gold Coin purchase. Punt and Chanced are the regular culprits according to real player reports, but a few other sites are guilty, too.
This is definitely not fair to players, especially since the whole idea of sweepstakes social casino sites is free gaming with no purchase necessary. The SweepsKings team and I would suggest looking elsewhere for your casino entertainment if you ever encounter this.
Flouting the terms of service
The casino’s terms and conditions are the holy grail. Any breach may be cause for a ban unless the casino chooses to show leniency (which they most often don’t). Creating multiple accounts, playing while underage, playing from a restricted state, and more are all examples of breaking the casino’s law, so to speak.
Just keep in mind that casinos have the right to change their terms and often do so without any major announcement, so it doesn’t hurt to double-check now and then or contact support before making a purchase.
Suspicious gameplay patterns
There’s usually no definition of suspicious gameplay patterns or suspicious activity at sweeps casinos. It’s basically anything the casino chooses to label as such, which may include regular big wins.
A fairly common example is if a casual player (who usually plays 1 or 2 SC max) suddenly starts using large spin amounts, say 100 SC or higher, and consistently achieves large wins as a result. The casino can choose to flag this as suspicious gameplay and may ban your account instantly.
Do Sweepstakes Casinos Ever Ban High Winners?
In reality, sweepstakes casinos very rarely ban high winners, and I’ll tell you why. While these sites can technically decide who they want as customers and who they don’t, they’re careful with how they go about it. Just as advertising big wins brings them good publicity and attracts more players, if they become known for banning players who win big, they’ll get a negative stream of publicity. With the cutthroat nature of the market, a bad rep is something sweepstakes brands try to avoid.
What these sites do more often is limit the accounts of high winners. If you’re winning big, it’s usually because you’re using large play amounts. So limiting your max entry to 50 SC or less should reduce how much you win and how much you can ultimately redeem.
However, to ban you, they’d need to find a loophole in the terms and conditions. If there’s any rule you haven’t properly followed, even the littlest one, that becomes the excuse to give you the boot.
How Sweepstakes Casinos Handle Big Wins
Sweepstakes casinos treat big wins differently from regular ones. Having read through the terms and conditions at multiple sites, I’ve found several measures in place:
Extra verification
You may already know that verification is necessary for redeeming Sweeps Coins at sweepstakes casinos. After you verify your account on your first redemption, then you can freely redeem SC winnings in the future.
However, if you win past a certain threshold, additional verification will be required. The casino may go as far as asking for proof of income. You must complete this additional verification process and receive approval before you receive your prizes.
Restrictions on max win
Sweepstakes sites may also provide a limit on how much you can win from jackpots on a single spin. This is mainly common with new sweepstakes casinos that don’t have the financial capacity to pay extremely large sums.
All sweepstakes casinos have a $5,000 max win limit for players in Florida and New York. While this is a state-related restriction, it definitely benefits the casinos, which now have one more reason to limit how much you can win. One real player had a bone to pick with WOW Vegas after receiving only a third of their $15,000 winnings.
Paying jackpot prizes in parts
Some casinos have no fixed max win limits. So technically, if you win a jackpot, no matter how large, they should honor the full amount. However, they make it so that they don’t have to pay all at once, but in installments over a period of time. Depending on the size of the prize, it may take several months before the entire jackpot winnings are credited to your bank account.
How to Protect Your Account If You’re a Frequent Winner
The truth is that it’s very unlikely that you’ll win more than you lose on casino games. Remember, these games have a house edge that ensures the casino always wins in the long run. There are literally zero long-term winners with slot games, and on table games like roulette, you can beat the casino only if you hit a win on your first try and never play again.
When you hear professional players boast of massive returns, the unspoken part is that they’ve spent much more on coin purchases. Unless you’re a jackpot magnet who consistently takes the casino for big wins using small spin values, there’s little chance of sweepstakes sites banning your account for winning too much.
On the off chance that you are indeed a frequent big winner at the casino, you must be cautious about sticking to the terms of service. Follow the casino’s policies, comply with KYC requirements, make sure you’re playing from accepted states, and avoid using VPNs. It’s also important to stick to daily/monthly withdrawal limits. As a for-profit business, the casino WILL be looking for reasons to avoid paying out massive prizes, so don’t give them one.
What to Do If Your Account Gets Restricted or Suspended
The casino won’t tell you they’re banning your account for winning too much, as that’s not a valid reason. So they’ll likely disguise it under the infamous suspicious activity tag. If one day you find your account is blocked, you have two options.
The first is to reach out to customer support. You may be unable to use live chat at this point, so send them an email. Some casinos also have the option to appeal, in which case a third party will review the case and decide if your ban is justified or not. This isn’t a guarantee, though. It’s ultimately up to the casino to let you back in or not.
Most of the time, when a player’s account gets banned, that’s usually the end of it. If the amount of redeemable currency withheld isn’t a lot, it’s best to move on to an alternative site.
Final Thoughts
The takeaway here is that sweepstakes casinos can’t directly ban you for winning too much, as that would come across as shady. Sweepstakes are already under fire in many US states, and now more than ever, they wouldn’t want to fan the flames. But they can find loopholes to prevent you from milking them dry. And when a casino bans your account, you usually will also face similar restrictions at their sister sites.
That said, the idea of winning consistently on casino games is a gambler’s fallacy to begin with. And it’s important to remember this. The chances of winning on slots and even table games get lower the more you play. In my opinion, big wins are more of a reward than they are a risk. Chances are, you won’t ever win consistently enough to be banned. In the rare event that you do get kicked out unjustly and the casino refuses to release the rewards you’ve won, you can contact our team and we can try to mitigate on your behalf.
Author: Alex Windsor
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