Sweepstakes Casinos with the Best Responsible Gaming Tools

As sweepstakes casinos don’t provide gambling, they aren’t bound by the same rules that apply to online casinos in terms of responsible play and protecting players from potentially harmful behavior.

Despite the lack of legal obligation, many sweepstakes casinos operate ethically and offer various responsible gaming tools, including purchase limits and self-exclusion.

Introduction to Responsible Gaming at Social & Sweepstakes Casinos

Currently, sweepstakes casinos still lag behind online casinos in the responsible gaming department. As Howard Glaser points out, no sweepstakes casinos provide gambling helpline numbers, and we’ve never heard of them conducting welfare checks on players.

However, based on our experience, the accusation that sweepstakes casinos offer an unsafe gaming experience is unfounded and is largely coming from jealous online casino operators and software providers.

The sweepstakes casino industry is still in its infancy, but operators have made a conscious effort to enhance their responsible gaming tools. It wasn’t that long ago that Gold Coin purchase limits, which are now available at virtually all sites, were rare. Based on current trends, sweepstakes and online casinos will have very similar responsible gaming policies within a few years. The establishment of bodies like the Social and Promotional Games Association is another step towards the right direction.

To prove the haters wrong and showcase the sites that are doing things correctly, we’ve decided to explore sweepstakes casinos with the best responsible gaming tools. We know a thing or two about this subject because responsible gaming is one of the key criteria we look at when assessing a sweepstakes casino.

Which Sweepstakes Casinos Provide the Best Responsible Gaming Tools?

After reviewing over 100 sweepstakes casinos, we are happy to reveal that these sites are taking responsible gaming seriously and using a mixture of tools to keep players safe.

Stake.us: Take a Break, Self-Exclusion & Resources

As an operator of the world’s largest crypto online casino, it’s no surprise that the team has migrated many of its responsible tools over to its sweepstakes casino. Stake.us has a Break in Play responsible gaming tool that allows you to take a hiatus for between 24 hours and 3 months. During this period, you won’t be able to play or claim bonuses, but you can still redeem cash prizes.

If you want to take a longer break, there is also a self-exclusion tool, allowing you to self-ban for 6 months, 1 year, or permanently. Stake.us is one of the few sweepstakes casinos that links to a problem gaming site (Gamingaddictsanonymous.org). Also, if you need additional help, Stake.us’ customer support agents will provide you with phone numbers, resources, and organizations that offer free counseling.

The other thing we like about Stake.us is that you can turn on the responsible gaming tools from within your account. Many sweepstakes casinos force you to send a request via email, and it may take hours or even days to enable the tools.

Fortune Coins: Detailed RSG Policies & Purchase Limits

Fortune Coins has one of the most detailed responsible gaming policies we’ve come across. Like Stake.us, it offers many of the same tools, including self-exclusion and time-out. Fortune Coins features a helpful questionnaire that will help you determine if you have gaming issues and should stop playing. Some of the questions include:

• Does social gaming keep you from performing necessary tasks, such as work or school?
• Do you ever lie about or hide your social gaming habits?
• Do you lose sleep over social gaming?

You’ll also find a whole section with tips on how to get the most out of Fortune Coins and enjoy the sweepstakes casino responsibly. For example, Fortune Coins recommends you set limits on the amount you spend on Gold Coins and always treat the games as entertainment.

This sweepstakes casino has a highly responsive customer support team available 24/7. They’ve been trained in Fortune Coins’ responsible gaming protocol and are always willing to help guide you through it.

High 5: GC Purchase Limits, Reality Checks & Self-Exclusion

As an iGaming software provider who’s been around since the 90s, we expected High 5 Casino to promote responsible social gameplay and weren’t disappointed.

High 5 Casino is in a league of its own when it comes to Gold Coins purchase limits. It’s possible to set any spending limit for different periods, including 24 hours, 7 days, and 30 days, making it easy to budget your play.

High 5 Casino offers another impressive responsible gaming tool you won’t find at many competitors: reality checks. With this feature, reminders will pop up on your screen every 1, 2, or 3 hours and suggest you take a break. These notifications will prevent you from getting too wrapped up in your slot session!

We also appreciate High 5 Casino’s airtight self-exclusion policy. The self-exclusion is irreversible, and during this period, you’ll be unable to access your account in any capacity and won’t receive any marketing materials from High 5 Casino.

WOW Vegas: Spending Limits, Time-Out & Self-Exclusion

WOW Vegas is known for some of the strictest geo-fencing of all sweepstakes casinos. Its software will quickly sniff out where you are, and if it even slightly suspects you’re using a VPN, you will be blocked.

Similarly to High 5 Casino, WOW Vegas allows you to set daily, weekly, and monthly spending limits. We recommend you always enable this responsible gaming tool just in case you ever decide to go off the rails. You’ll also find self-exclusion and time-out tools.

Another nice touch WOW Vegas offers is the ability to self-exclude even if you don’t have an account. All you need to do is shoot customer support an email, and they’ll add you to their blacklist. This responsible social gameplay function stops you from getting around your self-exclusion at another sweepstakes casino.

Zula: Support Links, Helpful Information, Time-Out & More

Zula Casino has one of the strictest account verification processes, and we’re all for it. Prior to making your first redemption, you must take a picture of your ID, a recent bank statement, and a document showing proof of address and snap a selfie. Zula Casino has made it very clear that underage gaming and players from banned states are not tolerated.

Apart from conducting serious KYC checks, Zula Casino is home to an extensive responsible gaming section, where you’ll find information about and links to free problem gaming organizations, such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Helpline and Gaming Addicts Anonymous.

There are also your standard responsible gaming tools like self-exclusion and account time-out. And if you need a chat or some help, Zula Casino’s customer support team is ready to offer advice 24/7.

Responsible Gaming Tools we expect to see at Sweepstakes Casinos

Sweepstakes casinos use a variety of tools and tactics to keep players safe and promote responsible play. We expect all of the following options for a social casino to get our approval.

Gold Coins Purchase Limits – If you’ve ever felt the urge to splurge on Gold Coins, then this tool comes in handy. You may set daily, monthly, or weekly purchase limits. This tool will physically prevent you from spending above your limit.

Cool-Off Periods – Thanks to this tool, you can opt to take a break from sweepstakes gaming for a period of typically between 24 and 72 hours. After this period expires, you’ll be able to access your account again.

Self Exclusion – With self-exclusion, you can ban yourself from a sweepstakes casino, usually for a minimum of 6 months. During this period, you won’t be able to log in to your account, make purchases, play, or create a new account.

Time Limits – To ensure sweepstakes gaming doesn’t distract you from your job or family responsibilities, you can set time limits. Once you hit your limit, you’ll be unable to play for 24 hours.

Geo-Fencing – Most sweepstakes casinos operate in 40ish states. To prevent players from illegally accessing the site, they use geo-fencing software that detects your IP address. More advanced software can also tell if you’re using a VPN.

KYC Checks – KYC checks are one of the few responsible gaming functions all sweepstakes casinos must perform. Verifying players’ identities prevents underage gaming and money laundering.

Sweepstakes casinos that let users manually set controls and limiters are the best in SweepsKings view. Even though the customer support team usually gets the job done, it can take a while, and in some situations this isn’t good enough.

Final Thoughts

Sweepstakes casinos still have a little way to go to catch up with online casinos in terms of responsible gaming. However, the leading sites offer effective tools like Gold Coins purchase limits, self-exclusion, and conducting KYC before users start playing.

We’d like to see the industry take the next step in terms of responsible gaming, use software to identify at-risk players, and set up a national self-exclusion registry like GAMSTOP in the UK and BetStop in Australia. This doesn’t yet exist even for online casino sites in the US.