Sweeps Coins Redemptions at Sweepstakes Casinos

Redeeming sweeps coins is the equivalent of cashing out at an online casino, but besides choosing from the available payment mediums (like credit cards, e-wallets, online banking, or crypto), there are a few extra steps that players should follow:

Sweepstakes playing and redemption rules might be confusing to first-timers, but the SweepsKings team is here to help you understand the process and help you win real cash prizes at sweepstakes online casino sites.

What are Sweeps Coins?

Sweeps coins can be defined as a non-purchasable promotional virtual currency holding monetary value. The definition above outlines three main features of sweepstakes coins, including:

Can You Buy Sweeps Coins at Sweepstakes Casinos?

As we mentioned, a legitimate sweepstakes casino will never sell sweeps coins as that would be illegal. Moreover, sweeps casinos must ensure that no purchases are necessary on their platforms by providing free promotional entries to newly registered players.

This act of “gifting” sweeps coins paved the ground for one particular loophole. Namely, casinos are allowed to sell currency with no monetary value (gold coins), and it’s commonplace for most sites to include free sweeps coins in select (if not all) GC purchases.

This also ties into the first-purchase bonuses that many sweepstakes casinos offer. Here’s an example of how this process is structured at TaoFortune:

Are sweepstakes casinos legal if they sell sweeps coins? That would be a definite no, so whenever you come across a site where you’re asked to pay your own money at any point, avoid them in large circles.

Do Sweeps Coins Have Real Value?

Each sweepstakes casino defines its sweeps coins a bit differently, but this virtual currency does have real monetary value since it can be converted into real cash prizes after all the rules (playthrough and minimum redemption limit) have been met.

It’s also important to highlight that players don’t own the sweepstakes coins (or gold coins) in their account balance. Sweeps coins are non-transferrable, non-shareable, and only usable at the sweepstakes casino issuing them. If you meet the following requirements, you can redeem sweeps coins for cash prizes:

How to Get Free Sweeps Coins

Before players can receive any free sweeps coins at their chosen sweepstakes casinos, they first must register. Creating an account is free, and it’s usually the only requirement to claim the welcome bonus in most sweepstake casinos. Even though each site has a registration form that might look different, the required information is usually the same; here’s an example of how Stake.us structured it:

Many sweepstakes casinos allow you to skip the sign-up procedure and instantly play casino games by simply authenticating via your existing Google or social media credentials.

As soon as you’ve made an account, you will gain access to most (if not all) casino bonuses your chosen platform has to offer. The types and sizes of bonuses vary from site to site, but the best sweepstakes casinos usually award both free gold coins and free sweeps coins upon registration. Consult our in-depth reviews if you want to learn more about specific bonuses and offers at the best social casinos in the US; meanwhile, let’s briefly explain the types of promotions you can use to claim free sweeps coins:

Always remember that all sweeps coins you receive, whether through GC purchases or promotions, are essentially bonus funds. Check your sweeps casino’s Bonus Rules for more information about the wagering requirements (playthrough conditions) and minimum redemption limits.

Acquiring Sweeps Coins via Gold Coins

Players can purchase more gold coins (and receive some free sweeps coins) at sweepstakes casinos, but only with a verified account. This means passing a KYC check, which typically requires you to provide your full name, address, and proof of the chosen payment medium’s ownership (e.g. a photocopy of your credit card’s front and back).

The process is quite simple. If you tap on your sweeps casino’s gold coins, you will be taken to their in-game store. Attempting to purchase any gold coin bundles without a verified account will usually lead you to the page where the KYC form can be filled. Completing this form will also allow you to redeem sweeps coins once all the bonus rules have been met.

The next step to buying gold coins at any sweepstakes casino is choosing a payment method. As soon as you tap the bundle you wish to purchase, you will typically be asked to select one of the available payment systems like Visa, Discover, Apple Pay, etc.

Keep in mind that different sites support different banking systems; the best sweepstakes casinos support a variety of credit cards, e-wallets, online banking methods, and cryptocurrencies. WOW Vegas is a perfect example of a sweeps platform with remarkably versatile payment methods:

At most sweeps casinos, the method you use to purchase gold coins will be memorized and used to transfer your cash prize (if applicable) after you redeem sweeps coins.

Let’s wrap up this topic with GC bundle options. We differentiate between “purchase match” offers and “deals”. The former provides the same amount of free sweeps for your money (e.g. you pay $30 and receive 30 free sweeps) while the latter refers to gold coin bundles that offer higher value the larger the pack is (e.g. $2 bundles may give only 2 free sweeps, but $90 bundles give 98 SCs).

Hundreds of thousands if not millions of gold coins are included in purchasable packs, but we advise you to gauge the value of each bundle by the amount of complimentary sweeps coins.

Redeeming Sweeps Coins for Cash Prizes

Cash prize redemptions are slightly different from classic cashouts at online casinos. Instead of “withdrawing” your money, you will be given an opportunity to redeem sweeps coins for a cash prize. This isn’t too much different from transferring the money you won to your chosen account, but there are a few specific rules that make sweep coins redemptions unique.

First of all, we mentioned that all sweeps coins are considered bonus funds, meaning that all the bonus rules must be met.

The wagering requirement defines the number of times all sweeps coins must be played through to become redeemable. Play casino games while wagering sweeps coins to make your “unplayed balance” into “redeemable coins”. Most sweepstakes casinos prescribe a 1x rollover requirement while other sites rarely go above 3x.

After your sweeps coins become redeemable and you have the required amount in your balance, you can convert them into cash by using any of the supported redemption methods.

Sweepstakes casinos usually offer only a handful of redemption methods; for instance, Stake.us supports only cryptocurrencies while WOW Vegas supports Trustly and Skrill.

The SC redemption process is fairly simple. If you’re playing at reputable sweepstakes casinos like Sweeptastic, you’ll be able to find the “Redeem” button from the lobby screen, as illustrated below:

If you can’t find similar settings, check the “My Profile” section and look for “Redemptions” or any similar menu. Tap “Redeem Coins”, and if your account has been verified, you will be asked to choose a redemption method and the number of sweeps you wish to redeem.

Sweepstakes Coins Minimum Redemption

Minimum SC redemption limit describes the minimum amount of redeemable sweeps that can be converted into a cash prize. The industry’s average redemption limit is 100 SCs; you will need to accumulate and play through 100 sweeps coins to request a cash prize.

The minimum redemption threshold is typically much lower at sweepstakes casinos that also offer gift cards. For instance, Stake.us, High 5 Casino, Funrize, NoLimitCoins, and many other high-end sweepstakes platforms offer both gift cards and real cash prizes. Keep in mind that whichever prize you wish to claim, the bonus rules always apply.

Fees, Conversion Rate, and Processing Times

Even though sweeps coins represent a form of virtual currency, they hold monetary value and can be subjected to various fees. The best sweepstakes casinos like WOW Vegas, TaoFortune, Chanced, or Chumba Casino won’t charge you (or hide) any fees on their own, but your prize might be subjected to fees from the credit card or e-wallet company you’re a client of.

Bear in mind that even though you’ll rarely see any transaction fees in the world of sweepstakes casinos, there are some that can be avoided; for example, most casinos will charge you a small fee if you provide the wrong banking details or cancel a pending (approved) redemption.

Let’s briefly talk about sweeps coins conversion rates. Typically, most casinos peg their sweeps to USD at a rate of 1:1 to keep things simpler for players. However, sites like Fortune Coins, NoLimitCoins, and TaoFortune decided to peg their sweeps to USD at a rate of 100:1. Even though it may be more difficult to keep track of your redeemable coins once we’re talking in hundreds and thousands as opposed to decimals, it makes playing a bit easier since you have more flexibility to choose the size of your wagers.

Finally, sweepstakes casinos that offer instant redemptions are a rare breed. You’ll usually need to wait at least a few hours or as much as 10+ business days, depending on which casino you’re playing at and which payment method you’re using. As a rule of thumb, cryptocurrencies and credit/debit cards offer the speediest payouts while online banking methods tend to be the slowest.

Recognizing Sweeps Coins at Sweepstakes Casinos

Certain casinos have named their sweeps coins differently, but they still serve the same purpose. For instance, Fortune Coins named its sweeps after the casino (Fortune Coins); Stake.us calls them Stake Cash, Chumba Casino refers to them as simply “sweeps”, and they’re called Secret Coins at TaoFortune. Whenever in doubt, consult your chosen casino’s T&Cs – all sweepstakes coins are usually defined as promotional entries.

Besides having different names at various sweepstakes sites, sweeps coins can have different monetary values. The majority of reputable platforms pegged them 1:1 to USD, such as WOW Vegas, Pulsz, or High 5 Casino, but several casinos have set the value of their sweeps a bit lower. For example, 100 Fortune Coins at its namesake casino are worth a single dollar; 100 Super coins at NoLimitCoins Casino are worth $1, while Bingoport pegged its Port Points to USD at a rate of 1,200:1.

Best Way to Use Sweeps Coins

An ideal mindset to have while using sweeps coins is to treat them as you would treat real cash. This might be difficult since you’ll mostly be using free sweeps (not to mention that they’re virtual), but wasting sweeps equates to wasted opportunities to grab real money without spending a dime of your own.

Since the vast majority of sweepstakes casinos use a dual-currency system, it is recommended to start using sweeps coins for wagers only after you’ve thoroughly tested and memorized the rules of your favorite casino games with gold coins.

Additionally, you should prioritize playing games that have the potential of netting huge wins, such as high RTP slot games or jackpot slots.

We also strongly recommend checking out the Bonus Rules to see which games contribute toward the rollover progress; for example, you can play live dealer games and table games for sweeps, but that won’t make them redeemable if the rules state that you can only play slot games to meet the wagering requirements.

Are Sweepstakes Casino Winnings Taxable?

Even though sweepstakes prizes do not qualify as “gambling winnings”, they are still taxable and should be reported via the winnings form 1099-MISC (miscellaneous). Currently, the taxes have a flat 24% rate, excluding major winnings (prizes exceeding $600-$5,000), which can go up to 37%.