Company Info
VGW Games Ltd.
Website
Restricted States
Washington, Idaho, Michigan, Montana
Welcome Bonus
100,000 GC + 10 tournament entries & 150,000 GC + 30 free SCs for $10
Currencies
Gold Coins, Sweeps Coins
Payment Methods
Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, Diners Club, Skrill, Instant ACH, Online Banking, Gift Cards
Gaming Software
Relax Gaming, Qora, J4TW, ReelPlay, GreenTube, Swintt, Top Trend Gaming, RNG Play, proprietary
Gaming Categories
Poker, Slots, Table Games
Support Contacts
support@globalpoker.com
General Ratings
Global Poker Review
Global Poker is a sweepstakes casino with cash prizes big on poker games and tournaments. It was launched in 2016 by VGW Games Ltd., which is a branch of the same company (VGW Holdings) that owns LuckyLand Slots and Chumba Casino.
Slots and casino-style games are not its focal point as its library sports merely 30+ titles from Relax, ReelPlay, and Swintt, but as its name implies, popular table games like online poker and Blackjack are the mainstays of this sweeps platform.
Global Poker’s uniqueness stems from weekly poker tournaments like Daily Hundo, Sunday Scrimmage, and Golden Rush, as well as the renowned GP Championships, such as Rattlesnakes Open, the Eagle Cup, The Goat, and Grizzly Games.
The Sweeps Kings’ team has been testing this sweepstakes casino for over a year, and we’re here with an unbiased, comprehensive Global Poker review. Whether you’re looking to play online poker for sweeps, searching for a Global Poker promo code, or simply want to learn more about how this platform works, we’ve got your back.
Pros
- Dozens of live poker tables
- Save up to $20 on SCs with the first-purchase deal
- Gold and Sweeps coins are universally used in both Poker and Casino segments
- Huge poker tournaments and championships
Cons
- A modest library of casino-style games
- Limited ways to get free sweeps
Global Poker is as much of a poker site as it is a sweepstakes platform. Its main focus is on poker tournaments, but its slots aren’t bad either; consider giving both its poker contests and jackpots a shot if you’re purely interested in cash prizes. If you’re signing up purely for the fun of playing games online, this site has tons of low-roller poker tables and games that accept as little as 0.2 coins.
Legal States
Global Poker is legal in nearly all US states, excluding Washington, Michigan, Montana, and Idaho.
This sweepstakes casino is also open to Canadian citizens but is currently not available in Quebec.
All players from supported states at least 18 years old can register a free account and claim the 100,000 GC + 10 free tournament entries no deposit bonus.
How Global Poker Casino Works
Global Poker combines the elements of live online poker with sweepstakes casino mechanics; to make things simpler for both poker and slot enthusiasts, the platform was divided into two segments aptly named “Poker” and “Casino”.
Regardless of which type of games you’re interested in playing at Global Poker, you will use one of the two virtual currencies: gold coins or sweeps coins.
Gold coins hold no monetary value, so feel free to use them to play your favorite games or demo titles you’re unfamiliar with. Sweeps coins, on another hand, can be redeemed for real cash prizes once you’ve met the 1x playthrough requirement and reached at least 50 redeemable sweeps in your account balance.
Even though the welcome bonus does not include any free sweeps, you can use a variety of regular bonuses like the mail-in bonus and daily refills to grab some free currency. The first purchase deal is also a good option if you’re looking for a headstart since you’ll receive $30 in free sweeps for merely $10.
We should also mention that you can enter Global Poker tournaments, ring games, championships, and various other contests by using poker tournament entries. You’ll receive 10 as a part of the welcome bonus bundle, but once you run out, you’ll need to buy more to enter your desired tournament.
You can enter smaller events for free if you wager the prescribed amount of coins. For example, all players who bet at least 50 SCs on any game in 24 hours can enter Daily Bonanza (500 SC for Weekly Bonanza) tournaments.
Global Poker Casino Bonuses
Global Poker offers a handful of traditional bonuses, including a decent no deposit bonus, a first purchase bonus, the mail-in (AMOE) bonus, social media contests, and a progressive daily log-in bonus. They’re quite decent compared to the industry’s average, so let’s dissect each of them:
- Welcome Bonus: New players receive 100,000 GCs and 10 free tournament entries upon registering and verifying an account;
- First-Purchase Bonus: A special one-time offer for new players that allows you to triple the value of the featured gold coin pack essentially. Buy $10, and receive 150,000 gold coins and $30 worth of sweeps coins;
- Mail-in (AMOE) Bonus: Send a handwritten postcard to VGW Games Limited, Global Poker Sweepstakes Department to receive 5 free sweeps coins. Check Global Poker’s T&Cs section 3.2 clause D for info on specifics that should be included in the postcard;
- Daily Login Bonus: One login bonus a day is available, resetting every 24 hours. This bonus is progressive, starting at 1,000 GC and 0.25 SC, and gradually increasing up to 2,500 GC and 1 SC.
- Social Media Contests: Global Poker regularly hosts new poker tournaments on its official Facebook Page. Use your free tournament entry tickets or purchase them for a chance to win massive amounts of sweeps coins.
- Facebook Mystery Bonus: Besides weekly challenges and tourneys, you can enter Mystery Bonus contests by simply liking, sharing, and commenting on these Facebook posts. Multiple contests are launched every day.
Apart from what I’d call “regular” bonuses, the focal point of Global Poker promotions lies in its locally held (non-social media) weekly poker tournaments and championships. Let me briefly touch on some of the most notable ones:
- Rattlesnake Open: A major tournament featuring 109+ GC and SC events with prize pools eclipsing 1,900,000 sweeps coins and close to a billion gold coins.
- Grizzly Games: A 21-day tournament with similar prize pools to Rattlesnake, as well as unique Grizzly Games merchandise and other prizes.
- The Goat: One of the largest Global Poker tournaments, featuring 216 trophy events, the main prize of 200,000 SC, and over 2,000,000 SC in various other prizes.
- Eagle Cup: The 7th annual Eagle Cup tournament brings 216 unique trophy prizes, proprietary Eagle Cup apparel, and a total SC prize pool of over 2,120,000+.
- Sunday Scrimmage: A No Limit Hold’em weekly Poker tournament held on Sundays, rocking a total prize pool of 75,000 SC.
- Golden Scrimmage: A GC variant of the Sunday Scrimmage featuring a prize pool of 20,000,000+ GC.
- Gold Rush: A leaderboard-based tournament offering a variety of daily, weekly, and monthly GC prizes. The winner is guaranteed a minimal 500,000 GC prize.
- Bonanza: Has a daily version with a prize pool of 500 SC, and a weekly version with a prize pool of 5,000 SC. Players qualify via playthrough (50 SC daily, 500 SC weekly).
- Daily Hundo: A unique tournament awarding up to 500 SC and limited-edition player avatars. Play the required number of hands in GP Ring Games in any given month to qualify.
Bonuses Review
No Deposit Bonus | 100,000 GC + 10 free tournament entries |
Global Poker Bonus Code | None required |
First Purchase Bonus | 150,000 GC + 30 free SCs for $10 |
Daily Free Credits | From 0.3 to 5 free SCs; From 1,500 to 50,000 GCs |
VIP Program | No |
Mail-in Bonus | 5 SC |
Referral Bonus | N/A |
Promotions & Bonus Assessment
Global Poker Casino-Style Games
Global Poker’s library of casino-style games is quite modest, featuring a little over 30 slots, jackpots, megaways, and exclusive titles. We were a bit puzzled by the fact that this online poker site with cash prizes has so few gaming options, considering that it’s partnered with 8 gaming vendors.
Speaking of which, the main driving force behind Global Poker slots is Swintt, followed by a few reputable gaming vendors like Relax Gaming and Just For The Win (J4TW), as well as several less renowned developers such as Top Trend Gaming, RNG Play, and Greentube.
If you’re completely new to online sweepstakes casinos, Global Poker’s lobby shouldn’t be too confusing to navigate since multiple filtering options are available and info about each game’s type is embedded in the icons.
Games and Software Review
Our Top Picks | The Last Empress, Golden Buffalo, Sea Raiders |
Number of Slots | 31+ |
Jackpot Games | 4+ |
Table Games | 4+ |
Other Gaming Options | Megaways slots, Originals, Poker Tournaments |
Gaming Vendors | Relax Gaming, Qora, J4TW, ReelPlay, GreenTube, Swintt, Top Trend Gaming, RNG Play, proprietary |
Sadly, you can’t demo games without a registered account. What we liked about Global Poker is that even though only registered players can access the lobby, the casino ensured that everyone can get familiar with its available games by offering simple reviews and descriptions of each title, as illustrated below:
Let’s briefly touch on its originals. Global Poker’s parent company, VGW Games, is also a slot maker. They’ve developed a few decently popular titles like The Last Empress, Duskmoon Faire Jackpot, and Hallows Wilds, which are also available at Chumba Casino.
Since very little info is available about VGW exclusives online, the mini-reviews helped us understand what we’re about to play before testing these games.
Old-school 3-reel penny slots, classic 9-line games, Megaways, jackpots, and Virtual Gaming Worlds™ exclusives form Global Poker’s iGaming library.
We were a bit disappointed that VGW didn’t disclose the RTP values of their original games, but over a year of testing, our team established that their average score is a tad over 95%. They state that all their games have been tested by a third-party company called RNG iTech Labs, but no further elaboration was provided.
Global Poker slots from other i-gaming developers that consistently gave us good returns include ReelPlay’s Hypernova (96.09% RTP) and Swintt’s Sea Raiders (96.39% RTP).
As its name suggests, Global Poker is focused on the card game variants. You can play in tournaments and compete with other players in real-time, offering a similar experience to PokerStars before it was narrowed to a few states; and unlike WSOP, you can win real money by playing poker at Global Poker.
Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal tournaments offer the biggest prizes. You can also play heads-up, cash games, fixed-bet, and a range of other poker rooms at Global Poker. The variety is endless and often rejuvenated to include new formats and variants to keep loyal players coming back.
Games Assessment
Global Poker Banking
As a sweepstakes platform with both slot and poker games, Global Poker is bound by the “no purchase necessary” law and thoroughly abides by it by offering solid no deposit bonuses and daily refills. Should you wish to purchase gold coins or redeem your sweeps coins for a cash prize, you’ll have several options at your disposal, including:
- Purchases: Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, and Diners Club;
- Redemptions: Skrill, Instant ACH, and Online Banking.
Global Poker stands out from your average sweepstakes casinos in two fields. Firstly, they’ve set the minimum sweeps coins redemption threshold to 50 (whereas the industry’s average is 100), and they accept credit cards from over 1,000+ American banks, including Chase, Bank of America, PNC, Wells Fargo, and many others.
Payment Options Review
Global Poker Banking | Purchases | Redemptions | Average Redemption Time |
---|---|---|---|
Visa | Yes | No | / |
Mastercard | Yes | No | / |
American Express | Yes | No | / |
Discover | Yes | No | / |
Diners Club | Yes | No | / |
Skrill | No | Yes | 2-5 business days |
Instant ACH | No | Yes | 2-5 business days |
Online Banking | No | Yes | 2-5 business days |
All financial operations are streamlined at Global Poker. From purchasing gold coins and redeeming your sweeps to viewing your redemption/transaction history, all this info becomes available by tapping on your wallet located in the top-right corner of the screen.
Cost | Gold Coins | Sweeps Coins |
---|---|---|
$2 | 10,000 | 0 |
$5 | 25,000 | 5 |
$10 | 50,000 | 10 |
$10 | 150,000 | 30 |
$20 | 100,000 | 20 |
$30 | 150,000 | 30 |
Long-time Global Poker players may remember the time when gold coin package options were quite limited to non-verified players. Ever since the platform imposed mandatory verification upon registration, it made purchasing gold coins a lot simpler since now you have access to all packages from the get-go.
The cheapest GC pack costs merely $2 but doesn’t offer any free sweeps or free coins. If you’re purchasing for the first time, you’ll get a massive discount and will be able to receive 150,000 GC and 30 free sweeps for just $10. All other coin packs offer an SC match and roughly 50,000 GCs per $10.
Payments Assessment
Is Global Poker Casino Legit?
VGW Games Ltd, or rather VGW Holdings, is among the scant few licensed sweepstakes casino operators. They hold a Type 1 Gaming Services casino license and a Type 3 Gaming Services P2P Bingo/Games license with the Malta Gaming Authority.
Moreover, this company also runs Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots Casino, both of which boast impressive numbers of registered players.
VGW Games Ltd. abides by all sweepstakes rules and is fully transparent about its operations, which are the main criteria we look for before dubbing a casino legit.
Company and Safety Review
Company | VGW Games Ltd. |
License | Malta Gaming Authority #21228535 |
RNG-tested Games | RNG iTech Labs certified |
Age Restrictions | 18+ |
KYC Checks | Yes |
Website Encryption | SSL |
Operating Since | 2016 |
Global Poker’s RSG policy is well-structured and filled with detailed descriptions of each tool that players can use to set limits to their playtime or spending while playing at this social casino platform.
Besides an abundance of information on problem gaming and links to relevant authorities that can help, you can use the following RSG tools to make your stay at Global Poker more comfortable:
- Activity Reminders: As soon as you log into your account, you will receive activity notifications every hour. The indicator momentarily pauses all gaming activities, displays your current playtime, and enables you to either end the current session or resume playing;
- Account History: Preview your entire gameplay history, complete with detailed results of all spins played;
- Transaction History: View all gold coin purchases and SC redemptions from a unified tab;
- Purchase Limits: Upon registration, all users default to $1,000 daily, $1,500 weekly, and $3,000 monthly purchase limits. Verified users can reconfigure these limits, but the upper monthly limit cannot exceed $12,000;
- Take a Break: Use this feature to make your Global Poker profile inaccessible for 1-30 days;
- Self-Exclusion: If you wish to exclude yourself from the Global Poker platform for extended or indefinite periods, you may use the self-exclusion tool;
- Permanent Account Closure: Contact the customer support team and fill out the account closure form to permanently and irreversibly shut down your account.
Safety Assessment & Trust Score
Global Poker Customer Support
Global Poker is very different from an average sweepstakes casino. With dozens of tournaments with massive prizes and fairly convoluted rules regularly hosted both on and off-site, you’re bound to need some help understanding what’s going on at some point.
Reaching support at Global Poker isn’t too difficult since their team is decently responsive and quite friendly, but they currently don’t have a live chat feature or anyone sitting behind the phone. Beyond that, the site also has a ticketing system.
On the upside, this social casino does have a phenomenal off-page help center and a solid FAQ page where you’ll likely find the answers to common issues related to account registration, redemptions, games, and poker tournaments.
Contacts Review
Phone | N/A |
support@globalpoker.com | |
Live Chat | N/A |
FAQ page | Yes |
Other Contact Options | Help center |
Response Time | <24 hours |
Global Poker Support Assessment
Global Poker Casino UX
With tournaments and contests being a huge part of Global Poker, VGW Games was smart to divide the platform into “Poker” and “Casino” segments.
The “Poker” part basically lists all available live poker rooms, and active tournaments and contests, but since so many are going on simultaneously, you can use filtering options like buy-in size, limits, poker game format, and game type to narrow the listings down a bit. This is important because all poker games have player limits (seats), but you can always simply “hide” full tables by ticking the corresponding box.
The “Casino” segment is comparable to an average sweepstakes casino. All games are unlocked as soon as you register, and even though there aren’t too many titles to choose from, you can still pinpoint game categories that interest you via filtering options like All, New, Most Popular, Jackpot Games, Slots Games, and Table Games.
Accessibility Review
Apps | No |
Mobile Casino | Yes |
Mobile-Specific Features | N/A |
Filtering Options | Poker: Tournament Type, Ring Games, Sit’n’Go, Surge, Jackpot Sit’n’Go; Casino: All, New, Most Popular, Jackpot Games, Slots Games, Table Games |
Number of Mobile Games | 31+ |
Aspects That Are Missing on Mobile | None |
UX Assessment
Global Poker Sister Sites
VGW Holdings has been quite prolific. Global Poker is their “second” child, launched after Chumba Casino (opened in 2012) and before LuckyLand Slots Casino (2019). Unsurprisingly, all 3 sweepstakes casinos are available in the same US states (excluding Washington, Montana, Idaho, and Michigan) and have the same age restrictions (18+).
Where they are strikingly different is in the field of welcome bonuses. While Global Poker offers merely 100,000 gold coins, 10 tournament entries, and no sweeps coins, Chumba Casino has a no-deposit bonus of a whopping 2,000,000 gold coins and 2 sweeps coins, while LuckyLand Slots takes it a step further with 7,777 gold coins and 10 sweeps coins.
The only casino of the aforementioned three to have launched an official casino app is LuckyLand Slots; you can find the APK download on its official website should you want to enjoy its games and a hefty $10 no deposit bonus.
Comparison
Sweepstakes Casino | Games | Welcome Bonus | Apps | Best For |
---|---|---|---|---|
Global Poker | 30+ | 100,000 GC + 10 tournament entries | No (Instant Play) | Superb poker tournaments, regularly hosts minor contests and events, low SC redemption threshold |
Chumba Casino | 150+ | 2,000,000 GC + 2 SC | Google Play and Apple Store (Lite App) | Huge progressive jackpots, supports a broad range of payment methods |
LuckyLand Slots | 120+ | 7,777 GC + 10 SC | Android APK download via official site | Outstanding no deposit bonus, a solid Android app, exciting proprietary games |
WOW Vegas | 900+ | 250,000 WC + 5 SC | No | A large catalog of popular games, partnered with the leading i-gaming vendors, munificent first-purchase bonus |
Pulsz.com | 700+ | 5,000 GC + 2.3 SC | Google Play and Apple Store | Unblemished owner reputation, well-structured rewards system, hundreds of good games |
Stake.us | 800+ | 10,000 GC + 1 SC | No | Supports numerous crypto payment methods, original games & challenges, exceptional support mechanisms |
How It Stacks Up
We have no doubts that Global Poker is among the best, if not “the” best online poker site out there, especially given how well they’ve integrated their poker tournaments and events with casino-style games and sweepstakes cash prizes.
However, as a sweepstakes casino, it still has plenty of room to grow. Both of its sister sites have native apps, offer considerably higher bonuses, and offer more comprehensive catalogs with nearly twice as many coin games.
It’s difficult to compare Global Poker to established sweepstakes casinos like WOW Vegas, Stake.us, or Pulsz since they have significantly wealthier gaming libraries powered by far more renowned i-gaming devs, not to mention well-rounded VIP programs, rewards, and unique challenges.
Our Experts Verdict
Overall, Global Poker is an excellent choice for poker enthusiasts who love occasionally playing casino-style games. Its bonuses are decent, and its commitment to regularly hosting (likely very expensive) tournaments is praiseworthy, to say the least.
Would we still play at this sweepstakes casino even after testing everything Global Poker offers? We would stick around whenever a major championship would run simply because the prize pools are too large to ignore, but as far as sweepstakes gaming is concerned, we believe this platform still needs a bit of fine polish to achieve its true potential.