Social casinos are surging in popularity in the US. And in this guide, we’ll be doing a deep dive on them to show you which are the best social casino sites currently available, and what you can expect when you sign up to them.
Social Casinos USA
Social Casino Gaming 101
Social casinos are an excellent way for users to play online casino games for fun. These casinos don’t offer real money play and are therefore 100% legal to play across most US states so long as you are 18+. The way they work is pretty straightforward. Users sign up, collect one of the many bonuses on offer, and then jump into one of their favorite games.
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We may receive financial compensation if you play at the legal sweepstakes gaming sites we advertise. Still, our content remains impartial to financial or outside influence and is guided solely by our ethos, research, and industry knowledge.
5 Best Social Casinos – overview of their services and features
After playing at all of the top social casinos available in the US, we’ve found that five stand above the pack. They are:
1. Hard Rock Social Casino
2. High 5 Social Casino
3. BetRivers Social Casino
4. BananaBets Social Casino
5. PENN Play Social Casino
And below, we’ll be giving a more in-depth look.
1. Hard Rock Social Casino — The Best for Winning Prizes
Games: 300+ Games
Signup Bonus: 300,000 Coins + Free Wheel Spin
App Ratings: 4.5 Google Play Store, 4.7 Apple App Store
Prizes and Rewards: Hard Rock merchandise and Unity Points
Virtual Currency: Gold Coins & Hearts
The legendary Hard Rock Cafe operates one of the very best social casinos in the US. Over 300 games are available at Hard Rock Social Casino. As you play and log in daily, you’ll be awarded the secondary currency of Hearts. These Hearts are different from the Coins you get as they can’t be used to play games, and instead, their role is to be exchanged for a wide array of exciting rewards, including merchandise and freeplay at the land based Hard Rock Casino.
Pros
- Great Mobile Apps
- Awesome Prizes Available
- Global & Trustworthy Brand
Cons
- Lack of Table Games
2. High 5 Social Casino — The Best Level Up System
Games: 200+
Signup Bonus: 1,005,000 Free Coins
App Ratings: 4.2 Google Play Store, 4.6 Apple App Store
Prizes and Rewards: None
Virtual Currency: Coins
The award winning High 5 Social Casino is arguably the most popular social casino in the US today. 200+ games are available — though to unlock them all, you’ll need to level up your account through High 5’s fun level up system. And for users who are interested in the potential of playing casino games for the chance to win real prizes, you’ll be happy to know that through your High 5 account you can also access the High 5 sweepstakes casino.
Pros
- Fun Level Up System
- Loads of Free Coins
- Can Use One Account for the High 5 Social and Sweepstakes Casino
Cons
- No Possibility to Win Prizes
3. BetRivers Social Casino — The Best for Table Games
Games: 700+ Games
Signup Bonus: 250 VC Credits
App Ratings: 4.2 Google Play Store, 4.4 Apple App Store
Prizes and Rewards: None
Virtual Currency: VC
With an astounding 700+ games in their casino library, BetRivers Social Casino guarantees that it has something for everyone. A huge range of slots from all the most popular slot developers are available. However, I’d argue that BetRivers Social Casino is perhaps best known for their table games — supplying more table games than most other social casinos combined. Best of all, BetRiver Social Casino also offers free live blackjack through Infinite Blackjack.
Pros
- Live Dealer Games
- Massive Library of Games
- Helpful Customer Support Team
Cons
- Bonuses Aren’t the Best
4. BananaBets Social Casino — The Best Variety of Bonuses
Games: 270+
Signup Bonus: 10,000 Virtual Credits
App Ratings: 4.1 Google Play Store, 4.5 Apple App Store
Prizes and Rewards: None
Virtual Currency: Virtual Credits
Available via both desktops and mobile devices, BananaBets Social Casino is one of the exciting new casinos, having only launched in 2023. One of the main reasons for this is due to their range of bonuses. 10,000 Virtual Credits are awarded on sign-up — however, that’s just the start of it. Because BananaBets also offers daily login bonuses, a 500% first deposit match, a safety net bonus, as well as the chance to spin the fortune wheel every four hours for the chance to score huge wins.
Pros
- Lots of Different Bonuses
- Good Variety of Different Game Types
- Great Responsible Gambling Program
Cons
- Impossible to Win Prizes
5. PENN Play Social Casino — The Best Tournaments
Games: 150+
Signup Bonus: 15,000,000 Coins
App Ratings: 4.3 Google Play Store, 4.6 Apple App Store
Prizes and Rewards: None
Virtual Currency: Coins
With an astounding 15,000,000 Coins welcome bonus, it’s no surprise that PENN Play Social Casino is as popular as they are. These coins not only give you a huge bankroll to start with, but they also give you the opportunity to compete in all the tournaments from day one — with the chance to score the lion’s share of the prize pool. 150+ casino-style games are available. Though for me, my favorite games are the arcade-style multiplayer fish titles.
Pros
- Massive Welcome Bonus
- Multiplayer Fish Games
- Fun & Competitive Tournaments
Cons
- Lack of Variety with Game Developers
Social Casino Features - central to our rating process and your enjoyment
When rating a social casino, we consider numerous factors. Below, we’ll go through them all.
Games
Games at social casinos are arguably the most important thing to consider when reviewing them. Since these casinos tend not to offer monetary prizes most players play at them for fun — and having access to a wide array of games is paramount in providing a variety of ways to enjoy your social gaming experience. Because of this, we always make sure to check not only the quantity of games, but also the quality.
Bonuses
Social casinos are always 100% free to play at. And one of the main ways they are able to do this is by giving users access to a wide array of bonuses that award free coins. The free bonuses include welcome bonuses and daily login bonuses. Whenever we’re looking at a new casino, we consider these types of bonuses first. Though with that being said, we’ll also look at first purchase bonuses to ensure that any users who wish to get additional coins through purchases get maximum bang for their buck.
Mobile
Mobile gaming is surging in popularity. As such, it’s really no surprise to find that more users than ever now play casino games solely through their mobile phones. Any social casino that has a good mobile app will rank highly in this category. However, having a well-designed website that has been optimized for mobile use is another thing we keep an eye out for.
Customer Support
Most functions through a social casino are pretty simple. Nevertheless problems do sometimes pop up — and when they do, a well trained customer support team can be the difference from a minor hiccup to a headache. When reviewing any casino, we test their customer support team with a variety of commonly encountered issues to not only see how they handle it, but also to ensure that all problems are dealt within a timely manner.
Prizes
Since having fun is always the most important thing at social casinos, prizes aren’t always mandatory. But with that being said, a great way for social casinos to stand out from one another is with prizes.
Some of these prizes will be physical goods, access to higher stakes or locked games — or sometimes if the social casino is partnered with physical casinos, freeplay at a land based casino.
Mission & Unlockables
In some ways, social casinos can be seen as similar to traditional online gaming. And a great way that social casinos can lean into this is with daily missions and quests, along with a progression scale that unlocks new games and features the more you play. This is still a relatively new feature, and so you won’t find it at all social casinos. Though nevertheless, it’s a great addition whenever these features are available.
Why Play at Social Casino Gaming Sites?
There are many reasons to play at social casinos. And below, we’ll discuss some of the top reasons why so many users are flocking to them.
Sweepstakes Casinos vs Social Casinos
With both sweepstakes casinos and social casinos rising in popularity as alternatives to traditional online casinos, many users are unsure about how these two types of casinos differ from one another. Fortunately though, they’re pretty easy to distinguish.
Sweepstakes casinos operate off the sweepstakes model — employing two types of currencies and two types of plays. These modes are called fun play and promotional play. Promotional play is when you play with a premium currency — and once you collect enough of this premium currency, you’re able to redeem it for real cash prizes. In that sense, it’s very similar to traditional online gambling. Fun play however is done with standard currency and offers no real prizes.
With social casinos, they only offer fun play. As such, there’s no real opportunity for “real” gambling — and instead, a social casino is meant purely for entertainment purposes. Because of this, sweepstakes casinos are typically regarded as the superior choice for users who want to try and win money, whereas social casinos are more for users who just want to have fun and/or wish to abstain from gambling.
Though with that being said, social casinos do have a trick up their sleeves. And this all has to do with their rewards and prize system.
Are social gaming rewards and benefits bridging the gap?
Following the lead of Roobet.fun, many social casinos now do offer players the chance to win real prizes. These prizes aren’t like the monetary prizes offered by sweepstakes casinos — and instead allow players to win merchandise as they level up and collect secondary currencies. Some social casinos that are partnered with physical casinos will even sometimes award users benefits like freeplay — or comped accommodation and food.
This can make social casinos the best of both worlds. And as such, even if you are more interested in the prize winning aspects of casino games, it can be well worth checking out social casinos — especially if you find one that is partnered with a local brick-and-mortar casino.
Nevertheless, whether a social or sweepstakes casino will be better for you will inevitably come down to what you’re looking for, as well as what state and city you’re based in.
How to Enjoy Casino-Style Gaming for Free
Playing free casino-style games is easy. Below, we’ll be going through all the necessary steps to get started and claim your free coins.
Register an Account
The first step to playing at any social casino is registering. Fortunately, another benefit of social casinos is that they’re much easier to register at than other types of online casinos.
- Pick one of the social casinos we’ve recommended and then use our links to navigate towards the page and click the registration button.
- For the second step, just fill in a couple of pages with the relevant information and click through the prompts when ready.
3. Once registration has been completed, a sign-up email will be sent to you. Click the link inside to confirm your registration.
Claim Bonuses
At social casinos, once you log in for the first time you’ll be instantly awarded a welcome bonus. Exactly how big these bonuses are will vary from site to site — but it’ll usually be enough to get you started for your first couple of hours of gaming.
Other bonuses you can look forward to are daily login bonuses, referral bonuses, level up bonuses, hourly bonuses, and first purchase bonuses.
Play on Mobile or Online
While social casinos are available from your computer, you can also play at them on the go via all mobile devices. To do so, just download the app from your relevant play store. Or alternatively, you can also navigate to these social casino sites directly through your mobile web browser where you’ll find a fully optimized mobile site.
Free Slots and Games That You Shouldn’t Miss
In this section, we’ll be covering the hottest games at social casinos. Around the office, this is always a bit of a hot topic — however, amongst the SweepsKings, there are some that are favorites of pretty much everyone.
Social casinos are meant to be fun. And when it comes to fun, there are few games as enjoyable as The Dog House by Pragmatic Play. This colorful and exciting game comes with a wide array of unique bonus features — making it perfect for both newcomers to slots, as well as for veterans who are after something a little different.
Moving away from slots, table games are sometimes under-represented at social casinos. Fortunately though, there are many sites like BetRivers Social Casino that feature a wide array of table games — including Live Infinite Blackjack. This variant is pretty similar to normal blackjack. However, in Live Infinite Blackjack, you get to play against a real life dealer.
Finally, there is Blood Suckers. This vampire-themed slot is more known as being the favorite slot for bonus grinders due to its 98% RTP — and while you won’t find it at every social casino, sites like Hard Rock Social Casino do have it. This gives you a way to master one of the most profitable slots for free.
Compare The Best Social Casinos in the USA
| Social Casino | Games | Signup Bonus | App? | Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hard Rock Social Casino | 300+ | 300,000 Coins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Great for Winning Prizes |
| High 5 Social Casino | 200+ | 1,005,000 Free Coins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Fun Level Up Progression |
| BetRivers Social Casino | 700+ | 250 VC Credits | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Huge Library of Table Games |
| BananaBets Social Casino | 270+ | 10,000 Virtual Credits | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Lots of Different Bonuses |
| PENN Play Social Casino | 150+ | 15,000,000 Coins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Fun Tournaments |
| Big Fish Casino | 100+ | 100,000 Chips | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Easy to Navigate Platform |
| House of Fun | 100+ | 100 Free Spins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Free Spins Bonuses |
| Slotomania | 170+ | 1,000,000 Coins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Massive Welcome Bonus |
| DoubleDown Casino Vegas Slots | 200+ | 1,000,000 Chips | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Great VIP Program |
| GameTwist Casino | 300+ | 30,000 Bonus Twists & 15 Free Spins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Lots of Novomatic Slots |
| Club Vegas Slots | 100+ | 10,000,000 Coins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Many Jackpot Slots |
| Caesars Slots | 150+ | 1,000,000 Coins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Launched Under Playtika |
| Jackpot World Slots Casino | 150+ | 6,000,000 Coins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Multiple Opportunities for Free Coins |
| Jackpot Carnival | 50+ | Free Coins | Yes. For Androids | Exclusive for Androids |
| Cash Frenzy Slots Casino | 150+ | 3,000,000 Coins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | 1,000,000+ Ratings on Google Play Store |
| Scatter Slots - Slot Machines | 100+ | 12,000,000 Coins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Gigantic Welcome Bonus |
| Slots Era | 100+ | 12,000,000 Coins | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Offline Play Available |
| Bally’s Tiverton Social Casino | 200+ | Free Coins | No | Multiple Game Types |
| Wind Creek Social Casino | 100+ | 100,000 Points | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Multiplier Bonuses for Consecutive Daily Logins |
| Chumba Casino Lite | 3 | 5,000,000 Gold Chips | Yes. For Androids & iOS | Operated by VGW |
FAQs
What are the best social casinos?
The best social casinos in the US are Hard Rock Social Casino, BetRivers Social Casino, High 5 Social Casino, BananaBets Social Casino, and PENN Play Social Casino.
Are social casinos legal in the US?
Social casinos are 100% legal in the US. The only requirements to play at them are that you live in an eligible US state, and that you are at least 18.
How do you get a social casino bonus?
Getting bonuses at social casinos is surprisingly easy. You’ll get a welcome bonus as soon as you sign up. But you can get even more through daily login bonuses and other bonuses like the first purchase bonus.
Can I play at a social casino on my phone?
All good social casinos can be played through both iOS and Android devices. Either download the app, or simply navigate to the social casino site through your mobile browser.
Where are social casinos available?
Social casinos are available in most US states — although this can vary from site to site. To check where a social casino is eligible to be played from, just check the terms & conditions page.
Can you win prizes playing at social casino sites?
While not all social casinos allow users the chance to win prizes, some do. These prizes include gifts, merchandise, as well as player comps for physical casinos.
Author: Alex Windsor
Updated:
The man, the myth, the legend, Alex is the head honcho in charge of SweepsKings, where he puts his 15+ years of iGaming experience to good use. He ensures all articles are accurate and motivates the team to produce truly exceptional content. Whenever you receive an exclusive bonus from SweepsKings or learn about a brand-new sweepstakes casino, you can thank Alex!
The man, the myth, the legend, Alex is the head honcho in charge of SweepsKings, where he puts his 15+ years of iGaming experience to good use. He ensures all articles are accurate and motivates the team to produce truly exceptional content. Whenever you receive an exclusive bonus from SweepsKings or learn about a brand-new sweepstakes casino, you can thank Alex!
