California Sweepstakes Casinos

If you’ve got questions about sweepstakes casinos, their relation to social gaming sites, and how they differ from online casinos that cater to Californians from offshore, we’re here to help. This guide will walk you through the process of playing at sweeps casinos in CA today.

California Gambling Laws: Online Casino Legal Updates

Is online gambling legal in California? While online gambling in licensed and regulated casinos has become a reality in many states, that isn’t (yet) the scenario in the Golden State. California has a patchwork of laws which cover various gambling options, from land-based card rooms and tribal casinos to charitable games, and we’ll try to explain these as simply as possible for you.

Under tribal-state compacts, tribal-run land-based casinos are currently legal, while horse race betting is offered via parimutuel betting at tribal casinos and racetracks. The California State Lottery has the right to legally offer draw-based options and scratch cards, alongside lottery games. Assuming that they meet eligibility requirements (such as not making a profit), charitable gaming providers can also cater to Californians. What about online casinos, though?

California’s Gambling Control Act (1994) and its General Provisions ensure that commercial gambling isn’t permitted in the state. While the wording doesn’t specifically mention online gambling, it is deemed to fall under the scope of gambling act. As such, the only real money casinos you wager on from California are those based offshore. These are not regulated by any Californian authority, and because of their “out-of-state” nature, they don’t fall foul of the Golden State’s gambling laws, effectively operating in a legal gray zone. However, we don’t recommend joining these casinos.

Various attempts have been made to legalize real money casinos in CA. Since 2018, there have been no fewer than five attempts to do so. Bill ACA-16 failed in 2019, and a tribal-endorsed bill (Bill SCA-6) failed a year later. In 2021, a California iGaming bill (Proposal 27) was drafted which made it onto the ballot paper the following year. However, it was voted down (rather resoundingly), effectively ending the Golden State’s bid to legalize online casino gambling with real money at present.

Nonetheless, California has ways for you to enjoy online casino games legally. Daily fantasy sports (not online sports betting) and social casinos are legal in CA, as they abide by the “no purchase necessary” law which is in place. Let’s explain how this works below.

How You Can Play Online Slots and Casino Games in the Golden State

While real money casinos are off limits in California (at least, right now), social casinos and sweepstakes casinos are perfectly legal if you’re aged 18 or older. The legality of such sites hinges on two clear rules. Any legal site must ensure that:

• No Purchase Is Necessary: Gaming sites must allow you to play without requiring you to purchase a product or service for the purpose of gambling.
• Taxes Are Paid: Anything you win from sweepstakes is eligible for tax, and taxes must be paid on any prizes won.

Neither sweepstakes casinos nor social casinos require their members to purchase anything. What’s the difference between social and sweepstakes casinos, though? The primary difference between the two is straightforward. Social casino sites offer free gameplay for entertainment purposes – no real prizes are awarded, and no real money online casino deposits are required.

At social casinos, you aren’t risking your own money playing there. Instead, you can obtain GC by logging into your account, using promo codes to claim bonuses, being successful in tournaments, or by purchasing gold coins from the cashier. However, you can never win anything tangible. You’re always rewarded with gold coins, which can be reinvested in games. In short, you’re always playing for fun at social casinos.

Sweepstakes casinos in California work a little differently – again, no real deposits are necessary, and any sweeps coins (SC) you win by playing free games can be converted into real cash prizes.

If you like the sound of that, how do you get started? Joining a sweeps casino is no different to registering at a real money casino. You can head over to the site in question and use the e-form to register as a new member. Once you have an account (which is free), you may be asked to provide an ID and a utility bill which showcase that you’re over 18 and reside in an eligible state. After that, you will be awarded with the free sweeps bonuses listed on this page to start playing.

How are sweepstakes casinos legal in California?

Sweepstakes casinos are legal in California because they adhere to the Golden State’s “no purchase necessary” law. You can play for free by acquiring gold coins which can be used to play games for fun. While you can purchase GC, the part is that you aren’t required to. Because sweeps coins can only be “won” and not “purchased”, and because any real money winnings you can receive come directly from those sweeps coins, not gold coins, sweeps casinos aren’t in breach of California’s laws.

The above remains true to this day, although the Fliff California Class Action did raise some interesting questions regarding the legitimacy of social sportsbooks.

Overview Of The Best Sweepstakes Casinos in California

To help you get started, we’ve hand-picked five of the very best sweepstakes casinos in California. Each excels for a very different reason, but either could do a job for you. Here’s a brief look at our favorites:

1. Pulsz Casino – Best Casino for Slot Games

If you’re looking for many slot games, look no further than Pulsz. This casino is home to Vegas and casino-style games and slots such as 5 Lions: Megaways, Black Wolf, and Hit the Gold. Sign up at Pulsz Casino to claim 5,000 gold coins and 2.3 SC when you register today. You can then play the nearly 800 games on desktop, mobile, or through native apps.

2. WOW Vegas – Best Casino for Ample Payment Options

Launched in 2022, WOW Vegas is one of the newest casinos to feature in our list. It has over 1,000 games and RNG table games for you to explore, with titles from Pragmatic Play, Betsoft and more. Extensive payment providers are this site’s forte, with everything from credit and debit cards, to Skrill, Apple Pay and other methods accepted. Join WOW Vegas today for a 250,000 WC and 5 SC bonus issued over the first three days after registering. Your first $10 purchase is also eligible for a 200% bonus.

3. Fortune Coins Casino – Best Casino for Progressive Jackpot Options

Run by Social Gaming LLC, Fortune Coins is best known for its extensive selection of progressive titles. Over 200 slots can be played, alongside unique fish games, specialty titles and even video poker. There is even a progressive jackpot network in play spanning many of the site’s top in-house hits. Grab 630,000 GC and 1,400 FC when you join the Californian sweeps casino today.

4. McLuck Casino – Best Overall Casino for Sweeps

McLuck is ideal if you’re looking for the best all-round sweeps casino in California. Not only does it offer Golden State members 7,500 GC and 2.5 SC upon sign-up, but it also has some of the best promos and coin packages around. It’s also home to established top-tier titles from well-known brands like NetEnt and Pragmatic Play.

5. Stake.us Casino – Best Sweeps Casino for Crypto Payment Options

Stake.us is where you want to go if you prefer to buy GC packages with cryptos and cash out through the blockchain. Stake supports dozens of cryptos, has over 800 slots, classic table and live dealer titles, and it is home to Stake Originals, which can be played nowhere else in the US. When you join today, Stake.us welcomes you with a 10,000 GC and 1 SC no-deposit welcome bonus.

Why Our Experts Selected These Brands

Why did we pick those sweeps casinos out of the many available to Californians?

Check our review process criteria and draw from it. Ultimately, there are many aspects we look for in CA sweeps casinos, including the following:

Finally, we amalgamate all this information into a review detailing how a sweepstakes casino performs. The five California social casinos featured above scored highly in individual categories and overall.

How Payments Work

While an abundance of free gold coins and regular promos ensure that you don’t really need to purchase GC, you can still choose to do so. This is handy, especially if you favor long sessions and really enjoy casino-style games.

You can typically buy gold coins from a sweepstakes casino by heading to the cashier and perusing the available gold coin packages. There will usually be several; for example, some of those at McLuck Casino include:

• Purchase 4,000 gold coins for $1.99 and use them on exclusive GC games
• Buy 50,000 gold coins for $9.99 and receive 25 free sweepstakes coins with a special offer.
• Obtain 200,000 gold coins for $99.99 and get SC 104 free.

Having found a GC package that you like, you can select a payment method from those available, enter your details and finalize the transaction. Common payment methods at sweepstakes casinos in the Golden State include VISA, MasterCard, AMEX, ACH, e-wallets such as Skrill and PayPal, bank transfers, and other options. Again, you cannot purchase sweeps coins directly.

Can you win real money prizes playing sweepstakes casino games?

Gold coins can only be used to play games, but you’ll acquire sweeps coins while playing. These can be exchanged for real prizes. While GC cannot be traded for cash, SC can if you head to the cashier. Select “Cash Redemptions” or any other similar option. Then, you can enter the amount of SC you want to convert from your balance, choose one of the payment options available, and confirm the transaction. Transaction times vary, but you’re looking at waiting times of 1-7 business days, depending on where you play.

The only requirements is to have a verified account, over the minimum redemption limit, and to have played your sweeps coins at least 1x on the games.

Your Gaming Options at CA Sweepstakes Casinos

The available games you can choose from at CA sweepstakes online casinos depend on where you play. Again, some gaming sites hide selected games until you’ve made a GC deposit, but most don’t, as this would stray too close to the line when it comes to California’s gambling laws.

The main types of sweeps gambling games you can play include slots, table games, and fish games. The latter are particularly popular and not readily available at conventional real money casinos. They typically allow you to target marine animals and fish with cannons to unlock SC prizes. Live online casino games, while theoretically possible to play at online sweepstakes casino sites, are rare and currently only available at Stake, High 5 Casino, and Chanced.

The types of games you can find in your CA sweepstakes casino will depend on its software providers. Many will feature in-house games, but some offer top titles from recognizable brands commonly associated with real money online gambling. These include NetEnt, Pragmatic Play, Games Global, Betsoft and others. It’s entirely impossible to find top slots like Starburst, Big Bass Bonanza, Sugar Rush, Sun of Egypt, and epic progressive jackpot titles like Neon Valley at sweepstakes online casinos in California, play for free, and win real cash prizes.

Bonuses and Promotions at California Online Casinos with Real Cash Prizes

While Cali sweepstake online casinos come packed with promos and bonuses, they tend to work differently than those found at conventional real money and online casino gambling sites. For starters, there is no purchase necessary to snap them up.

Whereas real money California online casino bonuses tend to leave you hamstrung with terms and conditions, such as wagering requirements (sometimes excessive ones), minimum deposit limits, maximum wins caps and more, you’ll find greater flexibility in CA free SCs bonuses.

Common bonuses you can claim include:

• Sign Up: Our banners indicated the prizes you receive for simply signing up an account with each sweepstakes casino in California.
• Daily Login Bonus: Sign into your account to claim SC and GC via this offer.
• Refer-a-Friend: Convince a friend to sign up and join you to pocket free tokens.
• Social Media Offers: Tweet or participate in social media contests to win GC and a mouth-watering amount of free sweeps for gaming purposes.
• Weekly Tournaments: Succeed in tournaments, and you could win GC or SC based on your performance.
• Prize Wheels: Spin a wheel of fortune to walk away with a random set of prizes.
• Raffles: These promos represent yet another way to acquire coins at random.
• Deposit Bonuses: Unlike casino offers, you aren’t “matching” your deposit with bonus funds. Instead, you’ll receive a special offer (extra tokens) when you choose to buy selected gold coin packages.

Comparison of the Best Cali Online Casinos with Real Cash Prizes

Aspects in Favor and Against Sweepstakes Online Casinos in the Golden State

While a sweepstake casino will never offer you the true online gambling experience you’d get from a state-licensed online casino, there are still certain benefits to choosing to play in this manner from California. Let’s highlight those below. They include:

There are clear benefits to playing at California sweepstake casinos, not least because it’s the only way you can bet on casino games and win real money legally. If you’re ready to play with coins, don’t hesitate to explore our five recommended online casinos or read reviews of our top CA sweeps casinos before signing up as a new player today.

Other Gambling Options for Californian Players

Gambling options aren’t limited to sweepstake online casinos in California, even if they are the most practical way to play legally.

Brick-and-mortar casinos, while mostly illegal in the Golden State, are operational. There are a handful of cardrooms (admittedly, no new ones have sprung up since 1995) and tribal California casinos you can head to. Over sixty CA tribal casinos have emerged since tribal-California state gaming compacts were signed. The most notable of these include the Cahuilla Casino, the Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Diamond Mountain, and Colusa Casino, with the latter supporting over 1,200 slot machines and popular table games, as well as bingo.

Land-based sweeps establishments can also be found. Gizmo’s Cyber Cafe out in Manteca, Modesto’s Riversweeps, and Handyworld in West Sacramento offer a similar sweeps-style service to their online counterparts if you fancy making a day of it.

Online casinos (and sports betting sites) are not currently legal in the Golden State outside of the tribal casinos mentioned above. However, with numerous US states setting up their own regulated industries, we wouldn’t be surprised if the California Gambling Control Commission opened its doors to state-licensed and regulated California casinos soon.

Sweepstakes online casinos represent the safest way for you to play and win real money in a secure, and most importantly, legal environment. Given that, we’d encourage you to take full advantage of the many reputable and respected social gaming options found here. At least take the free money and try them out.