New York Sweepstakes Casinos

We’re going to explore how New York sweepstakes casinos differ from real money sites, how they work, and touch on the best online casinos with sweeps to join today right here in our guide. Let’s begin.

New York Gambling Laws: Online Casino Legal Updates

New York’s policy regarding online gambling is straightforward. As with many US states, New York permits sports betting for real money, but we’re still waiting for the state to legalize NY online casinos. Regulated by the New York State Gambling Commission, sports betting became legal in 2021 when Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the associated bill into law.

The Empire State hasn’t yet legalized online casino gambling, though the topic is regularly debated. Given the stringent laws in place, how have sweeps casinos managed to find a legal way to offer gaming? It all hinges on three elements: prizes, chance, and payment.

New York considers any sweeps activities to be gambling or lottery games if they adhere to those three elements. To be legal, sweep sites must avoid being classified as either. Therefore, NY sweepstakes casinos simply needed to remove one of those elements. They couldn’t remove prizes (there would be no reason to play) or chance (you’d always win), so payment, known as “consideration”, was the way to go. By doing so, all New York sweep casinos offer free-to-play casino-style games, and more importantly, there is “no purchase necessary”. This sees social casinos in New York avoid being classified as either gambling or lottery sites, making them legal.

You must be aged 18 to play lottery games, and 21 to gamble on sports legally. So, where does that leave sweeps casinos? While some sites have an age limit of 18, they also dictate in their T&Cs that you must be the relevant age for your state to play, and in New York, this is typically deemed to be 21 years old.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that New York puts a limit on the amount that you can redeem at sweeps casinos. Real cash prizes cannot exceed $5,000. Anything redeemed for more than this figure would be liable for federal tax. Therefore, there is a five-grand cap in place at any legal, social casino catering to New Yorkers per round or hand.

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

Sweepstake casinos don’t use US dollars, and they don’t require you to deposit money to play. Instead, social casinos provide free coins to members, allowing them to continually play games without ever having to risk money of their own. This is known as “no purchase necessary”.

Each sweepstakes casino provides you with two types of virtual currencies (VCs). The first, known as GC (Gold Coins) or something similar, is gifted to players via promotions or when they sign in daily. These can be used to play games for free at a sweeps casino. They have no cash value and cannot be withdrawn. In a sense, Gold Coins are the equivalent of allowing you to play for fun.

The second VC is known as Sweeps Coins (SC), although each site may have its own unique name for this virtual currency. This can be obtained when you purchase gold coins (remember, you aren’t required to do so to play), or they can be acquired via promos, bonuses and as rewards when playing with Sweeps Coins. Unlike the former, Sweeps Coins can be redeemed for real cash prizes. As touched on above, there is a cap of $5,000 in place when it comes to redeeming SC in New York sweep casinos.

When you register as a new member of any legal social casino operating in New York, you’ll typically be given a host of GC and SC for gameplay. You can then purchase additional GC (if you wish) to claim a first purchase offer, and this will typically include a small sum of SC.

Registering at sweeps casinos in New York is easy enough. Head over to one of our recommended sites and use the e-form to sign up. You can also typically use accounts such as Google, Facebook, and others to register instantly. Don’t forget to accept the T&Cs. New members are required to provide a government-issued ID for verification purposes. After doing so, you’ll receive free coins to play with and can make your first purchase to boost your balance.

How are sweepstakes casinos legal in New York?

New York sweepstake casinos are sites where you can play online casino games for free, without having to purchase or deposit and risk your own money. Therefore, they aren’t considered gambling. Because there is no purchase necessary, and any virtual currencies (Sweeps Coins) which can be redeemed for real cash prizes can only be won and not purchased directly, social and sweepstakes casinos operate within the framework of New York’s gambling laws.

Overview Of the Best Sweepstakes Casinos in New York

There are plenty of sweeps casinos in New York for you to choose from. However, some excel above others. We’ve put together five of the best ones for you, and each has been chosen for a specific reason which helps it stand out. Our recommended NY sweeps casinos include:

RealPrize has a catalog of 500+ slot games, packed to the brim with the latest and greatest offerings from industry heavyweights like Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, and NoLimit City. The site has above-average RTP rates of 96% and beyond. 

It supports all the traditional banking methods, but also Skrill. Newcomers can claim up to 625,000 GC with 125 SC and 1,250 VIP Points with the first purchase deal included in the mix.

WOW Vegas Casino has been around since 2022 and is available across many US states, including New York. The sweeps casino hosts well over 1,500 games, many of which come from established providers such as Pragmatic Play and Betsoft Gaming. 

Players can access an ample selection of payment methods, combined with several top-level promos. As a newcomer, you can claim 250,000 WC and 5 SC over the first three days after registering your new sweepstakes casino account.

Casino.click has garnered a lot of attention in the past year. Fully available in New York, the platform is crypto-friendly. That’s somewhat of a rarity in the sweepstakes casino world. If you want, you can still use the traditional payment options. 

The gaming selection counts over 500 titles, where Relax Gaming stands strong as the SweepsKings team favorite. If you’re new to the site, you will be awarded a no deposit bonus of 100,000 GC + 2 SC upon sign-up.

LuckyBird.io is another sweepstakes casino that’s catered to players who use cryptocurrencies. However, unlike Casino.click, you are limited to crypto here.

The game choice is excellent, with LuckyBird Originals and games from providers like 3 Oaks, BGaming, and ICONIC21, who supply live dealer titles. There’s a good variety of promotions for existing users, and essentially an infinite supply of free coins. Plus, check out the Android app if you’re that way inclined.

Despite its relatively low game count, Crown Coins has a solid reputation, and actually some great games from the likes of Pragmatic Play, Slotmill, Relax Gaming, Hacksaw Gaming, and Microgaming – that’s top drawer quality!

Crown Coins really looks after long-term players with daily login bonuses, daily ‘Missions’, and a VIP program that awards points from both standard and promotional play. Apple Pay and Skrill users will appreciate the ability to use these payment methods on the platform too!

Why Our Experts Selected These Brands

We didn’t just pick random sweeps casinos for New Yorkers. Our NY sweepstakes casinos have been chosen because they fulfill our strict requirements regarding what we believe make up the most trustworthy and reliable sites. These include:

Only if a sweep casino fulfills all these criteria will it be added to our list of approved sites. The sites featured here don’t just adhere to those criteria and score highly for them; they offer much more besides which helps to make them the top five NY sweeps casinos in the business.

How Payments Work

All our New York sweepstake casinos offer free gameplay via a regular array of promos with no purchase necessary. However, you can still choose to purchase coin packages if you want to play longer or boost your balance.

Expect coin packages to offer you a batch of Gold Coins for reasonable prices, and these packages will also include a small number of Sweeps Coins, to boot. The more you buy, the greater the number of coins you will acquire.

To give you an example of the options you have, let’s take a quick look at the coins packages at one of our favorite sites – Jackpota Casino:

There will be minimum limits on how many coins you can purchase via packages. In the case of Jackpota, these range from $1.99 up to $299.99. It isn’t just purchasing coin packages where you may find limits, though. Redemptions may also be limited, and we’ll talk about that in a moment.

After coming across the Gold Coin package that you want, you can select it and choose one of the sweeps casino’s payment methods from those available. Enter your personal details and complete the transaction by following the instructions that appear on the screen. Common payment methods include credit cards such as VISA, MasterCard, and American Express, notable e-wallets like Skrill, bank transfers, prepaid vouchers, gift cards, and more.

Whenever you purchase GC, you should always bear in mind how much you’re paying to avoid issues with problem online casino gaming. The New York Council on Problem Gaming, New York State Gaming Commission, Office of Addiction Services and Support, and the National Council on Problem Gambling are available to assist you if you get in too deep. To help you avoid this, some sweeps casinos support responsible social gameplay tools, including deposit caps.

Can you win real money prizes playing sweepstakes casino games?

While sweeps Gold Coins can only be used to play games for fun, you can win real cash prizes by winning SC on games in promotional play. SC and their variants can be redeemed for real cash prizes at a rate determined by the sweep casino in question. In many cases, the rate will be 1 SC: $1 USD.

In New York, there is a limit of $5,000 in redemptions. Any redemptions worth more than this would be subject to a federal tax, so expect your sweeps site to put caps on what you can cash out at any one time. Redemptions can take between 1 and 5 business days in most cases, although this is subject to where you play.

Your Gaming Options at NY Sweepstakes Casinos

The selection of games you’ll have at your disposal at NY sweepstakes online casinos will depend on the site you choose. Some excel at offering in-house, original titles found nowhere else. Others provide oddities such as crash, money wheel or fish games. There are also sites that offer live dealer table games, while many support established slots from today’s top-tier software providers – the types of games you’d expect to see in real-money online casinos if they were legal in the Empire State.

Head to some of our selected NY sweeps casino sites, and you may also be able to play progressive jackpot games. These tend to operate on in-house jackpot networks and can result in immense wins. You’ll also find tournaments and competitions supported at many of the better New York social casinos.

Bonuses and Promotions at New York Online Casinos with Real Cash Prizes

Sweepstakes casinos in New York support bonuses and promotions which work a little differently than those found at offshore NY online casinos. To begin with, all promos and bonuses at sweeps New York online casino sites are free to claim. This is in stark contrast to NY online casino bonuses, where you must often deposit to claim them.

Secondly, you won’t be subject to wagering requirements with most of these deals. There will be a playthrough rate attached to any SC you land, but that’s often just 1x. At real money sites, these may be upwards of 35x or higher.

However, the types of promos you can claim are largely the same in both sweeps and real money casinos. Our trusted NY sweeps online casinos are known for offering many of the following deals:

The fun begins right off the bat – all NY sweepstakes casinos we’ve listed will give you free SC after creating, and in some cases verifying, your account. Use our links to begin!

Comparison of the Best NY Online Casinos with Real Cash Prizes

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

If you’re pondering over playing online casino games at sweeps casinos in the Empire State but want to compare the pros and cons, we’re happy to assist you. Here’s what you need to know:

As you can see, given the gambling laws of New York, there are certainly benefits to playing at sweeps casinos, including winning real cash prizes. If that ticks your boxes, don’t hesitate to head over to one of our recommended New York sweepstake casinos to sign up and play today.

Other Gambling Options for New York Players

While NY sweepstakes online casinos make for an excellent way to potentially win real cash prizes in a legal environment, they aren’t the only way that you can do so. Lotteries, land-based commercial casinos (via tribal compacts) and both brick-and-mortar and online sports betting options are also legal in the Empire State.

Some of the top land-based casinos available include Rivers Casino & Resort, the Del Lago Resort, and the three Seneca casino establishments (Allegany, Niagara, and Buffalo Creek). Many of the most reputable online sportsbooks in the US are also now in operation in the state.

As for the future, New York has no plans to rein in sweeps casinos – they are here to stay – despite attempts by some NY senators to push bills against this casino category. State lawmakers are also hard at work finding ways to legalize NY online casino sites. Many predict that the Empire State will follow neighboring Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the future, as they are eager to grab a share of a potential tax revenue pie worth upwards of $475 million annually from NY online casino games.

For now, though, New York’s sweepstakes casinos are the way to go. Don’t miss out on the action. Head over to one of our expert-approved and recommended NY social casinos and sign up to claim generous bonuses to start playing today. If you like what you see, purchase your first coin package to claim even more Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins to boot.