A US sweepstakes casino does not sell gambling. It sells a play currency, usually called Gold Coins, and it gives away a second currency alongside it. The play currency buys spins and nothing else; it can never be redeemed. The second currency, most often called Sweeps Coins, cannot legally be sold, so it is given away through free routes, and it is the only one that converts into money or prizes. Every figure this desk publishes is measured in that second currency.

This structure is what keeps the model lawful across most of the country. You are never required to pay to enter or win. A purchase buys play currency, and the free currency arrives alongside it as a promotional bonus, in the same way a code appears under a bottle cap. Every operator in our ledger runs a genuine no-purchase route, and those routes are all we used.

The free routes you will actually use

• Daily login bonus. The workhorse: a small amount of redeemable currency every day, often with a streak multiplier.
• Postal and web entry. Written into most operator terms, rarely used, and usually the largest single free allocation available.
• Social giveaways. Posted to operator accounts, time limited, and typically the fastest way to add meaningful credit.
• Missions and tasks. Complete an in-game objective and receive redeemable currency rather than more play currency.

The floor is the hidden cost

Every operator sets a minimum redeemable balance before it will process a withdrawal. Across the eighteen accounts in our ledger this ranged from fifty to one hundred coins. It is the most consequential number in this market and almost nobody advertises it, because it converts a generous sounding welcome into a waiting period.

At the cashier

Redemption exchanges the free currency for a prize, which for most operators means cash to a bank account, card or wallet. Identity verification is required by law, and it is far better completed when you open the account than when a balance is waiting. Our recorded times ran from twenty-two to seventy hours. A first withdrawal is usually slower than later ones because the payment rail is being established.