What is a sweepstakes casino?

Sweepstakes casinos are online platforms that offer casino-style games as promotional sweepstakes, where prizes are awarded by chance and entry never requires a purchase. The business underneath the games is a promotion, not a wagering business: no bet is booked and no cash is staked on a result. The free entry route is the part doing the legal work, because it is what keeps the model outside the definition of gambling in most US states.

Why 'no purchase necessary' is the whole model

Three elements together make something a lottery: a prize, awarded by chance, in exchange for consideration. A promotional sweepstakes removes the third one. An operator that guarantees a genuinely free entry route has taken consideration out of the transaction, and what is left is a lawful sweepstakes rather than a lottery.

Two conditions hold that structure up. A purchase must not improve the odds of winning, and a free entry must carry exactly the same prize eligibility as a paid one. A promotion that fails either test is not a sweepstakes, whatever it calls itself.

The two-currency system

The model needs two currencies because it has two separate jobs to do: one currency to play the games with, and one to enter the sweepstakes with. The play currency has no monetary value and cannot be redeemed for anything, so buying it buys entertainment and nothing else. The entry currency is the promotional entry itself, and it becomes redeemable once the operator's published conditions are met, which normally means playing it through at least once.

Betzy calls them Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, and the two are compared line by line in the guide to Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins.

How it differs from a real-money casino

A real-money casino takes a wager and settles it; a sweepstakes casino takes an entry and awards a prize by chance.

The two fall under different bodies of law, which is why a state that permits one does not automatically permit the other.

How it differs from a social casino

Nothing on a social casino converts into a prize with value. Its coins are terminal: you obtain them, you play them, and the loop closes there, whether the round wins or loses. A sweepstakes casino carries a second currency that can be redeemed for a prize once its conditions are met, and that second currency is the whole of the difference. The two get confused because both are free to play and both look much the same on screen.

Are sweepstakes casinos legal?

Yes in most US states, though several restrict or prohibit the model outright and the position keeps moving. Legality is decided state by state rather than federally, so the same promotion can be permitted on one side of a state line and blocked on the other. Operators respond by geofencing rather than by licensing: they block the states they cannot serve, because there is no gaming licence to apply for when the product is a sweepstakes rather than gambling.

Published state counts disagree with each other and go out of date within weeks, so check the operator's own current list rather than a third-party map. Betzy's is on the Betzy state availability page.

What you should check before signing up anywhere

Most of what matters here is either published on an operator's site or it is not, and the absence is itself an answer. Before you register anywhere, make these eight checks.

• Who legally operates the site, and where it is registered
• Whether a free entry route is published and specific
• The play-through condition on the entry currency
• The minimum and the maximum redemption
• Which states are excluded
• What identity documents are required
• How long redemption actually takes
• What the operator does not claim

How Betzy fits this model

Betzy operates as a free-to-play social sweepstakes platform under Texwal LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company. The two currencies are Gold Coins, which have no monetary value and cannot be redeemed, and Sweeps Coins, which are the promotional entries. A Sweeps Coin becomes Redeemable after it has been wagered through one complete game round, and a Redeemable Sweeps Coin carries a prize value of $1.00 USD.

Sweeps Coins are awarded free through the daily login bonus and through free entry by mail. You must be 18 or over to play, and 21 or over where the jurisdiction requires it.

Betzy is not available in Washington, Idaho or Nevada. Michigan residents may play but cannot redeem. That is the position published in the Betzy Terms of Service (Version 1.0, effective June 5, 2026), which also states that additional states may be restricted for specific features and that the list may be updated at any time as laws change.

Betzy holds no gaming licence, and none is required for a sweepstakes promotion. What that does and does not mean is set out in our answer to whether Betzy is legit, and the rest of the mechanics are indexed on the how Betzy works hub.

Common questions