If you’re not yet familiar with sweepstakes casinos (and you’re wondering how they legally offer games), here’s a quick rundown: instead of using real money for wagering, sweepstake platforms use Gold Coins (GC) and Sweepstakes Coins (SC).
Gold Coins allow you to play for free, but SC is used to participate in sweepstakes contests for cash prizes. SC that you win during gameplay is redeemable for cash, gift card, and even crypto prizes at some casinos. Generally, they assign $1.00 USD in prize value to each Sweeps Coin.
The big question we’re addressing today is whether the odds are the same for GC and SC play.
The short answer? Yes. But you need to verify this by finding the listed RTP for each game first.
What is RTP? How Does It Add More Free Coins To My Bankroll?
RTP percentages (read this primer), otherwise known as “return-to-player” percentages, dictate your likelihood of winning Gold Coins and/or Sweeps Coins on any given spin. RTP testing is conducted using a random number generator, which analyzes the average outcome across millions of slot wagers.
If you play a real money slot game with a 96% return-to-player (RTP) rate, it will eventually give $96 of every $100 spent back to its players. This might take a few days, weeks, months or even years. This percentage is based on millions of theoretical spins, skewing what may be possible.
What Does a “Worthy RTP” Look Like At Popular Social Casinos?
You should actively look for slot machines with a 95% RTP or higher. It’s also worth checking on the volatility of each slot you decide to play. RTP and volatility go together like peanut butter and jelly. RTP dictates the likelihood of winning, but volatility references how much and how often.
Low-volatility slots are prone to delivering smaller but more frequent GC/SC wins. High-volatility games generally reward larger spins with infrequent but massive prizes. Of course, RTP and/or volatility aren’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to sweeps casinos, as anything could happen.
The way that casinos “test” the RTP of each game is not necessarily applicable to real-life play. I’d have to place millions of GC and/or SC spins to conduct a full-fledged analysis of my winning odds, which isn’t feasible without the assistance of a random number generator.
Even so, low-stakes gamers should play low-volatility slots. In my personal experience, games with higher volatility require a bit more of your expendable income before they start heating up but you can always get lucky.
Which Sweepstakes Casino Are Trustworthy?
Unfortunately, not all casino games are made with equal care in mind. Newer software providers routinely push titles with lower-than-average RTP rates, finicky bonuses and buffering while switching between GC and SC gameplay can raise doubts. That’s why some users say the odds are rigged.
If you don’t want to become one of the many people bemoaning their perceived financial slights, it’s best to stick with reputable casinos and reputable software companies.
I personally trust Hello Millions, Chumba, McLuck, WOW Vegas, and Playfame. They are great sites to begin with.
That’s just because they pick and choose their partnered software providers very carefully. All five sites feature exciting games with immersive graphics and actual winning potential.
Here’s a list detailing some of the most popular casino software companies I also trust:
- Pragmatic Play
- BetSoft
- 3 Oaks Gaming
- Playson
- Evoplay
- Spadegaming
- NetEnt
- Hacksaw
- Play n’ Go
- Playtech
Is There A Way to View Each Game’s RTP Independently Online?
Aside from conducting a quick Google search with the name of your preferred slot machine, you can check the game’s RTP independently while playing. Casino operators can decide to utilize the game’s lowest legal RTP or the game’s theoretical RTP, which is usually 1% – 2% higher.
Let’s use Joker’s Jewels, a medium-volatility progressive machine from Pragmatic Play, as our first example. Click the information tab at the bottom-left corner to view RTP rates and volatility.
As you see, Joker’s Jewels has a 96.49% RTP whilst playing with Gold Coins at Hello Millions.
But does the RTP stay the same when you switch over to SC play? Fortunately in the case of Joker’s Jewels on Hello Millions it absolutely does. You’ll find the exact same 96.49% RTP on when switching between GC and SC play modes. Here’s the proof, notice the highlighted RTP% in the different virtual currency screens:
It’s not guaranteed that RTP stays the same between GC and SC, which is why it’s always good to verify yourself before playing. It would not be a great look for a casino if this happened and I would recommend avoiding the site if you came across this when playing.
Of course, in the short term, you’ll experience different outcomes (that’s the volatility I mentioned above), but over the long term, it will eventually work out to be the same.
Don’t Trust the RTP on Your Favorite Games Until You Confirm It
You’ll find that the overwhelming majority of sweeps casinos will keep their GC and SC games locked to the same RTP. But if you ever want to confirm, you can always do it for yourself by hitting the info button on a particular slot and double-checking the RTP between modes.
I don’t recommend playing slots that don’t list their RTP as there is no guarantee on a fair return.
The most important thing is to only play on reputable sweeps sites. Trusted developers make it possible for social casinos to feature reliable jackpots, consistent wins, and a happy fanbase.
However, a few bad apples spoil the bunch, especially in an industry still gaining footing nationwide. From anecdotal evidence on Reddit to less-than-stellar TrustPilot testimonials, it’s hard to know what you should believe.
Rather than worrying about the differences between GC and SC gameplay, it’s more fitting to keep your focus on the general reputation of any casino. TrustPilot, Reddit, AskGamblers and SlotsFan contain comprehensive information about slots that most social casinos don’t disclose all that freely.
Remember that RTP doesn’t translate to real-life gameplay very well. Even though a certain percentage of casino proceeds are given back to users, there’s no guideline about when that’s required to happen – that’s why high-RTP machines don’t always promise consistent wins.
