Sweepstakes casinos are becoming increasingly popular in the USA. Americans have already realized their value, providing them with real money casino games indifferently of their state. By removing the risk involved in offshore gambling sites and the limitations of state-licensed operators, sweepstake casino sites are exactly what was missing from the states. And social casinos like Chumba is how it all started.
Chumba Casino was launched in 2012 by Virtual Gaming Worlds, a social gaming company licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority. Since then, they have created similar casinos to Chumba – Global Poker, Scratch Carnival, and LuckyLand Slots. Each of these caters to a specific market, with most of the games powered in-house. You can play free online slots, online scratchies, poker games, progressives, blackjack, roulette, and other games for free or real money there.
Yet, VGW is far from the only company that has realized the value of sweepstakes casinos. Several companies have entered this niche, creating platforms that work like Chumba but differ in several ways.
Below, you can learn about similar sites to the first social casino that paid real money prizes to decide which is the best for you. Every operator provides a sweeps and gold coins bonus, so you won’t be missing out indifferently on your decision.
Legal Sweepstakes Casinos with Real Money Prizes
Before we give you the rundown, let us first do the introductions. Understanding how Chumba Casino works is essential to realize why the listed alternatives matter.
First, legal USA online casinos must be licensed by state gambling bodies to operate. Currently, only NJ, PA, MI, CT, and WV have legalized real money online casinos, leaving most of the country waiting.
Offshore gambling sites have been around for decades. Most Americans know by now that they cannot be trusted since they often provide rigged games or outrightly refuse to payout winnings. We do not recommend such sites.
Chumba Casino was created on the premise of sweepstakes, legal in all US states but Washington D.C. Borrowing the coins used by social casinos like Big Fish Casino and BetRivers.net, Chumba created a dual currency on which it runs – sweeps coins and gold coins. The latter are free play money, allowing all users to try out the games for fun. You can buy gold coins for cash or get them as a bonus. On the other hand, sweeps coins are only provided as a bonus for gold coin purchases or via bonuses. These coins carry real money value, often exchanged at a 1 SC for $1 rate. Gold coins and bonuses are the way to get those – since sweepstakes casinos must not require a purchase to be legal in the USA.
It is not uncommon to find sweeps coins under different names on sites similar to it; Fortune Coins Casino calls them fortune coins, while Funzpoints Casino calls them premium funzpoints. Their role is the same, allowing you to play casino-style games for free and stand a chance to win real money. Anyone over 18 years old from all US states bar Washington D.C. can play there.
Chumba Casino
Before we get to its alternatives, it is good to know what you could get for playing at Chumba Casino.
For starters, it features roughly 100 games powered by Playtech, VGW, and Golden Rock Studios. These are primarily slot machines, with a few progressives among them. Blackjack, roulette, and poker games are also provided in a small range.
New players who join Chumba Casino get 2,000,000 gold coins and 2 bonus sweeps coins. Free sweeps coins are provided every 24 hours as a mail-in bonus and via social media contests.
The site is available on desktop and mobile devices, although there isn’t a dedicated app. If you win over 50 sweeps coins on Chumba, you can redeem them for real money via cards, eCheck, or eWallets.
Chumba Sister Casinos
Although Chumba is the first VGW casino, the company established additional platforms following its success. Unlike Chumba Casino, its sister sites cater to niche markets.
LuckyLand Slots
As the name suggests, LuckyLand Slots is exclusively a slots platform. It features proprietary games in the same two modes as Chumba. New players get a better bonus here: an impressive 7,777 GC and 10 bonus SC.
The variety of titles is narrow at LuckyLand Slots, with less than 50 slot machines available. The good news is you can download their app from the online platform and take LuckyLand Slots with you everywhere.
Additional coins are offered through bonuses and sweeps coins can be redeemed for cash, like on Chumba.
Global Poker
This platform is among the most original in the USA. With online poker limited to five states, there was an outcry for legal real money poker. Oh boy, did Global Poker deliver.
VGW nailed it with this one, offering live poker rooms covering sit-n-gos, jackpot sit-n-gos, Pineapple Poker, No Limit Texas Hold’em, and more. Online slots are also available for those looking for something different.
SC and GC are the two currencies on Global Poker, which makes the social poker site legal in all US states. A $20 first purchase bonus awaits new users.
Scratch Carnival
The last and least successful Chumba sister casino is a scratch platform. Users use coins to play online scratch games for free or real money.
The platform acts in an arcade fashion, where new levels unlock new games. Prizes can be redeemed like on its sister sites, but it just hasn’t picked up yet.
Chumba Casino Alternatives
Although Chumba set the tune, you are not restricted to it or sister sites today. Many social casinos with prizes have launched since, providing a better and more realistic gaming experience. Below, we provide you with three alternatives to VGW platforms and games.
Fortune Coins Casino
We mentioned this sweepstakes casino before, but it deserves much more. The casino runs with gold and fortune coins like Chumba. The titles are also proprietary, this time made by Social Gaming LLC.
You can play over 40 slot machines that share progressive jackpots, keno, video poker, casino war, poker, or Emily’s Treasure – the best fish gambling game in the US.
New players receive 800 fortune coins and 140,000 gold coins without a deposit. Additional coins are provided when you refer a friend, follow them on social media, and other routes.
Pulsz Casino
Unlike all previously covered casinos like Chumba, Pulsz is powered by real money casino developers. As a result, you can play over 300 slots and casino games, products of Pragmatic Play, NetEnt, Relax Gaming, Booongo, and others.
The catalog is separated into different lobbies, including Megaways, Jackpots, and Feature Buy. Online scratchies, poker, blackjack, and other games are also available at Pulsz Casino. Bingo fans can instead join its sister site, Pulsz Bingo.
Pulsz uses GC and SC, which makes it easy to transition from Chumba and play casino games for prizes there. New players get 2.3 SC and 5,000 GC for signing up and a 300% purchase bonus.
BetRivers Social Casino
BetRivers.net is an entirely different site than Chumba. Like Pulsz Casino, it is powered by independent studios, including Microgaming, Playtech, Evolution Gaming, and Green Tube. It features over 400 online casino games, including live dealer and game show titles. Essentially, it uses the same software and layout as BetRivers Casino and Sportsbook, but in all states.
The drawback here is you cannot win real money. Instead, you get to use a single virtual currency, provided as a welcome and daily login bonus. If you don’t like gambling, BetRivers.net is the best gaming platform, like Chumba.
Key Takeaways
Chumba is a pioneer in the US gambling industry, revolutionizing the sweepstakes model. Now, all Americans can play casino games for free or real money prizes. The US Government didn’t provide them with this option, taking ages to move ahead with the legalization of real money casinos, but Chumba did.
If you are into scratchies, poker, and classic slots, then we suggest playing at a Chumba sister casino. On the other hand, if you are tired of Chumba games and looking for something different, Pulsz, Fortune Coins, and BetRivers.net are excellent alternatives.
All the above are great legal and safe alternatives for casino-style games. New sweepstakes casinos that slowly emerge might also be worth checking out instead of Chumba; WebSweeps.net, Lucky Charms, WOW Vegas, Funrize Casino, and Funzpoints, just to name a few.
Each account you create means free sweeps coins and gold coins without any requirement to make a deposit. So what are you waiting for?
