Slot machines have been the predominant choice of US gamblers for decades. Online casinos brought them to every US household in the 1990s and early 2000s, yet the Government cracked down by placing restrictions on online gambling.

Changes have been noted since 2018, with a few states slowly legalizing online casinos, removing the need to visit the Strip or the Garden State to chase life-changing jackpots. At the minute, though, only Connecticut, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have issued iGaming licenses to online casinos. If you reside there, great, but what about the rest 90% of the country?

Social casinos have been offering free slots for ages. The lack of real money gameplay really hampered their popularity and their slots never really picked up though. Sweepstakes casinos are the latest trend, with some operators offering 1,000+ online slots to play for free or real cash prizes.

If you are wondering about your options to play slots online in the US, you should set your eyes on sweeps casinos like WOW Vegas, Sweeptastic, Pulsz, Stake.us, and Fortune Coins – all legal and filled with exciting games. I find myself in one of these venues more often than I care to admit and will be spilling the tea below.

Ways to Legally Play Slots Online

So, you’ve heard about the Money Train 4 slot machine being released by Relax Gaming and cannot wait to try it out, right? Here are your options:

• US Online Casinos – these are the best option if you are based in NJ, MI, CT, WV, or PA. Over 10 online casinos are available in most of these, packed with exciting bonuses and catalogs exceeding 1,000 slots. The usual threshold to start playing here is a $10 deposit.
• Offshore Online Casinos – I used to play at online casinos like Bovada, BetUS, and Lucky Creek Casino up until 2015. These slot sites aren’t bad but are illegal. They ignore US laws and accept players from all states since they hold crooked licenses from offshore countries. The main two problems include the lack of professional games at these casinos and frequent problems due to lack of oversight.
• Social Casinos – if you don’t care about the money and are purely a slots enthusiast, social casinos might be your best option. They are legal across the US and are free to enter and play. Most social casinos have proprietary games that aren’t tested since the whole experience is free and involves little risk.

I created this website to share my enthusiasm about sweepstakes casinos, a fourth option merging social and online casinos sites. Sweepstakes legislation exists in the US and Canada only, enabling operators who provide all users an equal chance of winning and no purchase requirement to enter the contests. Chumba was the first social casino to implement the sweepstakes model in a casino setting, by utilizing two virtual currencies – gold coins and sweeps coins. Both can be used to play online slots. Gold coin slots are like social slot games, while sweeps coins slots are like real money games. Every 1 SC you win on the game can be redeemed for real cash prizes. They are not just legal – but also widely accessible since anyone from the states except Washington, Idaho, and Michigan can play sweepstakes slots online. The experience is similar to real money online casinos bar the virtual credits.

Steps to Play Online Slots at Sweepstakes Casinos

From the four available options, sweepstake casinos are kind of a no-brainer if you want to play slots online and are based in the States. They are legal, spending real money is optional, and the range of games provided at most sweeps cash casinos is exquisite. Here is how you can get started:

1. Use our page links to find your way to one of the best sweeps casinos for online slots. Our team has carefully reviewed each and can vouch that their games are legit, they comply with sweeps rules, and they offer a smooth gaming experience.
2. Register a new account. This shouldn’t take over a minute, with most sweeps casinos enabling fast-track login through socials. Verification of age, address, and name will take place at a later point or before you make your first withdrawal request.
3. Remember that we said that purchases are optional? Sweepstakes casinos let you try their slots using no deposit gold coins and sweeps coins. A portion is injected instantly into your account after registration, while more free credits follow when you log in or send a letter. Tournaments, social media contests, and other promotional events can really further your gameplay without buying gold coins. However, if you decide to spend real money, you’ll receive the equivalent in sweeps coins.
4. As soon as a few free credits are in your account, you can use the toggle button to switch between standard and promotional play. The latter is another way of saying real money play. Then, you can select any of the slot games featured, and instead of USD, you will be wagering with the respective virtual currency.
5. Players can freely switch between games as long as a few credits are available. Any sweeps coins you win through slots gameplay can be redeemed for real money via the cashier.

How Online Slots Work

The games you will encounter at online sweepstake casinos are identical to the real money versions you find at other virtual casinos. The only difference is you play with coins instead of USD. Some sweeps casinos also power their own games, offering an alternative to the standard titles you find across the gambling industry.

• To begin betting, you must set the paylines and bet size. These vary from game to game.
• Next, you can spin the reels and wait for the outcome. Autoplay and turbo spin features speed up this process.
• Winnings are instantly added to your balance, and you can continue spinning until your balance is depleted or you’ve had enough fun.
• Most slots operate on 5-reels, 3-rows, and 25 paylines. 10 – 12 symbols are usually apparent, and winnings are formed for a combination of three or more symbols on a payline starting from the left. Special features like wilds, scatters, free spins, and stacked symbols break away from this format and usually result in larger wins.

Of course, each game is unique and the gameplay/bonus features can wildly vary. In all cases, though, a random number generator determines the outcome of each spin making the whole experience random and fair.

Gaming Options

Sweepstake casinos provide in-house slots and titles powered by well-known providers. Although some lobbies might look similar, diving into the available options before signing up ensures you get to play the best games only.

Most sweeps casinos offer the following slot options:

• Standard video slots
• Fruit machines
• Jackpot slots
• Progressive games
• Hold and Win slots
• Megaways games
• Tumbling reels
• Cluster wins
• Bonus buys

The features don’t really influence how well you will do playing online slots, but the gameplay might be completely different from one game to the next. The following table offers an overview of the best sweepstakes casinos and their slot lobbies:

How to Select a Game

I have been playing online slots since 2005, but I am still not in the right position to tell you what slot to play. Truth is, all online slots are random, and therefore the outcome of your gameplay will be solely based on luck. Online slots come with a house edge, so the likelihood of losing more often than you win is inherent, yet you can take into account a few things when searching for an online slot game:

• Theme – how the slot is themed affects the graphics, music, symbols, and special features, so go for something you really like. Special effects like animations, 3D, and cut scenes might also be something you want to consider when selecting a slot.
• Betting limits – unless you are betting with gold coins, you should check the limits are suited to your playing style. Most slots take bets from as low as 0.1 SC to 100 SC per round, but some start at 0.01 – 1 SC making them better suited for specific player types.
• Gameplay – if you enjoy classic or standard slot machines, avoid any slots with fancy names like Megaways, XWays, and Ultraways. These games are fun, but their gameplay deviates a lot from classic paylines and win formats.
• Features – wilds and scatter symbols are what you usually find at online slots. From there, you might get no features at all to free spins, multipliers, cascading reels, jackpots, bonus rounds, instant prizes, or all the above in a single slot game. Read the paytable to find a game with enough features to keep you entertained.
• Metrics – developers release official data on the RTP, Volatility, and Hit Rate of their titles. It is crucial to pick a slot game with a math model suited to your bankroll and expectations.

Tips to Win at Online Slots

There are no tricks or tips that will let you outsmart the slot games’ RNG. However, a few strategies can help you play slots safely and without going overboard:

• The Return to Player (RTP) rate indicates the house edge of each slot. The higher the RTP value of a game, the better your odds of winning in the long run.
• Volatility ratings indicate how often and big a slot game pays out. Budget-conscious players should go for low volatility slots, while those after big wins should pick high RTP slots like The Dog House.
• Join many sweepstakes slot sites and grab all free SC coins you can get your hands on. Always pick wisely, though – you can find legit operators in our list here.
• Redeem your sweeps coins as soon as you hit the minimum redemption threshold and make a gold coin purchase to take advantage of other free SC bonuses.
• Utilize responsible gambling tools to stay on top of your purchases and game sessions.

Conclusion

This guide has taken a long turn to highlight to every reader how to play online slots in the US without breaking the law or the bank. You now know how online slots work at sweepstakes casinos, and you have no excuses for the next time an offshore casino refuses to pay out your winnings.

I recommend claiming the bonuses on this page, testing the platforms’ slots using gold coins, and if you are happy – go for the sweeps jackpots!