Your guide to sweepstakes online poker
Sweepstakes poker means playing the classic card game of poker without there being any real money gambling involved. Instead you will be using virtual currency that has no direct cash value.
You can play poker sweepstakes games for free and the cool part is that you can redeem a variety of prizes for taking part. Apart from those differences, this kind of poker is really no different to how you’d play a standard game of poker.
Why it’s legal to play poker sweepstakes in the US
The fact that there is no actual gambling involved in playing sweepstakes games means that these sweepstakes sites don’t have to get the same level of licensing and regulation to offer their services in the US. While regular real money casinos are only allowed to operate in a handful of states, you can play at most sweepstakes casinos anywhere from Maine to Alaska.
Just bear in mind that each state gets the power to set its own sweepstakes gaming regulation. This means that while most states let sweepstakes poker platforms like Stake.us operate within their borders, the same isn’t true for other states like New York, Washington, Nevada, Idaho. Kentucky, Michigan or Vermont.
While there is no real money gambling at sweepstakes casinos, there will be a minimum age requirement. This means that you’ll usually have to be at least 18 or 21 years old to play at these gaming sites and such information will be checked upon signing up.
- Legal in most US states
- Minimum age requirement applies
- No real money gambling
How sweepstakes poker works
It’s worth taking the time to fully understand how sweepstakes gaming platforms operate before you start playing. Each of these sites should usually have a page of sweeps rules that outlines how the virtual currencies work and how you can redeem prizes, but here is a quick overview:
Virtual currencies versus real money
You don’t gamble with real money at sweepstakes casinos, but instead play with virtual credit. This will either be Gold Coins that lets you play for fun, or Sweepstakes Coins that lets you enter the promotional sweepstakes. Neither form of virtual currency has any cash value outside of the sweepstakes casino.
Redeemable prizes versus winnings
You don’t directly win money from playing poker sweepstakes. Instead of this, you can use Sweepstakes Coins to play the games and if you win enough Sweepstakes Coins back, you can then redeem them for prizes like cash and gift cards. Bear in mind that there is usually a playthrough requirement for redeeming Sweepstakes Coins and you’ll have to have a verified account before you can redeem a prize.
Sweepstakes casinos don’t have the facility to accept real money deposits like regular online casinos. Instead of this, you will be given the option to purchase a form of virtual currency called Gold Coins that is used for entertainment purposes only. Just note that you can’t purchase Sweepstakes Coins as you can only get them for free.
All legit sweepstakes casinos have to let you play their poker sweepstakes with no purchase necessary. This means that you should always be able to get free credit as a new and existing customer to enter the sweepstakes and potentially redeem a prize. Very different from regular online casinos where you have to spend your own cash to play the poker games.
Discover the best sweepstakes poker sites
Until recently, most sweepstakes gaming platforms had tended to focus on other casino games like slots, roulette and blackjack. However, there’s been a definite trend for these sites to start including poker.
As a result, we’ve handpicked some of the best sweepstakes gaming platforms in the banners of this page. Each of these sites has been selected as they have some great poker games that you can play for free and redeem some impressive prizes too. Perfect for anyone who wants a quick and easy way to get started on the sweepstakes poker revolution.
Play sweepstakes poker at Stake.us
Pros & Cons
- Exclusive GBHSOCIAL promo code
- Quality Stake Poker game
- Redeem real-world prizes
- Play for free
- Not available in certain states
Stake.us is arguably the most exciting sweepstakes gaming platform in the US, and what’s best is that it’s just launched its own Stake Poker game. This offers you a fast and easy way to play poker online, and you can play it for free and potentially redeem a variety of prizes like cryptos, gift cards and branded merchandise.
The Stake Poker game is part of a series of exclusive games called Stake Originals that all offer stylish graphics, slick gameplay and the potential for making some big wins. Plus our
Stake.us review
found literally hundreds of other top slots and table games to play at this sweepstakes casino.
It’s also worth noting that Stake.us has a welcome offer on at the moment that you can get by using our exclusive
GBHSOCIAL
code. By unlocking this deal, you will get 55 SC to work towards redeeming prizes, 260,000 Gold Coins that’ll let you play for fun, and 5% rakeback to help cover any losses.
$55 Stake Cash + 260K Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
How to play online poker sweepstakes games
If you’ve ever played poker, you’ll find it quick and easy to get started with the sweepstakes poker sites featured on this page. If you’re still new to playing poker, here is a quick runthrough of how the basic gameplay works:
- You’d load up the poker games from the browser of your computer or mobile
- Enter in your stake of how much Gold Coins or Sweepstakes Coins you want to bet
- You will be dealt two cards face up and now you decide whether to fold (lose the game and your bet) or proceed to the next round and raise your stakes.
- Here you will see three more cards dealt face up and you then see whether this creates a winning five-card hand
As such, you will be hoping that the sweepstakes poker machine will serve up the randomly assigned cards in a way that gives you a better hand than that of the other players or the dealer. Here is a reminder as to how the various poker hands are usually ranked:
| Hand | Example |
| Straight flush | A sequence of five cards all in the same suit, such as a two, three, four, five and six of hearts. |
| Four of a kind | Four cards all of the same rank such as four jacks. |
| Full house | Three cards of the same rank and a pair, such as three 10s and two sixes. |
| Flush | This is where you have cards of the same suit such as a jack, nine, seven, four and ace of spades. |
| Straight | Here you have to have five cards in a sequence but the suit doesn’t matter. An example would be an ace of diamonds, a queen of hearts, a 10 of clubs and a seven and a five of spades. |
| Three of a kind | Three cards in the same rank such as three jacks. |
| Two pairs | This could be something like two sixes and two fours. |
| One pair | Two cards of the same rank like two aces. |
| Highest card | Here a king would beat a queen. Just note that some gaming sites will have the ace as the highest card or the lowest, so check the rules before you play. |
Different variants of sweepstakes poker
You will probably already know that there are plenty of different poker variants out there, and this is something reflected in the sweepstakes gaming realm. Here are just some of the most popular poker variants that you’ll come across:
1. Texas Hold’em
Arguably the most popular poker variant, Texas Hold’em is remarkably simple to play. Here you will be aiming to get the best possible hand out of your two ‘hole’ cards and the five ‘community’ cards that get dealt during the course of the game.
2. Omaha poker
This is just like Texas Hold’em except for the fact that you are dealt four ‘hole’ cards to begin with. From here, you have to create a winning hand out of two of your ‘hole’ cards and three of the five ‘community’ cards.
3. More poker variants to enjoy
Most sweepstakes poker platforms will include a few other poker variants that will let you play anything from Caribbean stud poker and three card poker to Razz and much more. Don’t forget that many of these sites also have video poker games for a slightly different way to play.
For other sweepstakes games, have a look at these sites
1.
$55 Stake Cash + 260K Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
Players from Virginia accepted
2.
35 SC FREE and 1.75M WOW Coins
Players from Virginia accepted
3.
Claim Your Free 650,000 Gold Coins & 1,400 Fortune Coins
Players from Virginia accepted
4.
1000 Gems + 50% Extra gems On Your First Shards Purchase
Players from Virginia accepted
5.
33 SC FREE and 67,777 Lucky Coins
Players from Virginia accepted
Get sweepstakes bonuses to play poker for free
It’s worth remembering that all good sweepstakes casinos will put on a variety of special offers to ensure that you can play for free. Our
Stake.us bonus review
gives you a good idea of the kinds of deals that you can look forward to getting, and here are just some of the ways in which you can pick up some free credit:
Welcome offers
The exclusive
GBHSOCIAL
code at Stake.us is a great example of this, as it gives you lots of free credit just for signing up to its site for the first time.
Daily login bonuses
Here you will simply have to log into your sweepstakes casino account every 24 hours and get a fresh batch of free coins to play with.
Most sweepstakes casinos will take to their social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (formerly X) to host free coins giveaways. Here you may have to carry out certain tasks like solving puzzles, answering trivia questions or even just sharing posts to get your free credit.
You’ll often see sweepstakes casinos hosting special raffles of free credit that you can enter by playing certain games or certain amounts of games. Also expect to see missions where you can win free coins just for landing a specific multiplier, and there might even be races where you can win a share of a prize pool just for playing more than anyone else on the platform.
Reward programs
Here you’ll be invited to become part of a loyalty scheme where you can rise through different levels just by playing more games. Each level you reach will tend to give you more rewards like levelling up bonuses, increased rakeback and you might even get your own dedicated account manager.
Purchase bonuses
These are deals that give you free Sweepstakes Coins for purchases of various packages of Gold Coins. Not totally free, but not bad value either.
Postal requests
Here you have to send in a postcard to the sweepstakes casino in a way described on their terms and conditions page to request free Sweepstakes Coins. A good way of getting lots of extra credit just for the price of a postage stamp.
Our top site for sweepstakes poker
Stake.us Social Casino Promo
$55 Stake Cash + 260K Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
Playing poker sweepstakes from your mobile device
You won’t have to be shackled to your computer to play sweepstakes poker games, as all of the brands featured on the banners of this page let you play from your smartphone or tablet.
While some of these sweepstakes casinos have developed their own apps, most simply opt to create mobile-optimized websites instead. This means that you can play from the small screen with no download necessary. Perfect for anyone looking for an even more convenient way to play this iconic card game.
Tips for playing poker sweepstakes
Obviously there is no way to guarantee any wins when playing a game of chance like poker, but the following tips should be kept in mind the next time you play:
OK, so you are playing with virtual currency, but it’s still worth setting a budget. Doing so will ensure that you play responsibly and don’t make any more purchases of Gold Coins than you need to.
You can last a long time at sweepstakes casinos without having to purchase any credit. So take advantage of all of the daily login bonuses and social media giveaways to keep playing for free.
Play the best poker games
There are lots of different sweepstakes poker variants out there, and some will be better suited to your level of experience than others. As such, it might be good starting out with something simpler like Stake Poker before you advance to any of those poker tournaments.
Even the most experienced poker player will lose every now and then. As a result, it’s smart to only play with stakes that you don’t mind losing.
Know the laws of probability
As a game of chance, you will have a far better experience of playing poker if you don’t chase after a straight flush every time. After all, countless poker games have been won with a single pair, and this applies in the sweepstakes realm too.
How to sign up to a sweepstakes poker site
By now, you are probably ready to get started playing poker at one of the sweepstakes casinos featured on this page. Each of this sites will feature a broadly similar signing up process and this is what you need to do:
- Click on one of the brands featured in the banners of this page to be taken to its site
- Hit the Register button and fill in the registration form with your personal details
- Enter in any promo codes to get your welcome offer
- Verify your identity with some form of government-issued photo ID
- Start playing the poker games with your free credit
Conclusion - Start playing poker sweepstakes
The arrival of sweepstakes poker gives you a convenient and legal way to play this classic card game from most places in the US. You can play for free from your computer or mobile, and potentially redeem some pretty impressive prizes too. So make sure that you shop around to see which sweepstakes poker platform works best for you, sign up, get your welcome offer and start playing.
Top bonuses for sweepstakes poker sites in 2024
$55 Stake Cash + 260K Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
35 SC FREE and 1.75M WOW Coins
Sweepstakes poker FAQ
🃏 What is sweepstakes poker?
Sweepstakes poker is where you play the card game with virtual credit rather than real money. You can play for free and potentially redeem real-world prizes
🚫 Can I play poker sweepstakes in my state?
It depends which site you use and where you are playing from. For example, you can play poker at Stake.us in most states but not Vermont, Idaho, Michigan, Kentucky, Nevada, New York or Washington
🔒 Is it safe to play sweepstakes poker?
Yes, as long as you only play at those sweepstakes casinos that are legally allowed to operate in your state. The best thing to do is to only play at those sweepstakes poker platforms that are highlighted in the banners of this page.
