How we rank sweepstakes casinos
Every score on this site is built the same way, for every casino, with no exceptions: 70% comes from our own hands-on editorial testing, 30% comes from real visitors like you. Here's exactly how both halves work.
70%
Our editorial score
10 weighted criteria, each scored 1-5 by us after testing the actual sign-up, play, and redemption flow.
30%
Real visitor ratings
Submitted directly on each review page. No purchase, account, or affiliate relationship required to leave one.
Our editorial score, criterion by criterion
We test every operator ourselves — sign-up, free entry path, game library, and a real redemption attempt — then score each of these 10 criteria from 1 to 5. The average of all 10 is the editorial score.
1. Legal status & age requirement
How many states currently allow this operator, how stable that footing looks given the fast-moving state-by-state legal picture, and whether the age requirement is 18+ or 21+.
2. Dual-currency model & free entry (AMOE)
Whether Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins are kept clearly separate, how easy and clearly disclosed the free no-purchase entry path is, and the SC-per-dollar value on coin packages.
3. Game library & quality
Number of titles, the roster of software providers, and whether live-dealer, bingo, or table games are offered alongside slots.
4. Redemption terms & speed
Cash and gift-card redemption thresholds, available payout methods, and how long redemptions actually take once approved.
5. KYC verification speed
How fast and how strict identity verification is before a redemption is released — the single most common source of payout delays.
6. Wagering requirements on promo coins
Whether Sweeps Coins earned through promotions carry a playthrough requirement before they're redeemable, and how consistently that's applied.
7. Welcome & daily bonuses
Size of the no-purchase welcome package, daily login bonuses, and whether a loyalty program scales rewards over time.
8. Price & value of paid coin packages
How much Gold Coin and bonus Sweeps Coin you get per dollar, whether there's a strong first-purchase deal, and whether value holds up on repeat purchases.
9. Reputation & market tenure
Independent review scores, user complaint volume, and how long the operator has been running without major incident.
10. Support, security & responsible-gaming tools
Geolocation and RNG fairness, native app quality, customer support responsiveness, and self-limiting tools like deposit limits and self-exclusion.
Real visitor ratings, no exceptions
The remaining 30% belongs to people who've actually played — not to us. Here's exactly how we keep that number honest.
Anyone can rate, once
Enter a nickname, an email, and pick 1-5 stars. One rating per email per casino — submit again anytime to update your own score.
Your email stays private
We store a one-way cryptographic hash of your email, not the address itself. It's only used to stop duplicate votes — never shown or shared.
Nothing is seeded or faked
A casino with zero visitor ratings shows a neutral 3.0/5 baseline for that 30% — we never invent votes to make a number look better or worse.
How the two halves combine
Once a casino has visitor ratings, its overall score updates automatically. Here's a worked example with illustrative numbers.
Editorial average
4.5/5
× 70% = 3.15
Visitor average
4.0/5
× 30% = 1.20
Overall score
4.4/5
shown site-wide
Before any visitor has rated a casino, we use a neutral 3.0/5 in place of the visitor average — never a 5 and never a 1 — so a brand-new score is neither flattered nor punished.
Nobody can buy a better score
Some "Play Now" links on this site are affiliate links — we may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no cost to you. That relationship never touches either half of the score above: editorial criteria are scored from hands-on testing before any commercial discussion, and visitor ratings come straight from the same public form everyone else uses. Read the full policy on our Editorial Independence page.