Sweepstakes Casino Payment and Redemption Methods

How do Payments and Withdrawals Work at Sweepstakes Casinos?

Sweepstakes casinos don’t use traditional deposits or withdrawals due to their unique legal status. Instead, users purchase gold coins (usually with some sweeps coins thrown in as a bonus). The sweeps coins can then be redeemed for specific prizes; most frequently cash or gift cards.

Credit & Debit Cards

Debit and credit card sweepstakes casinos are prevalent on the market. The four major providers, Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and Discover, are the most commonly available options to use to buy Gold Coins. Mastercard and Visa appear in almost every sweepstakes casino, while the other two appear on select sites. 

What’s more, if credit and debit cards aren’t available on a site, it could be a cause for concern. 

This broad availability is the main appeal, especially since we all have a bank card. However, this comes at the cost of possible transaction fees. Costs tend to appear when the credit card company classifies the transaction as a cash advance rather than a standard purchase. That’s why I prefer debit cards to credit cards.

Purchases made with credit and debit cards are instant, while redemptions can take up to 48 hours or up to 3 business days, in my experience. However, you should know that you’ll rarely get to use bank cards to redeem Sweeps Coins. 

It’s worth noting that banks might initially decline transactions to sweepstakes casinos. You might need to contact your bank to approve them or unblock the card for use on these sites. 

PayPal

Sweepstakes casinos with PayPal are not particularly common. A few major brands that offer the popular e-wallet for purchases include High 5 Casino, Funrize, TaoFortune, and NoLimitCoins Casino. 

I’ve noticed that PayPal appears equally rarely as a purchase and redemption method, with many sites offering it as an option for one but not the other. 

PayPal purchases in a sweepstakes casino are processed instantly, and you don’t have to worry about any hidden fees, as you do with credit cards, due to a different classification of the transaction. 

Redemptions are generally fast, with many sites approving them within 24 or 48 hours, though it can still take longer, especially when casino employees have many redemptions to process. 

Skrill

Besides PayPal, Skrill is the most commonly found e-wallet in sweepstakes casinos. Interestingly, these two sweepstakes payment options are not often found together on the same platform. It’s usually one or the other, and I’ve seen Skrill as an available option in popular sweepstakes casinos like RealPrize, WOW Vegas, Fortune Coins, Luckyland Slots, and Zula Casino, all of which have Skrill but not PayPal. 

Just like PayPal, Skrill appears as either a payment method or redemption option. However, you’ll often find it in both forms. 

As a redemption method, it typically involves waiting up to 3 business days. 

Cryptocurrency

As a widely used e-wallet, it is generally convenient and secure. More than that, it lets you pay indirectly with your primary payment method, since you can easily deposit to and withdraw from Skrill with a credit or debit card. This offers more privacy, too, since you don’t have to use your main payment method within a sweepstakes casino. 

Crypto has generally found strong acceptance in the real-money online casino market over the last several years. A similar thing is happening in the sweepstakes casino sphere. 

You won’t find crypto in many highly popular sweepstakes casinos, with Stake.us being one of the first platforms to offer several coins and tokens. 

The benefits of crypto include higher speeds, greater privacy, lower fees (depending on the coin), and very high transaction limits. However, crypto is not easy to understand for beginners. It’s also subject to limited regulation, and there’s the problem of price volatility, which can be a benefit or a drawback, depending on where the price goes. 

It’s also worth noting that crypto is sometimes associated with shady sweepstakes casinos, so you need to be careful about which platform you choose. 

The good news, though, is that crypto is often available as both a purchase and a redemption method, primarily because it is subject to fewer regulations and limits. Moreover, redemptions are often instant or processed relatively quickly, typically within a day.

The most commonly found coins and tokens include: 

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Tether (USDT)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• Tron (TRX)
• Ripple (XRP)

Bear in mind that if you’ve never used crypto before, you’ll need both a crypto wallet and money to buy the currency you want to use. All of this, along with various nuances, makes its use more complex than most payment methods. 

So, familiarize yourself with the concept first, and remember that each crypto transaction incurs a fee paid to the network on which the crypto is, as not all cryptocurrencies have their own blockchain.

Bank Transfers / ACH / Direct Deposit

Online banking methods are old-school options you’ll find in most sweepstakes casinos, typically for redemptions only. In essence, you can use your bank account directly, without a third party. 

You get high security and high transaction limits in bank transfer sweepstakes casinos. However, all of this comes with one downside most sweepstakes casino players are familiar with: slow processing times. These redemptions are typically processed in 2 to 5 business days, though situations where redemptions take much longer are not uncommon. 

Some casinos allow the use of Trustly, which tends to shorten redemption time significantly. 

Gift Cards

While sweepstakes casinos don’t offer gift cards as a payment method, they’re frequently used to redeem prizes. 

The main difference here is that minimum redemptions are often lower. The majority of sweepstakes casinos have a 50 SC, 75 SC, or 100 SC minimum redemption threshold for bank transfer and most other forms of redemptions, as long as 1 SC equals $1. In the case of gift card redemptions, that minimum is much lower, usually only 10 SC, 20 SC, or 25 SC at the most. 

Processing is faster than bank transfer redemptions, and gift cards offer greater security since they are single-use. However, they may also come with spending restrictions, making it difficult to use all available funds. 

Many casinos that offer this option actually support Prizeout, a service that lets you choose a gift card provider. 

Mobile Wallets

Two increasingly common purchase options in sweepstakes casinos are Apple Pay and Google Pay. These mobile wallets make it easy to use your bank card indirectly, by connecting it to the wallet and then making purchases with it. 

There are other options besides these two, namely Venmo and Cash App, but these are still comparatively rare. 

As you might expect, mobile wallets are highly convenient and very secure, since you’re not sharing your bank card data while benefiting from the high security of Apple and Google. 

Mobile wallets are straightforward to use and often include extra security, such as face or touch ID, on every transaction. 

The central aspect here is that mobile wallets are almost always reserved only for purchases, not redemptions. 

Free Entry Methods

Besides using the options covered, you can also go for the free entry method for sweepstakes casino sites. Sweepstakes casinos, unlike real money casinos, don’t require purchases. In other words, you are not required to buy Gold Coin packages. In fact, in order to even be called sweepstakes casinos, they must offer a money-free way to play.

You can always use the Alternative Method of Entry, or AMOE, which is available in every sweepstakes casino because it’s the legal cornerstone of the sweepstakes model. 

The method involves sending a mail-in request to the company that owns the site, per the casino’s instructions. There’s rarely a limit on how many of these requests you can send, but the organization still needs time to process them, often 3 to 5 weeks. In most cases, you get 2 to 5 SC per request. Naturally, the value of the SC you get is always higher than the cost of the stamp you need for the envelope. 

Redemption Options: How to Cash Out Sweeps Coins

Many casinos also offer other ways to get free coins, most of which include both GC and SC. Among these are the popular daily login bonus, social media giveaways, and email or SMS codes. 

You can typically choose between different redemption options in sweepstakes casinos. In many cases, it’s just bank transfer and gift cards, but some might add e-wallets like PayPal and Skrill, or crypto. 

Before you initiate a redemption in almost any sweepstakes casino, you need to meet specific criteria and understand a few rules that most sites share:

• Conversion rate: On most sites, 1 SC equals $1 in redemptions. A few sites use different conversion rates, where each dollar is worth more SC, like at Fortune Coins. You’ll typically notice this if there is a no-deposit bonus offering a suspiciously large amount of SC.
• KYC requirements: All legal sweepstakes casinos oblige players to complete identity and address checks. These might be required at any step, most commonly before redemptions. You’ll need to upload images of a government-issued picture ID and a utility bill or bank statement to verify your address. 
• Redemption frequency: No sweepstakes casino can process an unlimited number of redemption requests per day. Most will give you a single request daily, but some might cover one in two days.
• Redemption limit: Sweepstakes casinos must limit the amount of real money prizes they award per player per day. In most cases, the limit is $10,000, while players from Florida and New York are subject to a $5,000 daily limit, due to local regulations. 
• Playthrough requirements: In the majority of cases, you need to play every SC at least once before you can redeem it. This rule is meant to prevent you from just winning free SC and then exchanging it for real money prizes. Some sites offer a 2x or 3x playthrough rate, but anything higher is rare. 
• Minimum redemption amount: Sweepstakes casinos don’t process small amounts, so they require players to meet a minimum before requesting a redemption. These are typically 50 SC, 75 SC, or 100 SC, and usually much lower, like 10 SC or 20 SC for gift cards. 

Depending on which option you use, you’ll have to contend with a different processing timeframe: 

• E-wallets typically offer processing times of 1 or 2 days.
• Crypto is usually near instant or takes up to 1 day.
• Bank transfers are handled in 2 to 5 working days.
• Gift cards are often handled within a few days at most.

Bear in mind that redemptions can take much longer, even up to 10 business days, regardless of the method, in cases when the casino is overwhelmed or needs to perform additional checks. 

With all that in mind, here’s how to redeem Sweeps Coins in most sweepstakes casinos:

1. Open the Redeem page. It’s usually located in the sidebar, top menu, or in the account section. 
2. Complete your profile with personal details and the KYC steps if you haven’t already. 
3. The site will show how many redeemable SC you have. If you meet the minimum requirement, you can enter the amount you want to redeem. 
4. Pick one of the available redemption methods. 
5. Input the required information for the chosen method. Double-check that everything is correct. 
6. Complete the redemption request and wait for the site to process it; once that’s done, you’ll see the funds in your payment method’s balance. 

Summary: Which Payment Method Is Best?

When it comes to ease of use, the best options are bank cards and bank transfers, while the worst are cryptocurrencies. 

Crypto is the obvious choice if you want near-instant redemptions, with e-wallets a close second, while bank transfer is the slowest. 

As for availability, the clear winners are bank cards, which are almost always available, primarily for purchases, while bank transfers are almost always available as a redemption method. 

To make things even simpler, here are a few quick pointers:

• Credit and debit cards are the best purchase options overall because they are the most widely available and convenient for most users. 
• PayPal and Skrill are the best for security-focused users. They are also great for fast redemptions, as long as they are available for that in the casino you’re using. 
• Bank transfer, direct deposit, and ACH are the best redemption options for traditional players and those making large redemptions.
• Crypto is the best option if you want an option for both purchases and redemptions, and especially if you’re looking for near-instant redemptions. 
• Mobile wallets, like Apple Pay and Google Pay, are the best purchase options for mobile-first users. 
• Gift cards are the best purchase and redemption method for budget-minded users and for those who prefer a cash out sweepstakes casino.

Sweepstakes Casino Payment Methods FAQ

What happens if a Gold Coin purchase fails?

This can happen with options like credit and debit cards because a bank refuses payment. In most cases, your best bet is to contact the sweepstakes casino to see what happened, then contact the bank to unblock this vendor.

Can I redeem my Sweeps Coins directly to crypto?

Yes, as long as the sweepstakes casino offers some cryptocurrencies as redemption options. Stake.us is one of the more prominent crypto sweepstakes casinos, and in it, you can redeem SC for USDT, BTC, and ETH, to name a few.

Are there any fees for redeeming Sweeps Coins?

Sweepstakes casinos generally don’t charge fees on redemptions. However, you might still have to pay a transaction fee to the payment provider, especially if you use a bank card, bank transfer, or an e-wallet.

Is PayPal safer than crypto for sweepstakes casinos?

Crypto is generally considered safer than traditional payment systems, but there’s still the issue of irreversible transactions. In general, as long as you adhere to standard online payment security practices and use legitimate sweepstakes casinos, you have next to nothing to fear while using either PayPal or crypto.

Can I use my debit card for both purchases and redemptions?

This depends entirely on the site, but many don’t offer debit cards as sweepstakes casino withdrawal methods, even though they’re a more common option than credit cards.