Sweeps casinos are officially expanding to Australia.

These ‘freemium’ online casinos, which allow players to win prizes such as gift cards and cash transfers, have rapidly grown in popularity since the start of the new decade.

It was only a matter of time before they would eventually expand to the Australian market, with several sweepstakes-style gaming sites already available to access there.

Some industry experts predict this is the start of what could be a major market expansion for the sweepstakes vertical, which has already proven to be hugely successful in the US.

What Are Sweepstakes Casinos?

For Aussie players not in the know, sweepstakes casinos are a new type of online casino first popularized in North America. Instead of betting actual money, you bet virtual ‘Gold Coins’ and ‘Sweeps Coins’. Anyone who collects enough Sweeps Coins then has the option to redeem them for prizes, with some of the most popular picks being cash transfers, gift cards, and sometimes even cryptocurrencies.

This alone has transformed the US gaming scene, as millions of players have now signed up with the likes of Stake.us and WOW Vegas. What also makes these casinos unique is that they offer features like free-entry tournaments and daily challenges to complete, something that modern gamers love. And when it comes to the actual games, most operators offer slots, blackjack, poker, roulette, Plinko, and all the other popular games.

Roo Vegas, Gambino Slots, and Other Operators Are Now Available in Australia

According to industry experts DingoSweeps, both Roo Vegas and Gambino Slots are already available to play in Australia. At the same time, it’s also possible for Aussie players to access offshore sweepstakes casino sites like Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, Pulsz, and others. The only catch is that you need to be aged at least 21 in most cases, as many of these sites have recently had to bump their minimum player ages up.

For Australian players, the sweeps casinos function exactly the same way they do in the US. Upon signing up, you receive free GC and SC, which can then be used across all the available games. Those who want to play just for fun should use GC, while SC lets you redeem prizes if you collect enough.

Those who want more coins to play with can exchange A$ for coin packages. On average, a single Sweeps Coin converts to around A$1. However, if you simply want to play using free coins, you can collect Daily Login Bonuses, take part in social media giveaways, complete daily missions, and more so that you don’t have to pay. This is why sweepstakes casinos are advertised as ‘free-to-play’, as there’s no pressure to purchase coins if you don’t want to. 

How the Prize-Winning Sweepstakes Model Has Players Hooked

The prize-winning sweepstakes model offered by these casinos is what’s ultimately gotten players hooked in the US and it’s no doubt going to appeal to Aussie players as well.

Unlike regular online casinos, which are largely illegal in Australia, the virtual ‘Sweeps Coins’ offered by sweepstakes casinos can be exchanged for prizes at any given moment.

For instance, you might exchange 200 SC for a bundle of gift cards, or something similar.

It’s a fresh spin on the traditional gaming model that ultimately allows you to win real-world rewards rather than just virtual XP, so it’s easy to see why players are hooked.

In most sweepstakes casinos, the gift cards have extremely low minimum redemption thresholds, making them easier to get, while cash transfers and cryptocurrencies have high thresholds, meaning you need to collect more coins than usual in order to bag them.

Australian Law Means Sweepstakes Casinos Remain Legal

The reason why sweepstakes casinos are able to expand to Australia to begin with is because there’s a legal grey area.

In a nutshell, despite online casinos being banned in Australia, there are no specific laws or regulations that target the sweepstakes vertical, allowing the likes of Roo Vegas to freely operate in the Australian market.

Aussie players are also free to access offshore sweepstakes casinos using VPNs and other means, so there are plenty of options on the table for them.

Until any changes to Australian gambling laws are made to be inclusive of sweepstakes casinos, which many industry analysts believe are not legitimate gambling sites, then operators will be able to tap into the Aussie player space without interruption.

Regulatory Questions Remain, But Australian Players Are Safe

Now that sweepstakes casinos are booming in popularity, with operators like Stake.us becoming huge brand names, regulatory pressure has inevitably started to grow on them.

A rising number of states in America are now completely off-limits to sweepstakes casinos, with New York, California, Indiana, and a handful of other states having banned them over the past year.

More states could be set to join the list, too, and it’s certainly possible that Australia will start to look at them more closely if the Aussie sweepstakes market starts to explode.

However, despite the legal pressure on sweepstakes casinos, Australian players are safe.

The option is there to play entirely for free using Gold Coins, so there’s never any pressure involved to make you purchase coin packages if you don’t want to.

Aussie players who do decide to purchase Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins should do so carefully in their hunt for prizes, especially if they’re new to the sweepstakes model.