2024 goes down as another banner year for online casinos. States like Pennsylvania are on track to produce $8 billion in annual gaming revenue. With online casinos such a force and in demand, the need to satisfy the gaming beast only continues to grow. Fortunately, the emergence of social casinos continues to feed this gaming beast. If you are new to the social casino arena, dig in deep with this go-to guide about social casinos.
Understanding the Social Casino Phenomenon
While social casinos bear many similarities to real money casinos, social casinos can’t accept cash bets directly. As a result, they offer the social and sweepstakes gaming aspects. That way, social casinos can continue to operate legally in the states in which they operate.
Tremendous Availability
While real money casinos continue to ride high, especially on the strength of progressive jackpots, they are limited. As awesome as they are, they are only available in seven states, with Rhode Island being the latest one to accept online casinos in January 2024. However, with sweepstakes casinos, they are available in at least 40 states. Some social casinos are available for people over 45 years of age.
That way, giant states that still haven’t legalized real money online casinos can jump into the iGaming action. With giant states like California and Florida still falling short with real money casinos, social casinos continue to step in nicely to fill the gap. Also, many of these social casinos are available in multiple states. That way, you can play with sweepstakes apps with the same account in over 40 states without missing a beat.
Lower Age Requirements
Unlike real money casinos that require members to be at least 21, social casinos are very liberal with their age requirements. Depending on the social casino, the minimum age requirement to sign up is either 18 or 19.
Also, it is vastly more easier to join a social casino than it is a real money casino. Not saying it’s hard for traditional online casinos, but the fun part of the social casino registration process is that often times you don’t have to enter any personal information to get going.
An Exceptional Betting System
Because social casinos can’t accept cash bets directly, they have come up with a unique and engaging betting system. While there are pure social casinos that only support free games, most offer sweepstakes games. Because of this, most social casinos offer a gold and sweepstakes coins system.
With the gold coins, players can play free games. Gold coins are precious currency at social casinos and are ridiculously easy to get. Through sweepstakes coins, players have an alternative betting style. However, instead of winning real money, the purpose of sweepstakes coins is to compete for gift cards.
With enough sweepstakes coins, social casino members go through the redemption process. When going through the redemption process for the first time, reputable social casinos require members to submit their personal information, which includes parts of their social security number, birthday, and residential address.
Exclusive Casino Games
In many ways social casinos go pound-for-pound with real money casinos for having the latest casino games. That means most of the cutting-edge megaways and hold-and-win slot games by Pragmatic Play, and NetEnt are still available.
However, social casinos continue to make their mark with their exclusive brand of casino games. By having exciting new options that are only available at these social casinos, it continues to be a major marketing ploy to get new members to join.
As a further incentive, social casinos compel their members to purchase gold coins to build up enough VIP points to unlock exclusive games like scratch cards. These elusive games offer higher gift card values to make them worthwhile.
Recently, the new social casinos have been growing their live dealer options. Beyond basic live roulette and blackjack, social casinos add rare live table games like Teen Patti. They are also growing their live casino game lineup.
An Emphasis on Social Media
Of course, social casinos allow their members to enjoy the compelling game lineup by themselves. However, they really put a premium on members hooking up with other members. The best way to do this is through heavy social media involvement.
To encourage social media play, the top social casinos offer free coins through social media contests and by sharing official posts. They also offer bonus coins for integrating social media accounts with the site.
A Fantastic Emphasis on Social Bonuses
To compete with traditional online casinos, social casinos go the extra mile with a fantastic slate of daily casino bonuses. However, none is bigger than the general sign-up bonus. Unlike traditional online casinos, all social casinos have a sign-up bonus. Depending on the site, new players can let the good times roll with hundreds of thousands of free gold coins or even more.
Conclusion
Social casinos continue to dominate the modern-day iGaming industry. With so much attention and availability, prominent gaming agencies are now challenging the legality of sweepstakes casinos and pushing for more regulation. However, with the social casino industry worth over $2 billion annually, they are forming their own organizations to make the social casino experience a permanent part of the iGaming phenomenon.
Laura is a vibrant force in the world of gaming blogging, with a special place in her heart for the boundless realms of Minecraft. Her passion for crafting intricate worlds and embarking on daring adventures shines through in every post… especially if it’s about Minecraft.
