While online gambling is generally illegal in California, there’s still an abundance of options for those wanting an online casino in California. That’s thanks to the many great social casino sites out there, which includes the likes of Betrivers.net, Fortune Coins, and Stake.us.
To help you make the most of the sweepstakes selection, there’s even an exclusive 5% rakeback offer on Stake.us with bonus code MIKBONUS. And the extras don’t stop there, as this entire page will provide you with everything you need to know to decide whether sweepstakes casinos are right for you – and what to look out for when choosing.
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Want a quick look at what makes our top three picks so special? Here’s an area in which each stands out:
Stake.us: Top choice for fuss-free promotions, from an exclusive 5% rakeback to daily reloads.
Betrivers.net: Anyone missing sports betting or the live casino experience can find a home here.
Fortune Coins: Focuses on jackpots to provide its users a sense of big win excitement.
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Site |
Best For |
Bonus Offer |
Casino Games Offered |
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The mix of great promotions for free Gold Coins and Stake Cash. Plus, the ability to purchase more Gold Coins with crypto |
5% rakeback offer when you use exclusive bonus code MIKBONUS |
Over 300 titles from Hacksaw Gaming, Pragmatic Play and their in-house team Stake Originals. The slot game library os very large, with a broad number of alternative left-field titles and table classics |
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Fans of jackpot slots |
Newcomers get both 140,000 Gold Coins and 500 Fortune Coins to play with |
50+ titles, including some table games, many slots and plenty of big jackpots |
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Sportsbook and live casino betting fans |
Free spins and reloaded credits available for redemption every four hours |
An enormous selection of 500+ casino games, including table games, a live casino, and niche titles from a huge selection of software developers |
The situation surrounding social casinos may initially seem confusing, but things are simple enough when you break them down. Here are some of the key things you need to know:
Real money gambling is illegal in California
However, sweepstakes casinos – where no deposit or purchase is necessary to play – are not gambling. They’re playing casino games for fun.
Therefore, the top CA casinos are all sweepstakes/social casinos.
Although they’re not gambling sites, it’s possible to win prizes through a form of sweepstakes.
These prizes can include cash prizes.
That, in essence, is how it’s possible to win cash while playing casino games in a state where gambling is illegal. Do note that if any site requires money to qualify for prizes, they’re not legitimate nor social casinos, and cannot be considered among the best online casinos sites in California.
As mentioned above, no money is needed to play these games. So, how do social casinos work when it comes to currency?
They use virtual currencies – often known as Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. These are stand-ins for real money and allow you to fund your play.
Other names are possible but that doesn’t affect their purpose. For instance Stake.us calls Sweeps Coins ‘Stake Cash’.
While both are for fun and can be acquired for free, the latter can be exchanged for prizes. These can even include cash prizes. To be clear though, no real money gambling is available, and you cannot play with cash.
While there’s not a huge amount you need to know in terms of how virtual currencies work – they are made to be simple, after all – there are a few things you should keep in mind to make the most of top CA casinos:
All that’s required for you to begin playing with virtual currency is to register with your chosen casino site and obtain some coins via whichever promotions are offered by the operator.
The way the games work should be practically indistinguishable from real money casinos. For example, the mechanics of poker, slots, or roulette are exactly the same – they just use Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins instead of cash.
The way of receiving prizes is typically via playing through Sweeps Coins, which can then be redeemed subject to minimum requirements. For example, Stake.us has you play them through 3x, then Stake Cash can be redeemed at the rate of 1 dollar per Stake Cash.
While it’s clear that any sweepstakes California online casino sites must offer the ability to play for free, many may wonder if they can buy more coins if they want to. The situation is different for Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins:
Gold Coins can be purchased. However, this is for additional fun and for more time with the games should you run out and wish to continue playing. Purchasing Gold Coins does not provide them with any monetary value and, as they cannot be redeemed, does not allow you to enter sweepstakes for the chance to win prizes.
Sweeps Coins cannot be purchased. That said, it’s possible that they might be offered as a bonus when you buy Gold Coins, although this cannot be guaranteed. Were you to receive Sweeps Coins as a bonus with the purchase of Gold Coins, you would be able to redeem these as you would with any other Sweeps Coins.
There’s so much variety when it comes to what promotions will provide Sweeps Coins at each individual casino. It’s really up to the operator, but they must be legitimately free and accessible.
That said, by looking at a popular example of a casino with a good selection of commonly available ways to receive these coin – Stake.us – you can get a good idea of what to expect:
Daily reload bonus: Simply log in each day and get your coins.
Social media giveaways: Various promotions, competitions and giveaways are often advertised on social media. This is quite general and there’s really no limits to what could be offered here.
Main-in request: Stake.us give away 5 free Stake Cash when you send in a postcard request.
Gameplay: You may also win more coins through gameplay.
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To an extent, the best social casino comes down to what you personally prefer. Therefore, any top list of the best online casino sites in California must be a versatile one.
That’s exactly what is provided for below. These three examples of social casinos are all critically acclaimed and considered amongst the best, but all offer very different experiences. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, but are worthy of any critic’s recommendations.
It has already been mentioned that Stake.us provides ample ways of getting Stake Cash (their version of sweeps coins) for free. In addition to that, their redemption process is easy to understand and use. It’s no surprise then that they are many people’s top choice for those seeking out sweepstakes cash prizes. They also have a niche appeal in that they’re one of the few which allow you to utilice cryptocurrencies for your banking purposes, which further expands their appeal.
They are also one casino which doesn't forget the fun factor in all these practicalities. Their games library is a mixture of industry favorites and unique minimalist titles – the latter is thanks to the efforts of an evidently talented in-house team.
They do currently lack an app, although the mobile browser is still a strong option. More subjectively, while their site is certainly technically sound and will aesthetically appeal to many, the darker tones may not suit someone who likes their casinos to explode with color. Generally speaking though, Stake.us is a social casino site which will be appreciated by many.
Pros:
Straightforward redemption process
1 Stake Cash is worth 1 USD
Crypto banking options
Lots of original titles
Great slots selection
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The contrast between Fortune Coins and Stake.us is immediately apparent in terms of appearances. If what you want is bright, brash and colorful, this will be more your speed. It’s not objectively better than Stake.us – with its mature, technically sound charms – just different.
Fortune Coins are also aimed at those who wish to purchase fiat currencies, although free play is, of course, easily available. Importantly, the focus here is overwhelmingly on jackpot slots. That means that aside from a few additional games, they have a more targeted game selection with less range than some.
And they fill an important vacuum for Californian casino fans. One of the things that many people really enjoy about real money gambling is the excitement of winning big. Social casinos may find that hard to replicate, even with cash prizes. These jackpots really do a terrific job of filling that void. Again, there’s no app, but a smooth mobile browser is part of an all around reliable casino. That reliability also carries onto their 24/7 customer service and promotions, which starts off big and then keeps on giving.
Pros:
Solid mobile browser
Jackpots wins have unique appeal
Colorful design will appeal to many
Around the clock customer service team
Suitable for fiat currency users
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It’s true that Fortune Coins has the ability to recreate a particular kind of fun with its big jackpot wins. And Stake.us does a great job of allowing for the ability to simply win cash prizes through a broad selection of casino titles. However, neither of them can offer the ability to play with over 500 casino games from a selection of software developer A-listers like NetEnt and Red Tiger. They also can’t offer as broad a spectrum of live casino games as Betrivers.net.
Perhaps most impressively of all, though, is that Betrivers.net is one the few examples of social California online casino sites which offer a sportsbook legally. Back all this up with a site worthy of their solid reputation, that’s newcomer friendly but with plenty of depth, and promotions including free credits every four hours, and you can see why it’s so many people’s favorites.
However, this is not a sweepstakes casino – merely a social one. That’s because there are no sweeps prizes and no cash prizes here, although more credits can still be purchased for fun. This makes Betrivers.net only suitable for those interested in playing for pleasure.
Pros:
Highly reputable site
Plenty of top-tier software developers
Social sportsbook is a rarity
Regular supply of free credits
Over 500 games available
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Really, there are two key steps to discovering that ideal social casino:
Consider what you want: You won’t be able to find what you’re looking for unless you know what that is. So, take a moment and consider your priorities when finding a casino. What are your banking, design and customer service needs, for instance? Which games are you interested in? What kind of prize redemption system would work for you?
Check the site out for yourself: To help you match up your needs with what’s on offer, consider writing a checklist of things you’d like. Below, you’ll find a checklist you can use as a starting point. Of course, feel free to adjust as your needs see fit. If a social casino has all your important boxes ticked, consider signing up to play.
Number of casino games
Slots
Table games
Live casino games
Unique titles
Bingo
Competitions
New customer giveaways
Promotional giveaways
Winning more coins through play
Mail-in requests
Anything unique and creative
Generosity of offers
Clarity of terms and conditions
Any bonuses when buying Gold Coins
Whether prizes are available
If cash prizes specifically are available
Clarity of terms of redemption
Fairness of terms of redemption
Banking options for collecting prizes
Looks and aesthetic direction
Technical reliability
Structure of casino
Mobile app and browser options
The quality of either mobile options
Legality and legitimacy
Reputation
Privacy Policy
Banking Options
Encryption and other security features
Fairness of terms and conditions
If you find a social casino – whether that be one of the top three recommendations on this page or another option – which ticks off everything you consider important to you, then they’re worthy of checking out. After all, that first-hand experience is so important. There’s no substitute for actually getting a feel for a casino and seeing how it suits your tastes and references.
One thing that makes the online casino in California options so interesting is that there’s always room for new experiences, which you’ll only discover in depth by logging in and playing. The top three may provide your ideal match. If not, it should certainly give you a good foundation of standards so you don’t settle for anything less than world-class from Californian social casinos.
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Are any casino sites legal in California?
While gambling is illegal in California, there’s still room for great online casinos. These are often known as social or sweepstakes casinos and they essentially allow you to play the top casino games without needing to spend any money. So, yes, there are many great casino sites in California – they just don’t offer real money gambling.
Can I win real money at any of the top three California casino site picks above?
Yes, you certainly can. While the only legal and legitimate betting sites in California are social/sweepstakes casinos – and they don’t offer real money gambling – you can still win cash prizes via sweepstakes. Of our top three picks, two of them offer the chance to win cash prizes. These are Stake.us and Fortune Coins. Our final pick, Betrivers.net, does not but is highly critically acclaimed for the quality of its games and casino experience.
What do I use to play the games on Californian online casino sites?
As casino sites in California cannot offer real money gambling, there must be alternative ways to fund your gameplay and add some stakes to your experience on social casinos. In other words, the operators must give you some form of on-site currency to wager with.
That’s why our top three Californian casino sites utilize virtual currencies. These are typically known as Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, although can be go by other names. They must be provided for free, with no deposit required. Sweeps Coins may also count as sweepstakes entries, meaning they can be traded in for cash prizes when minimum requirements are met.