Sweepstakes Gambling Sites In Colorado
Sweepstakes gambling sites offering real money slots, casino games, and poker are legal in Colorado. These sites give you the opportunity to gamble socially and to win real cash. They use an innovative dual currency system — using laws designed for sweepstakes contests to stay legal in Colorado and nationwide.
You’ll see more detail on how the popular sweepstakes gambling sites stay legal below. This includes a look at the two different currencies — “Gold Coins” and “Sweeps Coins” — and the relationship between them.
After that, four of the biggest and best sweepstakes gambling sites are covered. These are Chumba Casino, Luckyland Slots, Global Poker, and Fendoff Sports. The pros and cons of sweepstakes gambling, along with other practical information, can be found at the end of this page.
Top Sweepstakes in Colorado
How do sweepstakes gambling sites work in Colorado?
Sweepstakes contests are legal in most states, including Colorado. What the sweepstakes gambling sites do is turn the spin of slots, the playing of poker hands or sports picks contests into very short sweepstakes contests.
Legally, these sites can’t accept your money to directly enter these contests. They get around this by using a special dual-currency system — allowing players to enter contests (with prizes!) for “free.”
Here is how the sweepstakes gambling system works (and stays legal):
Sweepstakes gambling sites might not be able to sell you the chips to gamble with, though they can sell you chips for fun play/entertainment. Those are called “Gold Coins,” and you can buy them online with your credit card and hit the games right now.
Gold Coins have no redeemable value. You simply win them for bragging rights or just entertainment.
Every time you buy Gold Coins, sites like Global Poker and Luckyland Slots give you a different currency for free. This is called “Sweeps Coins.” If you play and win with this currency, you can swap it for dollars and cash it back out.
There is one more hurdle these sites need to clear to stay legal in Colorado. There needs to be some way to enter the contests without making a purchase. You can get free Sweeps Coins by sending a letter — or at some sites as a sign-up bonus.
An example: Sweepstakes gambling at Chumba Casino
As an example, at Chumba Casino (more details on this site below) when you hit the “Buy Now” button, you’ll be given a list of purchase options for Gold Coins.
One of those options is to purchase 1,000,000 Gold Coins for $5. You’ll be able to use those gold coins for the social side of the site (effectively “play money”). However, as a bonus to go alongside the Gold Coins, Chumba Casino will give you five units of Sweeps Coins (which is equivalent in value to $5).
After making a deposit and heading back to the site you’re on, you’ll now have the option of playing for Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins. To switch between the two currencies, it’s simply a case of hitting a single button. Build up a huge pile of gold coins, and you’ll have bragging rights over fellow players while building up a pile of Sweeps Coins will give you the chance to withdraw it for cash.
This two-currency system might seem complicated at first. Within five minutes of playing at any of the sweepstakes sites, you’ll realize there is nothing complicated at all. It’s simply a case of choosing to play with the fun option, or for real cash.
Easy sign-up process
Signing up for any of the sweepstakes sites in Colorado is easy. After you click on “sign up,” a form will appear, where you’ll simply enter details such as your name, address, and email address. It’s easier still if you have a Facebook account. You can simply hit the “Log in with Facebook” button, and you’ll have registered for an account within seconds.
Popular sweepstakes gambling sites in Colorado
Here is a rundown of the four most popular sweepstakes sites in Colorado:
Luckyland Slots
As the name implies, Luckyland is the place for slots enthusiasts, although you will find additional “scratch and win” offerings added into the mix.
In the main lobby of the site, you’ll scroll horizontally through each of the games, with three games showing each time. To play any of the games, you’ll simply click on one (it may take a few seconds to download if it’s a game you haven’t played before), and then you’ll be playing the slot in no time.
Within the range of games, you’ll find 3D options (with higher quality graphics) and jackpot games (where extremely large prizes can be won). You can enjoy many different slot formats here. For example, as well as the standard games where you’ll have a set number of win-lines, there are also free-fall games. These include Galactic Blast, where winning symbols are blasted from the reels, to be replaced by those above, giving the opportunity for more than one win. There are also all-ways games such as Dead Lucky. Here you need to land matching symbols on consecutive reels to win, regardless of their positions.
Within the range of games, there is something for everyone. Many like ancient themed slots featuring gods and will enjoy games such as “Power of Ra,” “Vaults of Valhalla” and “Treasures of Atlantis.” “Snow Queen” (in 3D) will be a popular choice for Disney fans (this game is clearly inspired by the movie “Frozen”), while “Lucky Wheel” is a game for all fans of the popular TV show “Wheel of Fortune.”
As well as the standard play, players also have the opportunity to enter tournaments, while “events” and “goals” are set to be added into the options. The social side of the site means that you’ll be able to send gifts and accept gifts from other players. Every time you play a game, you’ll see a scrolling list of winners on the right-hand side — always a good way to check out what the competition is doing.
Luckyland Slots offers new players 7,777 Gold Coins and Bonus 10 Sweeps Coins FREE when they sign up and when they make their First Purchase, they have the option of getting 50,000 Gold Coins with Bonus 10 Sweeps Coins for just $4.99!
Chumba Casino
Like Luckyland, Chumba also focuses on slot gaming. Over 90% of the available games are slots. Players also have the added opportunity of enjoying classic casino games such as blackjack and jacks or better.
There’s a great mix of games in there, and you’ll find fun options such as “Fish and Chips Fortunes” and “Pug Royale” alongside epic-style games such as “Spell of Odin,” “King of Gods” and “Medusa’s Golden Gaze.”
Jackpot hunters will find all of these games on the first page (games are grouped in eights at Chumba Casino). “Bombshell Jackpot” is a game that feels as if it was based on the movie “Private Benjamin” starring Goldie Hawn. “Triple Double Fever” takes you onto the dance floor, complete with mirror ball and colored flashing floor tiles. “Wild Roads” offers one of the largest jackpots of all, where you’ll go on a road trip with an attractive brunette wearing a 10-gallon hat. Fill all of the reels with Gold Coins in the “Fireshot Jackpot” round and you’ll win the Grand Jackpot, which at the time of writing was worth more than a billion Gold Coins.
With the blackjack option, classic casino fans will enjoy the opportunity to stand, hit, double, and more, while jacks or better is a fun poker-style game where you’ll get to keep or discard cards with the aim of building the best hand. Hit a royal flush and you’ll win big.
Chumba Casino offers new players a 2,000,000 Gold Coins and Bonus 2 Sweeps Coins FREE on sign up and a $30 Gold Coin package, including 3,000,000 Gold Coins and Bonus 30 Sweeps Coins, for just $10 when you make your First Purchase!
Global Poker
Global Poker is the main legal online option for poker players in Colorado. The Gold Coins and the Sweeps Coins work in exactly the same way as at the slot sites. In all, there are four types of games you can enjoy:
- Ring games — In the lobby, you’ll find a list of tables with different blind levels and numbers of seats. Pick a table and take on the other players for Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins.
- Sit and go — These are quick play tournaments usually featuring just one table (there are one or two multi-table games in the lobby). The moment a table fills, the tournament starts.
- Tournaments — This section is where you’ll find the larger events, with some guaranteed prize pools and potentially hundreds of players pitting their wits against one another. You will also find satellite events (qualifiers) to the biggest buy-in tournaments on the site.
- Jackpot sit and go — If you want to enjoy the fastest action on the site, you can take a seat at these hyper-turbo three-seater events. The prize pool is randomly generated, meaning you could be playing to double your money, or potentially win up to 2,000 times your stake. The beauty of these games is that you won’t know the prize pool until after you’ve entered. The top prize of all available here is 200,000 Sweeps Coins, the equivalent of a life-changing $200,000.
Poker fans will enjoy the full range of games and the options to play just for fun with Gold Coins or aim to win real cash when playing for Sweeps Coins. Poker formats available include Hold ’em, Omaha, crazy pineapple (a variation of poker where you are given three hole cards), with no-limit, pot-limit and fixed-limit games available.
New players signing up at Global Poker get a $20 Gold Coin Package absolutely FREE once they verify their account and when they go to make their First Purchase, they will get the option for a $40 Gold Coin Package, including 200,000 Gold Coins and Bonus 40 Sweeps Coins for just $20!
Fendoff Sports
If you like sports betting with a difference, Fendoff Sports could be your sweepstakes site of choice in Colorado. In the same way, as you will at the other sites listed above, you’ll have the opportunity to place sports bets with either Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins.
The way that Fendoff Sports works differently from other more traditional online sportsbooks is that you are effectively pool betting. On each market, your payout will be based on both the total amount of money in the market and the number of winning contestants and the size of their bets. The more people who made the same winning selection, the lower your payout will be, and conversely, the larger the payouts if you’re one of the few to pick the winner.
You can make picks on all of the biggest sports, including the NFL, the NBA, Major League Baseball, soccer, and even the winner of the next UFC fight, as well as the best of the college action.
In addition to the standard picks, you’ll also have the opportunity to enter contests against other players on the site. This adds a social element to this sports-based sweepstakes site. In the same way, you’ll also find leaderboards and leagues in play, and there are achievements and challenges to be won and unlocked.
Interestingly, you can choose a “Mystery Pick” at any time — let the site choose the bet for you. Or you can make “turbo picks” where all of the potential selections come up in a handy pop-up box. The most unusual part of the site is the addition of blackjack — at any time you can play a hand or two of blackjack in between placing your bets (having a casino alongside a sportsbook is not unusual, but a solitary blackjack offering is a little random!)
Fendoff Sports offers new players a $5 Gold Coin Package on sign up, plus a 100% match up to $25!
Pros & cons of sweepstakes sites
Advantages
- Sweepstakes sites bring a social aspect to your gaming. Compared with regular gambling sites, there is more interaction with other players thanks to leaderboards, winner’s lists and contests. Sportsbooks, poker sites and online casinos are mostly individual affairs — you competing against the house, or avatars at a poker table.
- The ability to choose the Gold Coin or the Sweeps Coin options. Some days you might just want to have fun and play for gold coins, while on others you might want to play for real cash. These sites make that option open to everyone, and what’s more, it’s a simple click of one button to switch between the two.
- Play is possible without a deposit. To stay legal, sweepstakes gambling sites need to give you an avenue to enter their “contests” for free. Some sites give you no-deposit bonuses; others give you free Sweeps Coins if you send a letter to a registered address. Tie-ins with social media sites also give you ways to earn Sweeps Coins.
Disadvantages
- While many of the games on offer at these sites are good, currently, you will find a better selection of slots and casino options at other standard online casinos (in states where these are legal). While blackjack and video poker feature, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a game of roulette, craps or baccarat. In the same way, there are poker sites out there that are that much busier, while the range of markets available at Fendoff Sports is currently lower than you’d find at the regulated Colorado sportsbooks.
- Compared to the locally licensed online sportsbooks and pari-mutuel horse racing sites, the number of deposit and withdrawal options is smaller.
- The two-currency system does give players options, but it can also make things a little more complicated, especially when making purchases. At standard sites, you use cash to fund your account and then withdraw cash when you win. At these sites, you spend cash to buy Gold Coins, which come with Sweeps Coins for free, and on withdrawal of sweeps coins, they are converted back into cash. Standard sites are that much easier to understand.
Sweepstakes gambling sites in Colorado
Gamblers in Colorado have a wide range of sweepstakes sites to enjoy. Whether you enjoy slots, poker or sports betting, there is something for everyone to get their teeth into.
These sites are legal. They have operated around the country since 2016. To stay within the law, a special system of Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins is used. Changing the sweepstakes laws would be a huge task, making sites such as Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and Luckyland Slots safe to use.
While limited in terms of the game selection, sweepstakes gambling sites at least provide some options for areas not covered by the recent Colorado gambling legislation.