SWEEPSTAKES CASINOS, ALSO known as ‘social casinos’, have become extremely popular in large parts of the US over the past several years (the market is currently worth a staggering $9.6 billion, fuelled by coin purchases from legions of players). But because sweepstakes casinos operate in a legal grey area, there’s constant confusion as to which parts of the world they’re legal in. Demand is also starting to grow for these casinos in the Great White North, so are sweepstakes casinos currently accessible for Canadian players?
Here, let’s cut through the noise and put all the facts on the table for the sweepstakes fanatics who want answers.
There are many sweeps casinos available in Canada and they remain legal here. However, the twist is that sweepstakes casinos operate in an unregulated grey area, meaning Canadian law has neither classified them as legal or illegal. And so far, at least, no Canada-exclusive sweepstakes casinos have launched yet, so players remain reliant on US-based operators that accept offshore players.
The vast majority of major US sweepstakes operators do accept Canadian players, which allows the relatively small player base within the country to have an outlet for sweepstakes gaming. WOW Vegas remains one of the most popular sweepstakes casinos for Canadian players, while Crown Coins, High 5 Casino, and Rolla Casino are also open for Canada sign-ups. Then there’s Fortune Wins, which openly states “players in the U.S. and Canada can join in order to experience the best casino-style games from leading providers.”
Canadian players may experience slightly different requirements if they opt to join a sweepstakes casino in the US, though. The minimum player age is the big one, as most US sweepstakes casinos have a minimum player age of 18, but require Canadian players to be 19+, which is the case with Fortune Wins and several others.
The slight disappointment for Canada’s sweepstakes fanatics is that VGW, the huge sweepstakes operator behind Chumba Casino and Global Poker, opted to pull out of the Canadian market last year.
A VGW spokesperson said:
“This decision wasn’t taken lightly, and our focus is on ensuring players are fully informed about the changes, and that this transition is as smooth as possible. Ultimately, this is a difficult but strategic, isolated decision. Our Canadian business is relatively small, as the vast majority of our players reside in the larger US market, where we will concentrate our management focus, resources and investment going forward.”
Since then, players in Canada have no longer been able to access Chumba Casino or any of VGW’s other popular casino sites, having previously been able to use them for years.
Following the recent legal crackdown on sweepstakes casinos in the US, which has seen California, New York, New Jersey, and over a dozen others either outright ban these casinos or place heavy restrictions on them, VGW may look to re-open its doors to the Canadian market over coming years. Not only is Canada’s sweepstakes casino market still largely untapped, but it would potentially allow VGW to recoup some of its lost revenue streams.
High 5 Casino, another one of the major sites in the sweepstakes casino world, last year changed its policy so that Sweeps Coins gameplay is unavailable for Canadians.
Previously, those in Canada had been able to use High 5 Casino to potentially redeem prizes and gift cards by collecting virtual Sweeps Coins, but the site swiftly decided to stop all SC redemptions at the start of 2025.
Since then, High 5 has remained accessible for Canadians, although the prize-winning aspect of the casino is no longer available, meaning the only option for Canada players is to use Gold Coins and play for free.
Any player from Canada who joins a sweepstakes casino will get almost an identical experience to US players.
Upon sign up, players are usually given a ‘bonus’ consisting of free Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins, both of which can be used across available games
From there, players can pick from slots, table games, crash games, and more, with prize redemptions possible for those who collect enough Sweeps Coins (this ‘sweepstakes’ prize-winning model has proven to be hugely popular in the US).
Canadian players can redeem their SCs for gift cards or cash transfers, with cash transfers able to be sent through available Canada-compatible payment methods.
For example, you might exchange 100 SCs for C$100, or whatever the specific conversion amount is at that particular time.
Players in Canada are also able to take part in leaderboards, tournaments, and all the other major features offered by Canada-friendly sweepstakes casino operators.
Post-COVID, sweepstakes casinos have exploded into a billion-dollar market in the US. In Canada, it’s a slightly different story, as the market for sweepstakes casinos here is much smaller (so small, in fact, that VGW decided to pull all of its sweepstakes casinos out of the Great White North). The good news for Canadian players is that they still produce enough of a market demand for the likes Crown Coins and Fortune Wins to leave their doors open for Canadian sign-ups, and the likelihood is that even more US-based operators will start to do this in the future now that a growing number of states in the US have restricted these casinos.
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