What are the Laws on Social Casinos?

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Social casinos offer an alternative service to hopeful gamblers living where real-money online casinos arent legal. They provide the full online casino experience without you having to put money down.

However, social casinos, like Vegas Gems, which you can find here, are still casinos and some jurisdictions recognize them as such. This can lead to their legality getting confusing for the average person. So we will take a closer look at this grey area of the iGaming world and tell you everything you need to know about it.

What is a Social Casino?

Social Casinos are online services that host games to simulate gambling activities like slots and table games. However, unlike regular casinos, you cannot bet or win money. All games are played with virtual currencies that dont have monetary value.

Social casinos usually use gold coins as their currency, and they can be earned through daily logins, giveaways, or bought at the on-site store. You can think of them like arcade tokens, used to play the games but not to purchase anything.

The lack of real-money play defines social casinos and puts them into a legal gray area. However, you shouldnt make the mistake of assuming that you cant win real money at all social casinos. Many social casinos double as Sweepstakes Casinos, which do offer cash prizes.

The crucial factor separating a Sweepstakes casino from other online casinos is that participation is free. At these combination casinos, there are usually two currencies, one which can be bought and not exchanged for money (Gold Coins) and another which cannot be bought but can be exchanged for cash (commonly called Sweeps Coins).

One of the best sweepstakes casinos is SweepSlots. If you would like to learn more, read here.

Social casinos are popular for several reasons. Chief among them is that they offer all the fun of real money online casinos without monetary risk. Not only this, but for players in places like the USA, there isnt an alternative for people seeking online casino gameplay. Also, these are called social casinos for a reason: they encourage you to interact with other users and play socially.

Differences Between a Social Casino and an Online Casino

So now you know what a social casino is, but how does it specifically differ from a regular online casino? These differences are integral to understanding the legal separation between them too.

Real money play

The obvious difference is the presence or absence of real money play. At a social casino, you cannot play for real money, instead making bets at slots or table games with virtual currencies that have no monetary value.

It is precisely this factor that puts social and sweepstakes casinos in a legal gray area. If youre looking for real money play, which you can find at HeraldNet, social casinos wont be for you. But if youre just after the fun of casino-style games, youll find everything you want at social casinos.

Free to play

Since you dont play for real money at social casinos, you can play games at them without dropping a dime. While you can buy additional coins to play with, there are plenty of ways to acquire virtual currency for free. Most notably, you usually receive a lot through the welcome bonus and daily log-in rewards.

Regarding sweepstakes casinos, the free-to-play element is essential to their identity. To be considered a sweepstakes casino and maintain the legal status of a sweepstakes play must be free. Sweeps coins are much harder to come by since they can be exchanged for real-money prizes.

It should be noted, however, that most real-money online casinos also offer demo modes of their games. In this way, online casinos do offer a form of free play, and thats not accounting for deposit-free bonuses.

Legal leniency

Online casinos usually have strict legal regulations, sometimes including outright bans. For example, in most US states, online casinos are completely illegal. And in other countries where theyre legal, its usually because of a lack of legal specification instead of an explicit legality.

Since they dont deal in real money play and arent considered gambling services under the word of the law, social casinos can fall through the cracks. So, if you live in one of these places with strict online gambling restrictions, you can find your fill of fun at one of the many social casinos out there.

Age limits

Because patronizing social casinos isnt considered gambling, the age restrictions at social casinos are more lenient. For better or worse, the legal age of participation at social casinos is 18. If you live in the USA, this is lower than the legal gambling age (although this isnt the case worldwide).

Key differences

To simplify this information, weve summarized it in this convenient table:

Feature	Online Casino	Social Casino	Sweepstakes Casino
Real money play	Yes	No	No
Virtual currencies	No	Yes	Yes
Cash prizes		No	Yes
Gambling licenses	Required	Not Required	Not Required
Age limit	21+	18+	18+

What are the Laws Surrounding Social Casinos?

When we ask this question, its less a matter of what is allowed by law and more of what isnt. There are very few laws surrounding social casinos in most jurisdictions, as it isnt usually counted as a form of gambling in the first place.

As such, youll be left wondering what restrictions do exist and how you can avoid overstepping in this already muddy area of the law.

For US citizens, the main point to remember is that social casinos arent legal in every state. While they arent outright banned, there is debate around their legality, and they face various restrictions. This is most prominent in Washington State, Idaho, and Nevada. Also, as already mentioned, while the US legal gambling age is 21, the age of access to social casinos is 18.

In other jurisdictions, like the UK, social casinos are a recognized form of gambling and do fall under gambling laws. However, online gambling is widely legalized in the UK, so social casinos dont experience the same popularity as they do in the USA, where its much more restricted.

Finally, while social casinos dont require a license to be considered legal, we recommend playing at social casinos that have one anyway. This proves that the business is legitimate and the website is safe to use. Also, remember that while it isnt legally considered gambling, playing at social casinos can still be just as addictive and dangerous.

What are the Laws on Social Casinos?

What is a Social Casino?