If you have ever claimed a sweepstakes casino bonus, you will have encountered the term ‘playthrough requirements’. Simply put, to redeem a prize at a sweepstakes casino you need to meet the T&Cs for the site and this is one of them.
A sweepstakes casino playthrough requirement means the number of times you need to use your sweepstakes coins in order to make them eligible for redemption. Other factors that can affect a bonus include eligible games and the bonus expiry dates. If you need to know more on this topic, you are in the right place.
What are playthrough requirements? Key concepts
The best way for me to explain sweepstakes coins playthrough requirements at social casinos is to start by looking at some key terms relating to sweepstakes casino play.
Sweeps casinos
Sweepstakes casinos (also called sweeps casinos or social casinos) are online casinos that use virtual currencies instead of real money. Most use two different virtual currencies - Gold Coins and Sweepstakes Coins.
| Currency | Gold Coins | Sweepstakes Coins |
| Can be purchased | ✅ | ❌ |
| Awarded via promotions | ✅ | ✅ |
| Can be redeemed for prizes | ❌ | ✅ |
As you can see, Sweepstakes Coins can be redeemed for prizes. The thresholds for these redemptions will vary depending on the site you are playing at, as will the specific prizes you can claim. At a lot of sites, you can make cash redemptions, but you may also find that you can exchange your Sweepstakes Coins for other rewards, including gift cards.
Please note: Some social casinos use slightly different terms for their virtual currencies. For example, if you have read my
Stake US review,
you will know that the site uses the term Stake Cash instead of Sweepstakes Coins.
Playing at sweeps casinos
Playing at a social casino is essentially the same as playing at a real money casino. You use your coins or cash to play
sweepstake slots, table games and (if available) live casino games. If you are successful, your virtual coin balance grows.
The key difference between playing at a social casino, as opposed to a real money casino, is that whenever you play, you have to decide whether to use your Gold Coins or Sweepstakes Coins.
Playthrough requirements
If you have played at real money casinos, you will probably know the term wagering requirements. Playthrough requirements are essentially the same, they represent the number of times you have to play your bonus Sweepstakes Coins, before your funds can be redeemed. If you aren't aware of this concept, we cover this in more detail in our
Sweeptastic Casino review.
As you are not playing with real money, social casinos are often very generous when it comes to giving you free Gold Coins and Sweepstakes Coins. Aside from generous welcome offers, you will often receive daily log in bonuses, plus a host of other regular promotions.
If you receive free Gold Coins, there are no playthrough requirements attached to them as they have no financial value. However, if a social casino gives you free Sweepstakes Coins, you will usually have to meet playthrough requirements before your Sweepstakes Coins can be redeemed.
Whilst wagering requirements at real money online casinos are often very high, playthrough requirements at social casinos are often just x1. In other words, if you play your Sweepstakes Coins once, your virtual funds become redeemable if they meet the specified thresholds.
Tracking your playthrough progress
Your playthrough progress is the amount you have played that has contributed towards your sweepstakes coins playthrough requirements. Keeping track of this amount is not always easy, especially if your playthrough requirements are relatively high. Fortunately, at most social casinos, you can monitor your playthrough progress simply by viewing a progress bar on your account page.
How to meet playthrough requirements? What to look for
Now that you know the basics of how playthrough requirements work at social casinos, let’s look at some other terms and conditions you need to look out for before you play:
Game eligibility
The
best sweepstake casino apps
allow you to complete your playthrough requirements on any game. Unfortunately, in some instances, you may have to use your Sweepstakes Coins on a specified game or games. If you play any ineligible games, you could lose some of your Sweepstakes Coin balance, but without satisfying any playthrough requirements.
Contributions
Even if a sweepstakes casino allows you to use any game for your playthrough requirements, you may find that some games contribute a smaller percentage than others. For example, you may find that certain high return to player (RTP) games like roulette or blackjack, contribute 50% towards your playthrough requirements. This means you need to play twice as much on these games, compared to playing games that contribute 100% towards your playthrough.
Expiry date
If you receive bonus Sweepstakes Coins, the terms and conditions often stipulate an expiry date. This means you need to playthrough your bonus cash before that date, otherwise the remaining sweepstakes coins are removed from your account.
Maximum stake sizes
Another common condition attached to playthrough requirements is that your virtual coin stake cannot exceed a certain amount. Any stakes that exceed this amount will not count towards your playthrough.
Five expert tips for completing playthrough requirements
Completing sweeps casino playthrough requirements is not always an easy task, especially if you have to play your sweepstakes coins more than once. To help you out, here are some essential tips for successfully meeting your playthrough requirements:
Double check the terms and conditions
By now, you have no doubt realised that playthrough requirements have terms and conditions attached to them. The importance of these terms and conditions cannot be overstated. Whenever you have playthrough requirements to complete, always double check the terms you need to meet.
If you have any doubts regarding your playthrough requirements and cannot find the answers in the terms and conditions, contact customer support for further information.
Regularly check your progress
By regularly tracking your playthrough requirement progress, you can adapt your gameplay strategy to maximise your chances of completion. Doing this will help you formulate the best strategy for completing the offer.
This is especially important if you are approaching the end of your playthrough requirements and still have a large amount of Sweepstakes Coins in your account. By using minimum stake sizes to complete the final part of your playthrough requirements, you will reduce your variance. This will help protect the majority of your Sweepstakes Coins balance and improve your chances of completing the playthrough requirements successfully.
Return to player (RTP) is a key metric to look for whenever you play at online casinos. RTP is the percentage of your overall stake you should receive back on average, if you play a game over a long time period. The higher the RTP, the more attractive a game is. Generally speaking, slot games with an RTP of over 96% are regarded as being the best ones to play.
However, the best case scenario is that you can complete your playthrough requirements on table games, such as roulette or blackjack. These games have RTPs in excess of 99% if played using certain strategies. So if these games are eligible and contribute 100% towards your playthrough requirements, make sure you use them for your wagering.
Variance is closely related to RTP and is another key parameter you should assess when deciding how to meet your playthrough requirements. All casino games will have a variance that is either low, medium or high.
High variance games will potentially give you massive wins, but they are far more likely to give you long losing runs. Low variance games generally play very closely to their RTP. This means that whilst you are unlikely to land any huge wins, you are unlikely to hit long losing streaks that stop you from completing your playthrough requirements. In short, these low variance games give you the best chance of completing your playthrough requirements without losing your entire Sweepstakes Coins balance.
Avoid offers with high playthrough requirements
Whilst many of the
best new sweepstakes casinos
have excellent bonus offers, this is not the case at every single site. Some sweeps casino offers have excessive playthrough requirements that give you very little chance of success. If you have to play anything more than twenty times your bonus size, you will find it very difficult to reach the end of the playthrough requirements with any Sweepstakes Coins intact. In these instances, it is usually wise to opt out of the offer and move on to the next promotion.
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Sweepstakes casino playthrough requirements: Conclusion
Sweepstakes casino playthrough requirements are generally easier to complete than their real money equivalents. But you still need to apply due diligence when approaching any social casino offer. Make sure you have a firm understanding of exactly what is required to complete the playthrough requirements of any offer.
Double check the full terms and conditions to see if there is anything in the small print that drastically alters your approach. Aside from that, try to play your Sweepstakes Coins in the same way as real money and closely monitor the progress of your sweeps coin playthrough requirements. Do all of that, you could well end up redeeming a cash prize. Good luck!
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Sweepstakes casino playthrough requirements: FAQs
❓
Are sweep coins playthrough requirements easy to meet?
At many social casinos, the playthrough requirements for Sweepstakes Coins are just x1. In other words, you just need to play your Cash once before your balance becomes redeemable. However, you will find some sweepstakes casino playthrough requirements higher than x1, so it is important to read the terms and conditions before playing.
💸
What is the best way to meet sweep coins playthrough requirements?
By playing low variance games with high RTP percentages. Check out my sweeps casino guides for details of the best specific games for completing your playthrough requirements.
✅
How do I calculate sweepstakes casino wagering requirements?
There are calculators that will work out your sweeps coin playthrough requirements for you. Just input your bonus amount and wagering requirements, and the calculator will tell you how much wagering you need to do.
