Playthrough Requirements at Sweepstakes Casinos

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Mike Epifani, Author

Last Updated : 01/20/2025

Playthrough requirements typically apply to bonuses at regular online casinos, sportsbooks, and poker sites. However, all coins are tied to a playthrough requirement at sweepstakes casinos because all sweepstakes coins are given as a bonus. Here’s a breakdown of how it works.

What Are Playthrough Requirements?

Playthrough requirements are the number of times a player needs to wager a bonus amount before the bonus is turned into cash available for withdrawal. For example, if you receive a $100 bonus with a 5x playthrough requirement, you’d need to wager $500 before you could withdraw the winnings.

That doesn’t mean the player has to deposit more money. Instead, the cumulative amount of wagering, regardless of the win and loss ratio, contributes to the playthrough requirements. It’s absolutely realistic to play a casino game and win and lose at an even-enough rate to complete playthrough requirements.

If the player runs out of the bonus entirely, the playthrough requirements go away entirely as well. Put another way, you can complete playthrough requirements by playing through the specified number of times or by running out of bonus money entirely.

Playthrough at Sweepstakes Casinos

Sweepstakes casinos give sweepstakes coins to players in a variety of ways. These include:

  • Signing up at a new sweepstakes casino.
  • Purchasing fun-play coins and receiving sweepstakes coins as a bonus.
  • Getting a daily login bonus.
  • Claiming a promotion for existing users via email, website, or social media.
  • Redeeming rewards points.

However, new sweepstakes coins cannot be immediately redeemed. Instead, the player must use them to play the games. The sweepstakes coins that are won playing the games are the ones that are available for prize redemption.

For example, if you receive 10 sweepstakes coins, they will not be available to redeem. If you play an online slot with 0.10 sweepstakes coins per spin, you can play 100 spins with the 10 sweepstakes coins. Whatever is leftover after those 100 spins is available for prize redemption.

Tips for Completing Playthrough Requirements

Play Games with Good Odds

Not all casino games offer the same odds of winning. Table games like blackjack and craps have a return to player (RTP) rate as high as 99% or more, meaning, overall, players keep $99 for every $100 wagered. Some slots have RTP as high as 98%, which is also extremely good (no casino game has a 100% RTP, the house always has an edge over the player). By playing these games, you have the best chance of completing playthrough requirements.

Discover More: Highest RTP Slots Online

Find Casinos with Low Playthrough Requirements

Regardless of the games you play, the lower the playthrough requirements, the better. Thankfully, almost all sweepstakes and social casinos have a mere 1x playthrough requirement. Real-money online casinos, on the other hand, often have a playthrough requirement as high as 30x. Here’s a breakdown of sweepstakes casinos vs. real-money casinos.

Skip Bonuses Altogether

This isn’t an option for sweepstakes casinos, as you’ll need to at least complete a 1x playthrough to get a cash prize. However, for real-money casinos, skipping a bonus altogether means you’re not tied to any playthrough requirements. That means you can cash out at any time, whether it’s right after you deposit or after you play games for weeks.

Final Thoughts on Playthrough Requirements

Playthrough requirements may seem like a daunting prospect, but they’re actually quite reasonable. We’ve been claiming bonuses tied to playthrough requirements for years, and we often turn that money into withdrawable winnings. We’d say the success rate is about 50/50, which is what should be expected given the odds of casino games. Just be sure to practice responsible gaming, even if you’re playing for free, to avoid the pitfalls of problematic gambling.