What are social casinos? The story behind top social casino games
Social casinos bridge the gap between regular online casinos, where you play for real money, and the types of video games that you can download online for free to play on your phone, tablet, or computer. In many cases, the same games are there to be played, since that there is a large range of table games and slots, but instead of real money, virtual coins are spun instead.
These coins are handed out on sign-up and are topped up each day you log in (so you are encouraged to play every day) and extra virtual coins can be bought for real money if you so choose. This is the same business model used by many video games and one that makes the playing of social casinos legal in states where online casinos are frowned upon by legislation.
One thing to note though is that when you are paying for extra virtual coins, you are making a purchase and not a deposit, so you cannot withdraw any virtual coins as they have no cash equivalent. Also note that Sweep Coins are a type of virtual coins that can’t be purchased at social casinos, as they are promotional tokens that can be redeemed for real-world prizes. They can only be gotten through tournaments, social media giveaways, or some welcome offers. However, other kinds of coins like Gold Coins can be purchased.
Who should make use of this social casino games guide?
As you can imagine, the fact that this makes the online casino experience more accessible to more people means there are a lot of social casinos around. For this reason, whether you are brand new to social casinos, or have played in another state at a ‘real money’ casino, you will find this guide can save you time and effort.
If you are an experienced player, you’ll know exactly what an online casino should offer, so will be looking for the best online social casinos, and not something that is little more than a glorified video game. You’ll also know that checking each one out will take time you don’t have, so ideally you’ll want to only have to look at one or two and decide from there.
Brand new players will need the same thing, but they’ll also need some tips to get started, and we’ll have those for you too later on. However, before we do that, you’ll need to see that we know what we are talking about.
Operator checklist: 5 things we look for when rating social casino gaming operators
We examine all the legal social casinos in the USA. This is done in the same objective, in-depth manner that we review ‘real money’ casinos. However, because they are slightly different entities, we don’t need to dive into some areas, but it does also mean we need to pay extra attention to some others:
Look, feel, and usability
Some people think that because social casinos don’t use real money, the whole set-up is done on a short budget and that players who use these operations are getting second best. For that reason, we reviewed the usability of the website to make sure it works every bit as well as its real money counterparts.
Quality and range of games
For the same reason, we also examined what is on offer to players when they use their virtual coins, and make sure players are getting pretty much the same slots and games as they would if they were in a real money casino, and not some poor substitutes.
Social casinos will have welcome bonuses, and we look at each one to make sure that you are getting the best deal possible, or if you are wasting your time and effort signing up for a bonus that won’t last you five minutes.
We also assess what else is on offer to social casino customers, as the best social betting platforms will also have table games/ live dealers and possibly an online forum for users to connect and share experiences.
Benefits for regular players
As well as the daily top-up, we see what else is there for people who play regularly. This could be an ascending daily top-up or extra bonuses for logging in every day for a week, as well as exclusive games for those who go up a level, like in a video game.
$25 No Deposit + 250,000 Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
Stake.us Highlights
- Exclusive promo code: TGTSOCIAL
- Play Plinko, Hilo, Crash and more!
- Get Stake Cash bonuses every day!
Editor’s recommendation – the best place for social casino slots
It’s important to point out that our recommendation process is made easier by the fact that all the reviews are carried out according to the same checklist and rated accordingly.
As you would expect, some are much better than others, and the editor’s recommendation for the social casino for the best games is BetRivers. This operator has a range of real money casinos and sportsbooks across the country, so players will be getting pretty much the same experience as they would at those sites, which puts them ahead of the competition in many ways.
Daily Rewards up to 10k VC$
BetRivers.net Highlights
- A number of immersive social live dealer games
- Several promotions with free virtual credits on offer
- Simple, yet slick, lobby layout
Finding the right social casino for you – find the best place to play the top social casino games
The rating and reviews system on this site also makes it easier for anyone who wants to make their own decision when finding the right social casinos or top social casino apps. It might be that you are looking for a specific slot or version of a table game, or one with a generous daily top-up and low minimum stakes games, and by looking at our reviews you’ll be able to find exactly what you are looking for.
New players who don’t know where to start will also find them useful for finding out the best and worst features of each and discovering what they want from their social casino experience.
5 ultimate tips for using the best operators – what you need to know before you play your first social casino game
As a new player, once you’ve found your social casino with the right games for you, you’ll need to get started the right way. Even if you think you know the ropes, the following pointers could make life a whole lot easier.
Even though you are not playing with real money and just for fun, you’ll want that fun to last for as long as possible. For that reason, start with the games you know and experiment when you know your way around.
Virtual coins still need managing so work out a staking level that works for you, rather than blowing your whole day’s top-up in just a couple of spins, and you’ll get a whole lot more out of the experience.
There are daily top-ups, and they might even get bigger each day, so make sure you don’t miss out. You might not play every day, but make sure you take a minute to login in and claim your daily bonuses.
There are two ways to get new information, the easy way, and the hard way. The hard way is through trial and error and wasting virtual coins, and the easy way is to use the tutorials on the site or the additional guides here.
Use the welcome bonus wisely
That big gift of virtual coins doesn’t have to be all used in one day (unless the T&Cs say so) and you can spread it out and use it in conjunction with the daily top-ups to make the most of your social casino experience.
Conclusion – our guide to social casino games with real money options online
After reading this guide, you will find the process of finding social casino games a whole lot easier than going it alone. As well as our editor’s recommendation, you have been given all the information you need to make your own choice using the comparisons and reviews on this site.
There are other guides that can also help you get the best out of your time with new social casinos, they can be found elsewhere on this site.
Our top social casinos for December
1.
$25 No Deposit + 250,000 Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
Players from Virginia accepted
2.
30 SCs on 1st Purchase + 4.5 SCs FREE
Players from Virginia accepted
3.
25 SCs extra free on first purchases + 2 SCs FREE to claim
Players from Virginia accepted
4.
$5 No Deposit + 250 GameCoins + 600 Diamonds
Players from Virginia accepted
5.
1,000 ($10) No Deposit Free Coins + 360,000 Gold Coins + $8 FREE Coins
Players from Virginia accepted
Top social casino games FAQ
👑 Where can I find the best social casino slots?
Social casinos typically have as many slots as some online casinos, so looking can take a while. Nonetheless, after extensive comparison of the different social gaming operators, we would recommend BetRivers as the best place for social casino slots.
🔎Can you play the top social casino games for real money?
Playing the top social casino games is usually just for fun, and you can’t use real money to play. However, some social casinos allow you to redeem your coins by converting them into real world prizes.
💭Which is the best social casino bonus?
Bonus offers are every bit as important for social casinos as they are for ‘real money’ casinos. Currently, Stake.us stands out with an exclusive offer of $25 No Deposit bonus + 250,000 Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback on all your net losses. Use the promo code TGTSOCIAL to unlock this bonus. You can also explore other hot bonus offers on our best online social casino reviews and guides.
