Sweepstakes sites and online fruit machines with progressive jackpots (aka progressive jackpot fruitys) are now more popular than ever. If you’ve heard about both and are considering playing but first want to know if sweepstakes are better than progressive jackpots, you’ve come to the right place. I’m a big fan of both and have plenty of experience, so it’s hard for me to say which is better. Therefore, I will look at the pros and cons of both right here so you can decide for yourself if one of these popular forms of digital entertainment is better than the other.
What’s the difference between sweepstakes casinos and progressive jackpots?
First of all, let me start by pointing out that a sweepstakes site is a website you can visit from any modern Wi-Fi/internet-connected desktop computer, smartphone, tablet, or laptop. You can play any of the content available on these sites without gambling real money. A progressive jackpot is completely different. It’s essentially an accumulating prize pool connected to certain games commonly found at regular online casinos. These jackpots can climb to no fixed amount before being won and can be won randomly by any player at any time. Individual jackpots often climb well into the millions of dollars and can be won from as little as $/€/£0.10 to $/€/£0.50 per spin, which is why they are so popular. These ones are typically only ever accessible in the real money mode.
With progressive jackpot fruitys, you can play to win a life-changing sum of money on any lucky spin. Therefore, when signing up to sites where these ones can be found, there’s an element of risk involved because you would have to deposit real money if you wanted to play them, and there’s no guarantee you will win. Sweepstakes sites are similar, but they are NOT considered gambling sites because when you join one, you use a digital/virtual currency native to that site. This is what I love about them. When I run out of cash or want to play for fun, I go to my favourite sweepstakes site. When I’m feeling lucky and fancy a shot at winning a progressive jackpot, I’ll visit one of my favourite real money sites instead.
The free coins (aka sweeps coins or gold coins) can only be used on that site to play their fruitys and other classic titles, such as blackjack and roulette. It has no monetary value in the real world and cannot be withdrawn as real money. The best way for me to describe which option might be better for you is to stick to sweepstakes sites if you just want a bit of risk-free fun without the gambling part but where you can still play popular online fruit machines from award-winning providers. Alternatively, stick to regular real money sites to play the world most famous online fruitys with the biggest progressive jackpots. Sweepstakes sites are commonly found online in North America (mainly in the US, but Canadians in certain regions also have access to them).
They are free to join if you are 18 or older, and you can play instantly in your web browser using any modern desktop computer or mobile device without downloading software, apps, or programs onto your preferred device. There is an option to purchase more coins, but it is not a requirement. When purchasing bundles/packages, you can use those coins to win real-world prizes, including gift vouchers for your favourite shops, the latest gadgets, merchandise for your favourite brands, and cash prizes. I’ve found the deposit process is relatively straightforward because I use PayPal, and most sweepstakes sites accept this method. The interesting thing about the cash prizes is that they can be redeemed, so you can win real money on sweepstakes sites without gambling. I also found that withdrawing the cash prizes that I’ve won was super easy. There’s also the social element, which is why people like me enjoy playing on these sites.
Are the sweepstakes sites and regular online fruit machine sites welcome bonuses worth claiming, and how do they differ?
The best way to understand sweepstakes offers and how they work is to go to the globally renowned AskGamblers website. They have a list of today’s best sweepstakes bonuses for new players and explain in much greater detail how you can get the most out of them. On today’s best sweepstakes sites, you don’t need to deposit real money to unlock your initial sign-up bonus, but on regular real money sites, you would need to deposit to unlock your bonus. I’ve found that both types of sites offer generous bonuses that are worth claiming, but it all depends on what type of content you want to play – real money or ‘pretend’ money fruit machines.
You may be wondering what happens when you run out of the free sweepstakes coins you receive as part of the welcome bonus. Unlike regular real money sites, operators of sweepstake sites top up your balance for free. All you have to do is ask, which I think is fantastic. I have also frequently received more free coins from daily login bonuses, on-site promotions, social media competitions, and via the newsletters I opted to receive, which they send me to my email inbox once a month. To sum up, if you want risk-free entertainment with a chance to win cash prizes, try sweepstakes sites, but if you want to be in with a chance of progressive jackpots, try the real thing instead.