Modeled after its real-money counterpart, you can only expect great entertainment at BetRivers.NET. It has generous bonus deals, and a huge amount of social slots, plus it’s the only one to offer live dealer games.
Social Casinos in the US
Check our guide on the best social casinos in the US. Enjoy a rewarding social casino experience by playing casino games, earning rewards, and leveling up, regardless of your location.
Our experts carefully reviewed each site and covered all the necessary details you need to know before getting started.
Best Social Casinos in 2024
# | Casino | Bonus | Visit Site | T&Cs | |||
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1.
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Pulsz Casino |
5,000 Coins + 2 Sweepstakes Coins Bonus 2 Sweepstakes Coins + 5,000 Gold Coins |
Play |
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2.
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BetRivers.NET |
250 $VC Bonus $250 Free Virtual Credits |
Play |
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3.
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Gambino Slots |
200 FS Bonus 200 Free spins |
Play |
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4.
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Stake.us |
BONUS 250K Gold Coins + $25 Stake Cash |
Play |
N/A
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5.
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Fortune Coins |
150,000 Coins Bonus 150,000 GC + 400 FC |
Play |
1x bonus
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6.
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MyChoice Casino |
2,000,000 Coins Bonus 2,000,000 Free Coins |
Play |
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7.
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Slotomania |
1,000,000 Coins Bonus 1,000,000 Free Coins |
Play |
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8.
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LuckyLand Slots |
2,000,000 Coins Bonus 2,000,000 Free Coins |
Play |
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9.
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Huuuge Casino |
500,000 Coins Bonus 500,000 Free Coins |
Play |
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10.
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DoubleDown Casino |
1,000,000 Chips Bonus 1,000,000 Free Chips |
Play |
|
Depending on your preferences, your choice of the best social gaming site may differ slightly from ours. However, after thoughtful consideration, the casino sites listed above are just a few of the legit ones that we want to highlight.
Social Casino Winners by Category
Our top list is already a great place to start, but finding the right one for you can be time-consuming. We have broken down our top list into several categories to save you some time and effort.
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The above-listed operators are considered best for a specific category or feature. Despite the numerous appearances on the list, DoubleDown Social is outranked by Chumba Casino due to one key factor, the sweeps coins.
Best Social Casino Overall – BetRivers.NET
How We Rate Social Casinos?
We understand that you might value different features regarding social gaming sites. This is why we always check different aspects to ensure you’re provided with the best social gambling experience possible.
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Casino games
The game variety is by far the most difficult criteria for judging. We consider different aspects such as game quantity vs. quality, RTP, graphics, and software providers. Additionally, as an extra precaution, we check if the games are tested for fairness.
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Bonuses
Even if you don’t have to play with real money, casino bonus offers are still a significant ranking factor. We look for valuable incentives such as free coins, free spins, and giveaways that will boost your balance.
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Coin promotions
As the primary casino currency, coins play an essential part. Once your coins are depleted, you’ll need to replenish them. We look for additional incentives to earn more coins, such as completing quests, participating in challenges, daily bonuses, and coin drops.
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Social elements
As their main selling point, social online casinos do revolve around the social aspect, such as interacting with your friends and other players. We look for innovative ways to socialize, through social media platforms, invitations, and leaderboards.
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Interface and casino app
This is the portion of the casino review where we dig in and do a complete overhaul. The mobile interface and apps are tested for ease of use, security, graphics, and load times. From there, we can come to a better understanding of the entire social casino site.
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Rewards program
Rewards programs are an excellent resource for building a loyal customer base. We prioritize a generous rewards program, as this is still one of our favorite player features. If the site has a rewards program, we check the overall transparency, terms, and benefits.
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Customer support
Surprisingly, customer support isn’t a necessity for players or casino operators. A knowledgeable customer support and clearly written guides are a great help, so we prioritize casinos that offer different contact options.
What is a Social Casino?
The answer is quite simple, they are similar to traditional online casinos, with one major difference payouts are provided in virtual credits or currency.
Social casino gaming lets you enjoy free casino games regardless of location and without risking any real money.
They come with various social incentives, such as competing with your friends and winning prizes as you level up.
Even though social casinos offer a place where players can safely place bets, the wagers are taken in virtual currency. As a result, social casino operators do not pay out any real money winnings.
These casinos are a great alternative to real money sites if you live in a place where real money gambling is not legal yet.
How to Sign Up for a Social Casino?
Signing up for a social gaming account is a seamless and stress-free experience. Rather than jumping through hoops, you can typically sign-up by using Facebook, eliminating any extra passwords to keep track of.
However, if your preferred social site doesn’t have the Facebook sign-up option, just follow the next few steps:
Why Should You Play at a Social Casino Sites?
Many different factors make them appealing. One of the most important ones is, of course, the social aspect.
They give you various ways to interact with friends, and other players, often through social media, but it can also be done through websites and dedicated apps.
Social gambling sites provide a free-play casino gaming experience for anyone that wants to experience an online casino setting without spending big sums of money.
Keep in mind that online social casinos revolve around virtual credits, meaning that each win will be provided in the same way and not in real money.
- Social elements
- Generous coin promos
- Variety of casino games
- Free to play
- Unlock achievements
- Tournaments
- Live dealer games
- Standalone casino apps
- Slow customer support
- No cash out option
- Too many ads
Social casino brands are allowed to create a more creative and fun environment in comparison to real-money casino sites. With this creative freedom, they can customize their platforms to their liking.
Casino Bonuses
The best social casinos in the US feature bonuses in different shapes and amounts, most of which are sign-up offers.
They range from free coins to free spins bonuses and virtual tokens. And the best thing about them, they don’t require you to make a deposit.
All of these bonuses give you a nice coin boost to get you started, and you can earn more coins by participating in challenges and missions.
Let’s have a look at the most common bonus offers:
Free coins
This is the most common bonus type, and you’ll receive them by signing up to the site.
Free spins
This bonus type grants you free spins that you can use on wide range slots.
Virtual credits
These free credits are similar to free coins and bear the operator’s name. They can be provided in $ amounts too.
Even though any funds you win can’t be withdrawn, these bonuses are an excellent way to try out new games, improve your casino skills and have fun.
Beyond this, you can find several other daily and weekly promotions and a loyalty program.
Purchase and Payment Methods
Even though you’re not playing for real money, you can still make real-money purchases, such as buying coin packages, unlocking games, and more.
To do this, you’ll have a variety of payment methods available; however, they vary depending on the site. You can choose anything from credit and debit cards to convenient e-wallets.
To summarize, the commonly available purchase methods at social casinos are:
A small portion of social casinos online have the sweepstakes function, meaning that payout methods are featured at a few casinos. However, these casinos only pay out to the initial purchase method.
Some sites don’t handle any payment processing, like DoubleDown, but they leave it up to the supported platforms.
So, to purchase casino coin packages, your payment method can be set up through Apple Pay, Facebook, or Google Pay.
Also, even though most of them are legal worldwide, the coin package prices are shown in USD. But this just means that the package prices can change depending on your local currency and tax rates.
Depending on the user agreement and specific account terms, credit card purchases may count as cash advance. For this reason, we recommend using an electronic wallet such as PayPal or Skrill. Both of these payment options offer top-notch security, without the hassle of possible credit card fees.
Social Casino Games
Social casinos are a fantastic way to play free casino games, with twists and turns at every level. You’ll find a variety of popular games, including slots, table games, and live dealer games.
Due to the lack of set guidelines and requirements, these casinos typically feature anywhere from 50 to 500 titles. The market average is around 200 games.
You’ll have the opportunity to unlock more games as you earn points and progress through the levels.
Here’s a list of the best social casino games you can expect:
Before the change, the games on social sites were only considered simple games with vintage graphics and basic storylines. However, with the increase in popularity, the normal quality of social casino games has improved.
Social Slots
Social casinos are dominated by slot games, and they typically feature two different free slots, the classic Vegas slots that are found at real money casinos and the more animated cartoon style.
Social slot games work as traditional slots, with similar layout, mechanics, and bonus features such as free spins.
After carefully analyzing all available slot titles, we came up with a list of the best social slots and where you can play them:
Slot name | Software provider | Play at |
---|---|---|
Divine Fortune Megaways | NetEnt | MyChoice Casino |
China Shores | Konami | MyChoice Casino |
Cleopatra | IGT | DoubleDown Casino |
Starburst | NetEnt | BetRivers.NET |
Blood Suckers II | NetEnt | BetRivers.NET |
You can also try progressive jackpot slots, where you can hit a sizable win or win one of the massive progressive jackpots.
If your goal is to maximize your free coin winnings, then we suggest you stick to high RTP social slots. The return to player (RTP) percentage is a fantastic indicator of the player payout over a long period of time.
Live Dealer Games
Live casino games are the best way to pass your time during social casino play, combining the land-based experience with the perks of online gaming.
Currently, only one operator offers them. Out of the many available social casinos, BetRivers.NET is the only one to offer live games.
However, we expect more operators to launch live casino in the future are the demand increases higher.
BetRivers.NET is powered by Evolution Live, providing the best live dealer experience on the market. You can find 20+ live casino games from the likes of roulette, blackjack, poker, and craps, including game shows. The betting limits start as low as 0.10VC$.
As this is one of the top Pragmatic Play casinos in the USA, we have reasons to believe that they will use it as a backdoor to bring their live dealer studios.
Table Games
Many social gaming sites have various free games to choose from, including classic casino games like blackjack, roulette, video poker, and baccarat. Texas Hold’em is not that frequent.
When compared to social slots, you’ll find a smaller choice of games, but you’ll be able to find all the popular variants.
The gameplay of casino table games is almost identical to their real money counterpart. However, you’ll earn virtual credits and unlock achievements instead of cash.
The library is usually dominated by video poker games, you’ll be able to find all popular classic variants, such as Jacks or Better, Bonus Poker, and Deuces Wild.
BetRivers.NET
MyChoice Casino
Huuuge Social Casino
Software Providers
Traditionally, social casinos are known to feature games made by only one software provider. With the increasing popularity, they are now starting to offer games from more than one provider.
Nonetheless, you won’t see the same variety of providers as you typically do at physical and online casinos.
Looking at the overall quality of games, here are the top software providers:
Casino Apps
Most social casinos can be accessed through a mobile device, such as your phone or tablet.
Playing games on the go isn’t limited to just social casino apps, but it can be done on a variety of supported platforms.
Even though social gaming apps are the easiest way to play, this doesn’t mean every social casino has a dedicated app.
iOS and Android
Depending on the online social casino, the apps can be found on dedicated app stores, such as Amazon or Google Play Store and App Store.
Players will be happy to know that the game selection is identical regardless of the platform.
Slotomania is one of the best social casino apps in the market. The vibrant colors and thrilling storylines can keep you entertained for hours. Additionally, Slotomania runs a minimal number of ads during gameplay compared to other social platforms.
Mobile Web Browser
Usually, mobile web browsers are only used when the social casino app is nonexistent or difficult to find. Yet, real-money online casinos do not typically allow mobile web browsers for playing table or slot games.
Fortunately, casinos that accept gaming on a web browser are fully equipped with supported HTML5 websites. Above all, web browsers rarely have any significant load issues or inconsistent graphics.
Chumba Casino has the best mobile web browsing experience out of the top social casinos.
Even without a dedicated casino app, Chumba Casino outperforms on a mobile web browser. Compared to other social casino gaming sites, the Chumba platform has faster load times and more supported web platforms. Players can even choose to play through the mobile Facebook app.
Social Casinos vs. Online Casinos
Social online gaming is a fun and rewarding experience, similar to real-money online gaming.
Social casino gaming sites vary in two significant ways, legality and funding. Starting, online casinos are only legal in 5 states, whereas social casinos are legal nationwide.
They are a fantastic place to share accomplishments with your closest friends – completely free.
- Free to play
- Vibrant games
- Widely available
- Fun challenges
- Limited game variety
- Can't cash out winnings
- Annoying ads
- Can cash out winnings
- Claim generous bonuses
- Great game variety
- Only available in 6 states
- You put money at risk
However, the ads you might get at social casinos are frustrating! It’s the price you pay for playing for free. There are also fewer games, as the niche is not as lucrative for social casino operators, and casino game producers are not willing to cut prices.
And lastly, playing at real money online casinos puts your money at risk. You can win real prizes, but you can also lose real money.
Where are Social Casinos Legal in the US?
Social gambling sites are well-known for being accessible anywhere in the US.
Unless the social slot casino you want to play involves a sweepstakes component, it will be legal in all 50 states.
Though the responsible gambling measures are minimal at social casinos, they are still required and enforced. For example, Chumba Casino mentions additional features in the FAQ and encourages players to contact customer support for any responsible gambling feature inquiries.
Additionally, the minimum age to legally play at a social casino can range from 18 to 21.
But, with the entrance of real-money casino sites into the social gaming industry, we are seeing a trend toward a 21+ minimum age. With such a different but relatable business model, real-money casinos also impact a change in game variety at social casinos.
List of all Social Casinos
Currently, there are more than 10+ social slots casino operators available, but we expect this list to keep growing as more and more real money brands are eyeing the social casino gaming sphere.
Casino: | Launch year: |
---|---|
BetRivers.NET | 2016 |
Big Fish Casino | 2012 |
Caesars Slots | 2012 |
Chumba Casino | 2017 |
DoubleDown Casino | 2010 |
Funzpoints | 2020 |
Fortune Coins | 2021 |
Gambino Slots | 2018 |
House of Fun | 2013 |
Huuuge Casino | 2015 |
LuckyLand Slots | 2019 |
MyChoice Casino | 2020 |
Pulsz Casino | 2021 |
Slotomania | 2011 |
Besides this list, many free casino sites are better known as sweepstakes casinos. Each site has its own set of rules and regulations and a community of players. However, sweepstakes casinos with cash prizes are legal in almost all 50 states, except Washington and Idaho.
Player Protection
Player protection is one of our top priorities, and that’s why each of our recommended sites is tested with your safety in mind. Even though the laws differ at free casino sites, a certain level of protection is still expected.
For example, Chumba Casino uses a random number generator to guarantee fairness. Plus, even though social gaming is for entertainment, they require players to be 18 or 21 and older. In sum, minors are prohibited from playing at these sites.
Regardless, playing at a social casino with sweepstakes will require further verification to guarantee the location and age of the winner. They will raise a flag if the name on the account is different than the name on in-app purchases.
Above all, our recommended social casino gaming sites maintain excellent security and fairness alongside key responsible gambling measures.
Responsible Gambling
Responsible gambling is a serious concern for real money or social casino sites. Instead of the common responsible gambling measures seen at real money operators, the social ones feature information on local state resources.
Besides the state resources, you can also choose the self-exclusion option to completely limit your access to real-money and social casino online platforms in the US.
Though the responsible gambling measures are minimal at social casinos, they are still required and enforced. For example, Chumba Casino mentions additional features in the FAQ and encourages players to contact customer support for any responsible gambling feature inquiries.
How Do Social Casinos Make Money?
Whether you’re playing at a social casino with sweepstakes like Slotomania, or a traditional one like Caesars Slots, they all follow the same business model.
They make money from players buying virtual coins and other in-app purchases, such as unlocking levels and games.
In fact, most sites tailor promotions to your player account and overall standing. Alongside the personalized promos, they do a fantastic job connecting players with friends while introducing an interactive element to the experience.
Conclusion
All in all, social casinos are full of possibilities when compared to real-money sites. The lack of structure is only part of the appeal as to why they are gaining popularity.
Given the variety in coins, games, and social features, they provide an authentic casino experience without the risk to your bankroll.
And, of course, they allow you to interact with your friends while making new ones through online casino games.
FAQs
Are social casinos legal in my state?
Yes, they are. They are legal nationwide unless stated otherwise. Typically, they are not considered gambling sites, so they are widely accepted. The only sites that may not be legal in your state are those with sweepstakes. They are not available for Washington, Hawaii, Idaho, or Alaska residents.
Are social casinos scams?
No, they are not, as long as you stick to legit social casinos. Because these sites are licensed in the US, they have to comply with FTC regulations. In most cases, players must be 21 and older to play social casino games. However, since some connect to your Facebook account, they may already know your personal info.
Can I win real money at social casinos?
It depends on the casino. Some social gaming sites also run sweepstakes with real money and cash prizes. For example, sites like Chumba Casino pay real cash money and prizes – just take a look at the casino terms for more details.
Is social gaming gambling?
Technically, social casino gaming is not considered gambling. Social casinos are widely available because players don’t technically use real money to place bets. Additionally, most operators do not let players cash out their game winnings.
How social casinos determine winnings?
They use accredited RNG (Random Number Generator) software on all of their casino games to ensure that each game outcome is completely random and free of any external interferences.
Do social casinos offer welcome bonuses?
Yes, they do. The best social casinos award new players with welcome bonuses, which can be in the form of free chips, free coins, and free spins. You can additionally purchase more virtual coins using real money.
How can I download a social casino?
If you’re looking to play via a casino app, you can download it via the dedicated app stores, depending on your device. Moreover, we cover the top social casino apps to download for Android and iOS.