Australia’s sweepstakes casino space is still very limited with only one clear AU-specific brand in operation: Roo Vegas.
It’s a strong choice for those looking for casino gaming in Australia and the chance for real cash redemptions online.
However, we still haven’t developed own wider sweepstakes market. That’s unlike the crowded US space where options number in the hundreds, including casinos, sportsbooks, hybrid platforms and even pure social casinos. And you won’t be surprised to learn that Roo Vegas is very much based on the sites found in the US – like Chumba, Stake.us and McLuck.
To be clear, the main two options we recommend for Aussie players looking for sweepstakes-style options are:
- Roo Vegas, a fully-fledged sweepstakes casino set up for Australian audiences with casino-style games (slots and live dealers) played via Roo Coins (RC) and Spin Coins (SC). This offers the chance for real cash redemptions.
- Pure social casinos like Gambino Slots which aren’t AU-specific but are globally accessible. Here, players can game with tokens like G-Coins, but these are purely for fun with no cash redemption option.
Rumoured Expansion Activity
There is industry chatter that says successful US sweepstakes brands like SweepLasVegas (Digital Entertainment Development LLC), Crown Coins (Sunflower Limited) and Chanced/Punt (Gold Coin Group LLC) may be exploring expansion into the Australian market.
If those launches do go ahead, it could see Oz becoming a more active space for sweepstakes-style casino options. For now, it’s still underdeveloped.
How These Sites Actually Work
Sweepstakes casinos usually rely on some kind of dual-currency system to get around laws limiting online gaming.
One currency (i.e., Roo Coins at Roo Vegas) is purely for fun, while the other (Spin Coins) can be redeemed for cash (once certain conditions have been met).
Spin Coins or SC can be gained through generous bonuses – like the signup bonus of 500,000 Roo Coins + 10 Spin Coins – or they can be purchased in coin bundles available at the store.
However, the lack of direct, real money wagers (or ‘consideration’) means sweepstakes casinos don’t fall under the usual iGaming rules, even though the experience is very similar to online real money casinos.
Are Sweepstakes Casinos Legal in Australia?
The main piece of legislation regarding online casino gaming in Australia is the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 which applies nationally.
It defines a “gambling service” as the following:
“(a) a service for the placing, making, receiving or acceptance of bets; or
(b) a service the sole or dominant purpose of which is to introduce individuals who wish to make or place bets to individuals who are willing to receive or accept those bets; or
(c) a service for the conduct of a lottery; or
(d) a service for the supply of lottery tickets; or
(e) a service for the conduct of a game, where:
(i) the game is played for money or anything else of value; and
(ii) the game is a game of chance or of mixed chance and skill; and
(iii) a customer of the service gives or agrees to give consideration to play or enter the game; or
(f) a gambling service (within the ordinary meaning of that expression) that is not covered by any of the above paragraphs.”
The act then goes on to prohibit an “interactive” – or online – gambling service.
The key tension here is whether tokens like Spin Coins would be classified as “anything else of value”. Roo Vegas as an operator would likely argue that the SC themselves are worthless in a similar way to the legal arguments US sweepstakes casino operators often put forward. This avoids the classification as real money gaming.
In simple terms, it’s a grey area workaround that opens up new options for Australian players – and for other operators to run the same product.
However, public awareness towards sweeps casinos still remains very limited here, unlike in the US where millions of players are signed up across hundreds of platforms. In fact, the vertical has thrived there over the last few years, generating billions of dollars in revenue.
Sites like Gambino Slots, on the other hand, are even further away from a possible online gaming classification, thanks to the lack of any eventual cash redemption feature.
Closing Thoughts
For now, Roo Vegas operates as a great option for Australian players looking to play slots and live dealer games online with the potential for real money redemptions. Meanwhile, players who want to play purely for fun can look into Gambino Slots.
We’re hoping that awareness around this fledgling vertical will continue to grow and that other brands will soon enter the market to create a more visible and thriving sweeps space. This would produce more competition and options overall, which could only benefit players.
It’s also worth mentioning there is an irony here, with some of the biggest US-facing sweepstakes brands – including Chumba Casino and Stake.us – operated by companies with Aussie origins.
Original sweepstakes innovator Chumba Casino is run by Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW) with headquarters in Perth, Australia, while Stake.us’ founders are Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, the Australian entrepreneurs.
Given their experience in sweepstakes gaming markets, these operators could eventually look at opportunities closer to home, although there is no indication of that happening just yet.
For now, it’s still very early days with Roo Vegas sitting as the benchmark and experiment that will determine whether the model develops any long-term foothold in Australia.
Author: Oliver Dickinson
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