AGA Survey: Majority of Sweepstakes Users Spend Money, Play to Win Money

• The American Gaming Association today released a survey of 2,250 real money online casino, free-to-play mobile casino and sweepstakes casino players
• The majority of sweepstakes users reported they play the games to win real money and most spend real money on the games
• Majority of users describe sweepstakes as gambling

According to the results of a recently published survey from the American Gaming Association, the majority of sweepstakes casino users spend money monthly on their games and say they started to play the games to win real money or rewards.

The AGA today released the results of an online survey of 2,250 total sweepstakes casino, iGaming users, and free-to-play customers. The results showed that 80% of sweepstakes casino users spend money monthly on their games, while nearly half spend money weekly on the sweepstakes contests.

“These operators present themselves like legal, regulated platforms – but they operate outside the law and regulation,” said AGA Vice President of Government Relations, Tres York. “There are few if any responsible gaming tools, no regulatory oversight, and no consumer protections. It’s a dangerous subterfuge that puts players at real risk.”

A Place to Win Real Money

The online survey was held from June 11-24, 2025, among a representative sample of 750 sweepstakes casino customers, 750 iGaming users in legalized states, and 750 free-to-play customers.

According to the survey results, 68% of sweeps players reported winning money is their top priority for playing the games while 82% of iGaming users say the same. By contrast, 73% of pure free-to-play customers say “fun” is their primary motivator for the contests.

About 65% of sweeps players reported in the survey that they started playing the games to win real money or rewards, compared with 67% of iGaming users.

Additionally, 90% of sweepstakes casino users consider the activity to be gambling, describing it as either “definitely gambling” or “probably gambling.”

“The data is clear,” York said. “Consumers see right through the ‘sweepstakes’ casino facade and they’re calling it what it is: gambling. We look forward to policymakers continuing to enforce their laws and create clarity through new policy measures to protect their residents.”

Majority Use Sweepstakes Coins

The survey also noted that users seems to be driving by real value “sweeps coins,” and not the free-to-play “gold coins” that are available on the platforms. Among users that spend money on games, 67% reported that “sweeps coins” are what they are mostly interested in compared with just 33% being interested in “gold coins.”

In states that lack sweepstakes prohibitions, the number of monthly sweepstakes casino players is twice as high.