Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins: The Two-Currency Model

Every sweepstakes casino runs on two currencies. Gold Coins are for play only, have no cash value and are the coin you can buy. Sweeps Coins are sweepstakes entries that cannot be bought, arrive free, and, once won in play, can be redeemed for real prizes. The split exists so that no purchase is ever needed to enter or win, which is how the operators frame the prize side as a promotional contest rather than paid gambling.

The names vary. High 5 Casino calls its play coins Game Coins, WOW Vegas calls them WOW Coins, and Stake.us calls its sweepstakes currency Stake Cash. The structure underneath is the same.

What are Gold Coins for?

Gold Coins are the social casino half of the site. Chumba Casino’s terms define them as having no monetary value and say they cannot be redeemed for prizes under any circumstance. WOW Vegas’s terms say the same of WOW Coins, and its help centre adds that they cannot be converted into Sweeps Coins.

You get some free and can buy more in packs. Purchases are final: LuckyLand’s rules and High 5 Casino’s rules both say no refunds are given on coin purchases. If that sounds like an ordinary social casino, it is, and our guide to in-app coins, chips and gems applies here too.

Where do Sweeps Coins come from?

The rules we read list a handful of routes, and none of them is a direct purchase. High 5 Casino’s rules state that Sweeps Coins cannot be bought under any circumstances.

• A bonus with Gold Coin packs. Specially marked packs come with free Sweeps Coins attached. LuckyLand, High 5 Casino and WOW Vegas all describe this. It is also the easiest route, which is the point of the design.
• Daily bonuses. LuckyLand’s rules allow one daily bonus claim per day. WOW Vegas runs Daily Drops.
• Social media and email giveaways. LuckyLand runs giveaway contests on its Facebook page. WOW Vegas lists social contests, daily email competitions and a referral reward.
• A mail-in request. This is the alternative method of entry, often shortened to AMOE.

The mail-in route is deliberately fiddly. LuckyLand’s rules, dated October 2, 2025, require a blank 4 by 6 inch card inside a stamped envelope, the address handwritten, a one-time 12-digit request code from your account, your name as it appears on your ID, and a set declaration, all by hand. Each valid card earned 5 Sweeps Coins.

WOW Vegas, as of October 2026, credits 3 Sweeps Coins per valid request card and lists a separate mailing address in Markham, Ontario for Canadian players. The envelope must be postmarked from the same province as the address on your account, or the request is voided.

Why is it built this way?

The LuckyLand and High 5 Casino rules both open with the same line in capitals: no purchase is necessary, and buying does not improve your chances of winning. That sentence carries the whole model.

Canadian law shows why it matters. Section 206 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to dispose of goods through a game of chance, or of mixed chance and skill, where the player pays money or other valuable consideration. The Competition Bureau’s enforcement guidelines on promotional contests explain that offering another way in, without a purchase, avoids that problem. Sweepstakes casinos sell you Gold Coins, give the Sweeps Coins away, and keep a free route open.

There is a fair question about how real that free route is. A Canadian gaming-law chapter by Borden Ladner Gervais notes that a no-purchase entry has to be a meaningful alternative, not so cumbersome that nobody would realistically use it. You can judge for yourself how a handwritten letter for 3 coins compares with the coins bundled into a pack. Canadian winners also face Canada’s skill-testing question, the other half of the contest formula.

What is a Sweeps Coin worth?

Only Sweeps Coins won through play can be redeemed. Coins you collected free must be played through first: VGW’s rules require one play-through by default and allow it to require up to 20, and High 5 Casino’s rules require at least one and reserve the right to ask for more.

For redemption, one Sweeps Coin is treated as a prize worth US$1 in the LuckyLand and High 5 Casino rules. WOW Vegas describes the option to convert Sweeps Coin winnings into US dollars. Our page on redeeming Sweeps Coins for prizes covers minimums, methods and waiting times.

Free coins also expire. WOW Vegas’s help centre says free Sweeps Coins are removed 60 days after they are credited, and LuckyLand’s rules expire Sweeps Coins 60 days after your last login.

What is the catch?

The model makes buying feel optional while making it the easiest way to get Sweeps Coins. Every Gold Coin pack is real money spent on a coin with no cash value, and the Sweeps Coins on top are a promotion, not a purchase. If you notice you are buying packs mainly for the bonus coins, our guide to knowing when free play stops being fun is worth reading.

Next, see which sweepstakes brands accept Canadians, or go back to the sweepstakes casinos overview.