A recurring feature that you will see at multiple sweepstakes casinos in the US is the progressive jackpot. Jackpot systems come in several different forms, both in-game and site-wide, and we will explain both below.
They are essentially a feature that potentially allows you to get additional virtual currency prizes by playing games, via a randomly triggering mechanism. From our experience, they can add an additional layer of excitement and intrigue to your gaming and enhance your overall experience at the top US social casinos.
Understanding the Two Types of Sweepstakes Casino Jackpots
We’ve tested the
top sweepstakes casinos
in the US, and from our experience, there are two distinct types of jackpot systems – site-wide progressive features, or in-game progressive jackpots. It’s important to understand the difference as one requires an additional virtual currency playing amount for its eligibility.
Site-wide Progressive Jackpots
A popular feature that we are seeing added to more social casinos is the site-wide progressive jackpot. This is essentially a feature that anyone who has a registered account with the sweepstakes casino can opt into, and they then have a chance of triggering random virtual currency prizes. Main pointers about the site-wide jackpot include:
You usually have to opt in to the feature.
You will have to contribute a set amount of virtual currencies per spin/hand once opted in.
Your contributed amount goes into the progressive prize pool.
There will be a list of games where the jackpots can be triggered.
When playing these games, you have the chance of randomly triggering a jackpot on any spin/hand/round.
For example, perhaps a site has a progressive feature where you have to contribute either 100 Gold Coins (GC) or 0.10 Sweeps Coins (SC) per gameplay round (such as a spin on a slot game, or a hand at a table game). That 100 GC or 0.10 SC goes into the overall site-wide progressive prize pool and it builds up over time as other players also contribute to it.
You will then be able to potentially trigger a series of different prizes from the jackpot prize pool, in either Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins, depending on which gameplay mode you are using. If a prize is won from the pool, the pool is reset back to a minimum seed amount and then starts building up again. From our research, there are usually 3-4 different prize categories that are triggered at different random frequencies:
Jackpot Prize Name
Typical Sweeps Coin amount
Frequency
Mini
5-20 SC
Every 30 minutes
Minor
50-100 SC
Every few hours
Major
1000+ SC
Daily
Mega
5,000+ SC (often 10,000+)
Once per few days or weekly
In-game Progressive Jackpots
The site-wide sweepstakes casino jackpot feature should not be confused with in-game jackpots. Many video slots from developers like Playson, 3 Oaks Gaming, and IGT have a jackpot system that relates to the bonus feature or bonus round of the game.
This is NOT a site-wide progressive feature, and you can usually trigger one of four different pre-set jackpot prizes that are based on your spin value in Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins. You won’t have to add any extra to your spin value for this – it’s a standard game feature and you usually have to get three or more bonus symbols, for example, to trigger the feature and have a chance of getting a jackpot prize.
Pros and Cons of Sweepstakes Jackpots
We generally like the site-wide progressive jackpot feature and think it can be a great addition to social casinos. Generally, it’s something that you can opt into and then forget about, and then you have the chance of getting a range of different progressive GC or SC prizes.
It’s not a perfect system though, and you do have to remember that the jackpot prizes are randomly triggered – you might never get a prize, which could simply reduce your overall amount of virtual currencies that you can play with.
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Conclusion – Sweepstakes Jackpots Are Generally a Fun Gameplay Extra
Important points to remember from this guide are that there are two main types of jackpot features at sweepstakes casinos. One is a site-wide feature where you can opt in and have the chance of randomly triggering GC or SC prizes from your gameplay, while the other is an in-game feature that is usually triggered by unlocking the bonus round.
If you want to opt in to a sweepstakes jackpot feature, please make sure that you read the terms and conditions carefully so that you understand the prize brackets, the minimum contribution amount in GC or SC, and the eligible games where the jackpot prizes can be triggered. For more information, you can also check out our other guides and articles on sweepstakes casinos and how they work. But if you’d like to start, you can tap our page banners to sign up at our recommended sweeps casinos.
Sweepstakes Casino Jackpot FAQs
No. Most sweepstakes casino jackpot prizes are randomly triggered using advanced Random Number Generator (RNG) algorithms. This means that anyone could randomly get a jackpot prize on any gameplay round they engage in, and there is never any guarantee – you might play at a social casino for years and never get one.
Theoretically there is no maximum cap on potential sweepstakes casino jackpot prize. Typically, the prize pool continues to build up until someone triggers it. We have seen multiple sites that have jackpot prize pools that span into the tens of thousands for Sweeps Coins, and millions or tens of millions for Gold Coins.
This ultimately depends on which social casino offers jackpot features and where they offer their services. You can look at our other guides and reviews for more information relating to recommended sweepstakes casinos and their games.
