What Is a Social Casino? Plain-English Guide

A social casino is a free-to-play app or website that copies casino games such as slots, blackjack and roulette, but runs them on a virtual currency. The coins cannot be turned into cash, so nothing you "win" can be paid out. Cashout Arcade is a social casino in this sense. This guide explains how the category works, how it pays for itself and what to check before you play any of them.

The short answer

Three features define a social casino:

1. A virtual currency. You play with coins or chips supplied by the app. You can usually get more for free over time (daily bonuses, timed rewards) or buy them.
2. Casino-style games. The games look and behave like their casino cousins, and many add arcade or "social" extras such as friends lists, leaderboards and cooperative goals.
3. No payout in money. Because coins cannot be redeemed for cash or prizes, the games do not pay you anything of real-world value.

That last point is what separates a social casino from a real-money casino and from a sweepstakes casino. The difference matters for the law, for age ratings and for how you should think about the games, and the later sections cover it.

How a social casino works

When you open a typical social casino you get a starting balance of coins. You pick a game, choose a bet size and play a round. The result is decided by the app's software. In Cashout Arcade every result is decided on our servers, not on your phone, which is why a round that is interrupted is resumed from the server's record when you reopen the app.

If your balance runs low you have a few choices: wait for free coins, use a feature that gives coins, or buy more. A social casino app that never ran out of coins would have nothing to sell, so most designs make coins feel like a resource that gets used up. In Cashout Arcade, for example, the free routes are a free Lucky Pick every 15 minutes, a daily Gift Wall, a login calendar and a low-balance refill, as described on the Support page.

How social casinos make money

The free-to-play model has a few revenue sources. The general pattern across the category is the first two; the third and fourth vary by app.

• In-app purchases of coins. Players buy coin packs. In Cashout Arcade the pack prices run from $1.99 to $99.99 and are billed by Apple. See Social Casino Spending: How In-App Purchases Work for how that works and what to watch.
• Loyalty tiers and subscriptions. A VIP ladder rewards play and spending with larger bonuses. Cashout Arcade has a VIP ladder (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Obsidian and Highroller) and an optional Club Pass subscription.
• Advertising. Some apps show ads, often "watch a video for coins". Cashout Arcade has optional rewarded ads that give coins.
• Cosmetic extras. Themes and looks, which Cashout Arcade sells as one-time purchases.

Where an app depends on a small share of players who spend a lot, the design deserves extra caution from the player. That is a reason to check the spending controls before you start. If you want the spending side in detail, read the guide on setting spending limits on iPhone.

What you can and cannot win

You can win more coins. You cannot win money, gift cards or prizes. The coins are a licence to use the game, not property you own; our Terms of Use say they cannot be withdrawn, redeemed for cash or prizes, sold, exchanged or transferred to other players.

Two consequences follow. First, a big balance proves nothing about luck or skill outside the app. Second, any "social casino" that offers to cash out coins is not a social casino in the sense used here; it is probably a sweepstakes site or a scam. Both cases are covered in Can You Win Real Money on Social Casino Apps?.

The payout figures matter even though coins have no cash value, because they tell you how the game is balanced. In Cashout Arcade most games return 97% of the coins wagered over the long run, with a 3% house edge, and the exact numbers for every game are on the Odds page.

Who plays

Reliable numbers on the whole category are hard to find because the biggest operators are private or report revenue in different ways, so we do not quote a market size here. What research does show is that players are not one type. In a 2016 survey of 521 adults who had played social casino games in the previous year, most said the games had no effect on how much they gambled, while a minority said they had gambled for money as a direct result. The detail, and why it is only an association, is in Are Social Casinos Gambling? What the Law and Research Say and Do Social Casino Games Lead to Real Gambling?.

How social casinos differ from other kinds

The two comparisons are written up in full: Social Casino vs Sweepstakes Casino: What Is the Difference? and Social Casino vs Real Money Casino: Key Differences.

What to check before you download one

• Age rating. Apple's App Store defines "simulated gambling" as betting without real money or in-game currency that can be exchanged for real money, and places frequent simulated gambling in its 18+ tier. Source: Apple's age ratings reference, below.
• Odds. Does the app publish its return to player? Ours is on the Odds page and inside every game's info screen.
• Spending controls. Is there a monthly limit, a break option and a clear way to see what you have spent? Cashout Arcade has a monthly spend limit you set yourself and breaks of 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days that cannot be ended early.
• Cash value. Are the terms clear that coins cannot be cashed out? If an app hints at real prizes, read the terms before you pay anything.
• Your own history. If gambling has caused you harm, casino-style games can be a trigger even without money. The pages on When Free Casino Games Stop Being Fun are written for that situation.

Is it gambling?

Social casino games imitate gambling but, with no prize of real value, they usually fall outside legal definitions of it. That is a general statement, not a guarantee, and a few courts have taken a different view in specific states. The full discussion is in Are Social Casinos Gambling? What the Law and Research Say.

If playing ever stops being fun, the Responsible play section has free, confidential help.