Highlights
- Christmas-themed games are bursting into game libraries.
- Many sweepstakes casinos are investing in instant-win arcade games.
- Special promos and contests are launching for the holidays.
December is now in full swing - we’ve had thanksgiving and now we can turn our attention to Christmas and the new year. This means one thing - social casinos go all out and do things differently.
During the holiday season, I always see US sweepstakes casinos making a maximum effort to draw in new customers and give their existing players a fantastic experience and 2024 is no different. Over the last week, I’ve been following sweepstakes casino activity and have noticed several trends happening during the festive season - enjoy!
5 sweeps casino trends I’ve noticed in December
The holiday season is one of the peak periods for sweepstakes casino activity I find due to people taking time off work and the potential lucrative marketing opportunities - everyone loves Christmas and it’s traditionally a time where we splash out and treat ourselves. Social casinos know this and this is why I’ve seen a range of new activity including the following:
1. Sweepstakes casinos are gearing up for the holidays
On most popular US sweepstakes casinos, I’ve seen some type of special holiday bonus, tournament, or competition. These appear to be in addition to their existing promos and tournaments. You can see several of the more prominent examples I found below:
🎄 Stake.us Holiday Hunt
Stake.us: Pros & Cons
- 1,000+ Vegas-style games
- Live dealer sweepstakes games
- Thrilling Stake Originals titles
- In-built player forums
- Redeem Stake Cash for prizes
- Not available in all US states
Special slots tournament running in December where you can get GC and SC prizes simply by getting the highest multiplier or biggest prize on selected games. The total prize pool for each game is 5,000 Stake Cash and 50 million GC! Stake.us is undoubtedly one of the
top sweeps casinos
out there and are definitely worth your time.
🍬 ClubsCasino Sweet Bonanza Holiday Giveaway
ClubCasino: Pros & Cons
- 2.5 GC, 0.5 free SC Daily Login Bonus
- Intuitive desktop and mobile site
- Selection of ongoing rewards
- Fair redemption limits
- No dedicated social casino app
Special Pragmatic Play Drops and Wins tournament running in December for the Sweet Bonanza Xmas game. You can compete in daily leaderboards to win SC and GC prizes.
🎁 Zula Casino’s 24 days of Giftmas
Zula Casino: Pros & Cons
- Over 700 quality casino games
- Generous welcome offer
- Legal in 46 states
- Redeemable cash prizes
A special range of daily promotions, giveaways and free spins spread across the traditional 24 days leading up to Christmas.
🎉 Hello Millions festive prize drops
Hello Millions Casino: Pros & Cons
- Over 2,400 casino games
- Massive sign up bonus
- Redeemable real world prizes
- Legal in 40+ states
Hello Millions has a similar leaderboard and random prize drop competition as ClubsCasino. You have to play a range of Christmas-themed games and you can rank up the leaderboard and have a chance of winning part of the huge GC and SC prize pools.
I recommend checking out the promotions pages of the social casinos you typically play at as I can ensure that they will have at least one holiday competition or promotion running!
This happens every year without fail but I’ve noticed it more than ever this December - Christmas-themed games are back! Around this time of the year you can usually expect sweepstakes casinos to emphasize their Christmas and winter-themed slots and they become some of the most-played games during December.
I love it! Some of the games like Sweet Bonanza Xmas are simply re-skinned games of the original, but there are plenty of unique winter-themed titles too. I’ve listed some of my top picks that you can find at multiple social casinos below:
- Christmas Big Bass Bonanza.
- Sweet Bonanza Xmas.
- Starlight Christmas.
- Bigger Bass Blizzard.
- Christmas Carol Megaways.
- Santa’s Xmas Rush.
- Gates of Olympus Xmas 1000.
Pragmatic Play in particular has a brilliant selection of Christmas games and you can find Christmas versions of most of their popular titles. I love playing them as it helps me get in the holiday spirit!
3. Arcade games are booming
Perhaps you’ve noticed that more and more social casinos are adding instant-win arcade games to their collections? These are some of my favorite games and together with live dealer games, are some of the most popular games at US sweepstakes casinos.
More sites are realizing this and adding arcade sections to their game offering to give players an alternative to sometimes repetitive slot gameplay. Popular games include Plinko, Crash games, Dice, HiLo, and Mines. Compared to slots, arcade games have more interactivity, and an element of skill - you’re not simply continually pressing the spin button and actually have to make decisions which are far more entertaining.
The following social casinos currently have instant-win arcade games available:
- McLuck Casino.
- Real Prize.
- Stake.us.
- High 5 Casino.
- Sweeptastic.
- Funrize.
- Ding Ding Ding.
- Sportzino.
- Moonspin.
Stake.us was one of the original pioneers of this game genre in the social casino sphere with their Stake Originals game selection. This remains one of the best collections of instant-win arcade games available, but the above sites are catching up and their collections are just as impressive.
As you will see with live dealer games below, I expect this trend to persist and that into 2025 and beyond we will see more arcade games added to a greater variety of US social casinos.
4. Live dealer games are making a surge
Traditionally, most US social casinos have their game libraries filled with video slots. Now, this is still true, and sites like High 5 Casino, MegaBonanza, and Hello Millions are packed with some amazing slot titles from developers like Pragmatic Play.
However, I’m noticing more and more social casinos adding live dealer games to their sites. I don’t think this is particularly related to the holidays - I just think that the sites are realizing that these types of games are especially popular and can bring them a heap of revenue.
The availability of live dealer games is still mainly restricted to live blackjack, roulette, and baccarat, but I’m finding a few sites that also have live game shows, and other game variants like Sic Bo, Teen Patti, and Craps. The following sweepstakes casinos currently have live dealer games available:
- McLuck Casino.
- Hello Millions.
- Play Fame.
- WOW Vegas.
- Stake.us.
- High 5 Casino.
- Ding Ding Ding.
I find that this number is growing continually and I remember a time where you could barely find live dealer games at any social casino. I think this is a trend that will continue to develop - the technology and availability of live dealer games has improved immensely and they are generally some of the most-played games at social casinos.
Oftentimes you’ll notice that sweepstakes casino’s social media channels have sporadic posts and periods of inactivity. I’ve noticed that as the holiday season is ramping up, the socials are becoming more active.
I recommend switching notifications on and following the social casinos on sites like X, Facebook, and Instagram. Most of the top sweepstakes casinos are having a range of Christmas-themed giveaways and contests and social media, and activity generally appears to be greatly increased so you could bag yourself some GC and SC prizes.
I’m excited for the social casino holiday season and beyond
The festive season is usually a great time for sweepstakes casinos and from what I’ve seen so far this December, you’re in for a treat. Whether it's an epic range of Christmas-themed games that the sites are adding to their libraries, holiday-themed contests and tournaments, or particular games seeing an increase in popularity, there is more gaming opportunity than ever, and this is as always backed by a range of superb welcome bonuses and promos for existing customers.
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