Why Is Stake Banned in the US - What's Allowed & Legal in 2024 (2024)

Can you play Stake in the US? Is Stake banned or available and legal in the US?

Featuring popular casino game exclusives by Stake Originals, it’s little surprise that more and more casino fans are seeking to open a Stake account. But first we need to establish a few facts about Stake and if it is legal in your location.

From gambling laws to how a social casino site operates, it’s key for US consumers to understand the practicalities of playing casino games online. Here, we’ll tell you more about Stake, as well as exploring its two different products, and whether they’re legally accessible in your state.

Are online casinos legal in the US?

For the sake of clarity, we’d like to preface this section by making it plain that we’re talking about traditional online casinos here – in other words, real money casinos. There are different types of online gaming, as will be clear further into this page.

The simple way of understanding the legality of real money online casino betting is that since 2011, when the Department of Justice clarified that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting, each state was allowed to regulate casino online gambling sites per jurisdiction.

In other words, it’s not a case of whether casinos are legal in the US, but in your individual state. This is an ever-changing process, so the best way to be sure of whether online gambling sites are available is to check on the most recent laws and regulations for your state.

Nonetheless, it’s worth broadly stating that a real money online gambling platform would be illegal in the overwhelming majority of US states at the time of writing. And, while it’s likely that more states will legalize real money online casinos at some point in the future, it’s unlikely they will become legal any time soon.

There are two different versions of the Stake online casino. The first is Stake.com. This is a real money casino and sportsbook, which is popular throughout much of Europe and beyond. They’re so well established in European countries, in fact, that they’re the sponsor of Watford Football Club.

The second, more relevant option for our United States readers is Stake.us. This platform is not just tailored to players from the US, it is an entirely different type of online casino product altogether. Stake.us is legal in most US states, as it is a social casino that does not offer real money gambling. Instead, it lets you play only with virtual currencies which are called Gold Coins and Stake Cash.

What Stake.com and Stake.us have in common is that they both allow you to play provably fair games of the highest quality. To be clear, while there is a distinction in how currencies are used on these sites and their general availability, you can play games from the finest software developers from the United States at both versions of the site.

Is Stake banned in the US?

This is a little bit of a misconception. First off, Stake.us can legally accept players in the majority of US staes, with a few notable exceptions. Therefore, the brand itself is not banned, generally speaking. What is not available to US players is the Stake.com site, and this is for a couple of simple reasons.

The first is that while US states can make up their laws regarding regular online casinos, many have chosen not to allow real money online gambling in their jurisdiction. However, Stake.us is available in US states where online sweepstakes are legal.

In other words, it’s not that Stake is banned, but rather that real money casino gaming is banned in most states, so Stake.com has yet to enter that side of the US casino market.

What are sweepstakes casinos?

As a sweepstakes casino, you’ll find Stake.us is legal in most US states. Here you will play casino games for free, so there is never any real need to knowhow to deposit money on stake in us, or to purchase anything

Instead, Stake.us provides free virtual currencies: Gold Coins and Stake Cash which are used for playing games instead of cash. This is the essence of what makes Stake.us legal.

How to collect virtual credits at Stake.us

Your virtual currency can be collected in a variety of ways. These include theStake.us bonus code(COINDOOSWEEPS), the daily login promo, social media giveaways and weekly slot tournaments. Both types of the virtual currencies can also be won during gameplay.

The differences between Gold Coins and Stake Cash

The different roles that Gold Coins (GC) and Stake Cash (SC) play are crucial to understanding how Stake works. Gold Coins are just for fun. They cannot be used to redeem prizes. As a result, they can also be purchased optionally for extra entertainment. You can even use a crypto exchange to buy them.

Stake Cash can be collected, played through (3x), and then redeemed at a rate of $1 per SC. Stake Cash cannot be purchased, which is critical to keeping Stake.us legal in states where gambling is prohibited, as they have no real-world value. Note that we use the word ‘redeemed’ above, as when it comes to the question ofhow to withdraw from stake? There are no direct withdrawals at Stake.us, but SC winnings can be exchanged for alternative prizes, subject to the Sweeps Rules.

How do sweepstakes games work?

How games work on a social casino practically is the same. What makesStake.us legalis that you cannot gamble in any way. It has nothing to do with the games themselves. That means you can enjoy everything from live dealer games to the latest and most excellent slots.

This operator has a unique offering regarding the game selection, thanks to the available Stake Originals collection. This allows minimalist takes on less traditional games like Crash and Dice.

The only difference is that you use virtual credits instead of cash to play the games. While not available on Stake.us, even sports betting is possible so long as virtual currency, such as Gold Coins, is utilized.

Which US states is Stake.us legal in?

Generally, a social casino offering sweeps prizes is available in all US states except Washington. But there are also additional restrictions imposed by the operator.

But, you can play stake legally in the United States unless you are from the states of Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Vermont, Nevada, North Carolina, New York, or Washington. It’s not that social casino games are necessarily banned in these states, but that Stake themselves don’t offer their services in those restricted markets.

How to play Stake.us in the USA

The actual playing of Stake.us casino games is the same as any casino, just with Gold Coins and Stake Cash. However, you’ll first need to complete a simple registration process to get started.

This will include inputting details such as your email, state, date of birth, etc. The whole process is straightforward and should be done in minutes. You can also use promo code COINDOOSWEEPS to activate the welcome offer.

Your account should now be open, and collecting your first set of coins is as easy as logging in. You can then use these coins to play the top games on the site. There are many other ways of collecting virtual currencies, which are won just as you would win cash at a typical casino.

Games you can play at Stake.us

Not only is Stake.us legal, but it offers arguably one of the finest casino games libraries. This is, of course, in no small part thanks to the software developers.

They boast the likes of Pragmatic Play and Hacksaw Gaming, mixing it up with the innovative Stake Originals team, ensuring a mix of casino classics and modern, creative titles.

Across all kinds of genres – including an immense collection of slots, classic table games, unique versions of often ignored games like Keno and HiLo, plus a live casino – Stake.us proves itself as good as any alternative.

Stake.us payment methods (for Gold Coin purchases)

One easy way to get lots of Gold Coins is to buy them. Please note that this doesn’t provide them with any monetary value but allows you to play more of your favorite games for free.

This is always optional, with free virtual tokens provided after sign-up. It’s also possible to receive SC as a gift alongside your purchase of GC, but they cannot be purchased directly.

Regarding options, it’s important to note that Stake.us is a Stake crypto casino, and only cryptocurrencies can be used to purchase Gold Coins. This includes the most popular crypto methods, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, EOS, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ripple, and Tron. The minimum limit is $5 worth, and there’s no maximum. There are no additional fees we’re aware of. The timescale is typical but depends on the individual crypto.

Does Stake.us pay real money?

Not directly, but when you have played your Stake Cash through three times successfully, you can then request a redemption if you have 100 SC in your account. To do so, you can go to the ‘Cashier’ and enter the amount, confirming it with the ‘Redeem’ button.

Social Casino bonus and offers at Stake.us

There’s an ever-changing collection of bonuses and promotions available at Stake.us. For instance, at the time of writing, there’s a raffle offering 250 million GC and 100,000 SC, a 100 million GC Slot Race, multiplier drops, and various challenges and rewards. There are also additional promotions available through social media. This selection may change by the time you sign up of course.

Licensing: Is Stake Legit in the US?

As Stake.us doesn’t offer cash online gaming or gambling, they do not require the same sort of licensing as your traditional casino. However, we can assure you that Stake is not only legal, but they operate to the highest possible security standards, complete with provably fair games and operate legitimately under US sweepstakes laws.

Does Stake.us have an app?

Unfortunately, there’s no app available for Stake.us at the time of writing. But the good news is that you don’t need an app to enjoy the casino games. Stake.us enjoys an optimized mobile browser experience complete with all the same games and features.

What if I have additional questions?

If you’ve still got questions you want answered before you play at Stake.us Casino, the good news is that they explain themselves very well through their Help sections. This includes their terms of service, terms and conditions, privacy, and cookies policy.

On top of that, there’s a customer service team available around-the-clock via live chat, without any requirement of registration or personal details to get help. In terms of their general reputation, you can also check out further reviews and customer feedback to get an impression of the overall social casino experience.

Stake.us is legal for most Americans

The takeaways here are simple: Stake.us allows you to enjoy a broad range of slot titles and other casino games for free. By using virtual currencies only, Stake.us is legal in almost all US states. So whether you want to play casino games just for fun, or aim to redeem your SC winnings for alternative prizes, Stake.us has it all legally lined up for you.