Where To Play…..

You’ll find sweepstakes offered in a variety of land based locations – shops, banks, grocery stores, clubs, charities. However, the internet is now the most popular place for making entries.

There are many websites that offer sweepstakes, but it is vital to ensure that the site you use is authentic. Whether you find sweepstake sites through referral websites or blogs, you need to make sure that the one you choose is legitimate.

The cash prizes offered can be limitless and playing often can help you win a number of goodies. One of the best ways to keep up to date with the latest offers is through membership sites.

Online-sweepstake.com looks to be one of the most valuable to remember. It has listings broken down into all sorts of categories.

SweepstakesAdvantage.com is another directory type site with hundreds of sweeps to enter. Their strapline says they’re the ”largest directory of free sweepstakes and contests.

TheBalance.com (previously known as About.com) has some very useful pages on a range of different sweeps, including one specifically on cash contests and another dedicated to understanding how best to make winning entries.

This site at Hunt4Freebies is basic but easy to follow and contains a list of up to date contests.

You’ll also find plenty of money sweepstakes on popular social sites such as Facebook and Twitter. These two links will take you to the respective pages. Blogs too are a good source, often asking you just to post a comment to make an entry. These might be company blogs advertising products, or personal blogs where the writer is just trying to increase readership.

Sweepstake Forums

Forums are great places for mixing with other fans and getting up to date news. There are a handful which are worth bookmarking:

The forum at Online-Sweepstakes.com is one of the heaviest trafficked you’ll find, while the forum at SweepsAdvantage looks to have a similarly large number of posts and threads.

Game Types

There are two main types of sweepstakes – prize draws and instant win. Prize drawing companies take entries daily and the prizes are sent out by mail after the sweepstakes period is over. There is no indication of winning until you get your prize. On the other hand, the outcome of instant win games is announced immediately. Most companies run both the types of sweepstakes at the same time and even within the same game.

Sweepscash

Not a true sweepstakes, but it’s also worth noting here a fairly radical type of gaming that has its basis in sweepstakes but has taken it in a new direction. Sweepscash is the name and it’s the basis of free casino games offered by Chumba Casino and free poker on offer with Global Poker.

Both are owned and run by VGW Holdings, an Australia-based firm that have been making a big splash in the social gaming industry.

Both Chumba and GlobalPoker run the same model – free to play games where players can also win real cash.

So what’s the big deal you may ask? There are plenty of websites where you can play poker or casino games for money.

And that’s true of course….but only in a highly limited way if you’re a US resident in particular.

VGW’s two properties market mainly to US residents and the Sweepscash model presents a way of cirumventing US gambling regulations. It’s all above board and there are some big names such as Facebook and Paypal working alongside the gaming operator.

Visit the page on free games for money to find out more.

What Can You Win

Money sweepstakes are just that, you get cash if you win. But prizes can vary and cover just about anything you can think of. Cash and gift cards or vouchers are the most likely prizes you’ll encounter. But you will see sweeps for holidays and cars, for electronic goods and clothes, anything and everything in fact.

Of course, the bigger the prize, the more entrants it will attract. For this reason it can be a good idea to enter smaller prize sweeps alongside trying to win the big money prizes.

Differences Between Money Sweepstakes and Cash Contests

Many might consider contests or competitions and sweepstakes to be the same thing. But there is a difference.

Entering cash competitions normally involves some form of skill – generally doing something better than someone else. Maybe writing a great story, or entering a photograph. Sweepstakes are normally very straightforward to enter – often just by filling in a form, or entering a name and email. On Facebook pages it may be as simple as hitting the like button.

In money sweepstakes – or any prize sweepstakes for that matter – it’s all down to pure luck. Very similar to the luck you’d need to win money at casino games, though without the risk of losing any of your own cash.

10 Winning Tips For Sweepstakes Entries

The trick with sweepstakes is volume. The more you enter, the more chances. The more likely you are to hit a lucky win at some point. Often all you have to do to enter a money sweepstake is submit an email, or like a page. Occasionally answering questions might also be involved, but they’re often simple to answer. So it’s not surprising that the first of our tips will be around making frequent entries:

• Frequency: It is advisable to enter as often as allowed. Many sweepstakes can be entered daily throughout the period of the promotion. If the rules permit entry once a day, make sure you do so to increase your winning chances. And don’t limit yourself to just one contest. There are dozens on offer at any one time if you shop around. Entering 100s of sweeps should be your target to tip the probability of winning in your favour.

• Following rules: Pay attention to rules that accompany the sweep. Do not enter if you are under the age limit or ineligible in any way. It won’t cost you anything, but nothing can be more disappointing than winning and finding out you cannot have the prize. Some sweeps are limited to certain countries, regions or US states only, while others may have a specific entry period. Age requirements are also worth checking. Make sure you go through all the rules and regulations properly before entering. It is vital to enter the required information accurately while entering.

•  Be vigilant. Seek out sweepstakes: Go through your mail frequently. Make note of sweepstakes that you come across on the TV or radio. Signing up for newsletters is a good idea. You can look out in newspapers as well. Great cash prize deals are advertised through these mediums. Remember that you can enter some sweeps daily – so the earlier you know about them, the more entries you can make.

• Picking the right sweep: If participating entails buying something or paying an entry fee, don’t enter (unless you desperately want the prize and/or you’re prepared to lose the entry fee). Really it is not worth entering unless it is entirely free. Your chances of winning should be equally good even if you do not spend money, and there are plenty of free entry opportunities.

• Answer correctly: Some sweepstakes require an answer, often to a very simple question. They’re designed so that the vast majority of entrants will know the answer. There is no point in participating if you are unsure about your answer. Double check the accuracy of your answers before submitting them.

• Making an entry: If you are mailing your entry, follow all requirements like the size of the envelope and deadlines. Make sure you write legibly and distinguish your entry is some way. If you are entering online, make sure you fill in all the required information.

• Set yourself up with a dedicated email address to be used just for registering. You’re likely to be getting a lot of mails with offers afterwards. Some sweeps are run just with the intention of collecting email addresses to help with subsequent marketing.

• Watch out for tax requirements. In the US in particular, you need to pay tax on wins. The best way to handle this is to keep good records of what you’ve entered and when, and what you’ve won.

• Work out a plan to make the most of your time. There are hundreds of opportunities to enter, and only so much time to spare. You won’t be able to enter everything, so make a plan. Maybe spend 30 minutes each day reviewing new opportunities. Choose those which offer the prizes you really want. Keep a record so you know which ones to go back to daily and enter again.

• Keep an eye on how you’re feeling. Many sweepers experience burn out at some point. Who wouldn’t if they were constantly making entries? You may decide it’s time to take a small break and come back renewed, or alternatively go even harder as sometimes winning at least a small prize can perk you up.

• Look for contests with lots of prizes. Obviously your chances of winning something will be higher.

Are Sweepstakes Legal?

Sweepstakes normally fall outside of any local gambling regulations or restrictions, mainly because there is no wagering of money involved.

So in most countries they’re going to be legal. But as with anything that’s based on the potential of winning money it’s always wise to be safe than sorry.

The advice is to always check the terms, conditions, and rules of any sweep you enter. It should be clearly marked whether any countries or regions are restricted from playing.

Are The Games Fair?

Surprisingly this is a difficult question to answer with absolute certainty. The answer best lies within who is actually running the contest – well known names are unlikely to be doing anything underhand and will have stringent measures in place to avoid any wrongdoing.

If you stray from well known companies you’re taking a risk. It may still be a very small one, but of course that risk is that the protection isn’t in place.

That said, you’re not actually risking any of your own cash so it would be easy to write off. The bottom line is you have no control over results and almost certainly no visibility of how they’re reached.

Pros & Cons

On the positive side – participating in sweepstakes is a great opportunity to win things for free. Most sweepstakes require no purchase and reward you with grand prizes in exchange for nothing. It is a great de-stressor and a fun way to pass your time. As it is not very time consuming, you can indulge in it during short intervals or breaks between other activities.

The only real negative is the fact that you have no control over winning or losing. Just as with lotteries it’s all down to pure luck (although as we saw earlier there are a few things you can do to improve winning chances).

Summary

Interest in sweepstakes has remained constant. More and more companies are setting them up to aid in promotional activities, and alongside their simplicity it’s easy to see why they’re popular with some players.

If you think luck could be on your side, they’re a simple no cost way of potentially winning some cash or prizes.