Social Casino [What Is It, How Does It Work?]

A rising game of popularity and an alternative to online casino sites is something known as a social casino. There are some major differences between the two and here I take a look into what a social casino is and how it works.

• What is a Social casino
• Differences: Social vs Normal Casino
• Tips for Playing
• How Much Does Social Casino Cost to Play
• Can You Win Real Money?
• Where to Play
• Social Casino Legalities
• Responsible Play

Social casino is legally available in all states, but real money online casino is only available in limited states

States Where Legal Real Money Casino is Available
New Jersey	Pennsylvania
Delaware	West Virginia
Michigan

What is Social Casino?

Social Casino comprises of games associated with casino play that can be played online or in an app, generally through social networks like Facebook. Games are played for free, with purchase options to try to climb leaderboards and ladders of success in games like slots, roulette, or blackjack.

Social casinos have been around for as long as gaming apps have been available in places like Facebook, offering free to play games with in-game purchase options to boost balances or buy special features.

So whilst they are primarily free to play, credit can quickly run out. There are usually regular top-ups of gaming credits, on an hourly or daily basis to keep you playing, but if the desire to play becomes stronger than your will power to wait for the free top-up, you are offered, even encouraged to make purchases to b able to play again sooner.

Social Casino Popularity

Make no bones about it, Social casino is growing in popularity and is big business as you can see from these Worldwide revenue figures below and projections from 2016/2017 numbers.

Worldwide social casino revenue is expected to grow to above 7.2 billion dollars by 2022

In Million US Dollars

Year	Revenue	Growth
2016	4076	n/a
2017	4877	19.6%
2018	5625	15.3%
2019	6201	10.2%
2020	6650	7.2%
2021	6967	4.7%
2022	7273	4.3%

The market is made up of mostly males aged between 36-50, although women are the larger share of the market in the over 51 age group.

What is the Future of Social Casino?

Popularity continues to grow for social casino games but also there is the recent lifting of online gambling restrictions across many states in the USA. Whilst most of the lifted restrictions at this stage are for online betting sites for sport, it is inevitable that many online casino sites will emerge over time.

As technological improvements are made and ease of access to the internet continue for gaming purposes, we can expect both real and social casino gaming to continue growing in popularity not just in the US but worldwide also.

What is the Difference Between Online Casino vs Social Casino?

Plainly there is a difference between online, land-based and social casino play, but the main thing to note when considering social casino play is that you do not need to know anything different to begin playing. Let's take a closer look at the main differences between traditional and social casino outside of game-play.

The difference between online, or land-based casino and social casino is that social casino is not deemed as gambling and is therefore available to anyone who can access the internet to play legally no matter which of the United States you happen to be in at any given time. 

Outside of the fact that is it not classed as gambling there are few other things that separate the two, as we have seen already, social casinos still create huge revenue from the purchase options available to players.

What Makes an Online Casino a Social Casino?

The social element reintroduces some of the social characteristics of a real casino that is lost when playing online, especially when live dealer tables are not available. You can play against and with other players in social casino and interact with others through challenges and tournaments.

Pros and Cons of Social Casino

✅  Pros	❌  Cons
Free Play	Less Excitement [Maybe]
Legal in the US	You Can Not Win Money
No Gambling Losses	You Can Still Spend Money
Play Online on Your Mobile	Can Introduce non-Gamblers to Casino
100's of Games Available	Addictive
Social Aspects

What are the Dangers of Social Casino?

The biggest danger of social casino play is for it to lead to believe that playing for the incredibly inflated stakes used in the social play is a reasonable action to take when playing for real money. Social casino also has its addictive elements too.

Whilst social casino offers free slot play at first site, it soon becomes apparent that the aim of the casino is for you to use all of the coins you are given as an introductory offer and not be able to play again until you get a complimentary top-up, sometimes hourly, sometimes daily.

This is all very well, and you might think it is simply a matter of closing the app and waiting for the top up to play again.

However, just like candy crush, a social casino game like slots can be very addictive. Add in the faux gambling element and arguably more so. It is at this point, resisting the temptation to purchase credits to play becomes a consideration.

Now, if we were thinking of pushing coins into a table to shoot pool, or into a pinball machine we would think nothing of it. Indeed, there is little distinction in terms of paying to play for entertainment purposes.

It is a matter for the individual to decide and control how much they are will to spend to play social casino slot games.

How to Play Social Casino

There are no real strategies or goal setting plays for Social casino, but there are a few tips that can make your balance last longer and extend your enjoyment of playing these low-risk online casino games.

Social Casino Registration [And my recommendation]

Before you can begin playing any of the games or slots on a social casino app, you will have to register and create an account. This is free an easy and a number of popular options are available to do so.

Play with Email [Recommended]

Registering an account with your email address is the recommended choice. Simply provide your email address and a password [make sure it is unique and not used anywhere else] and you will soon receive an email to confirm that you have made the registration attempt. 

Verify this and you will be logged in and ready to. The added bonus of registering with e-mail is that you have no pre-saved payment method and can not make purchases by accident, unlike the other methods.

Sign in with Apple ID

Registering your account with your Apple ID may be unavoidable if you have downloaded the app on your iPhone or iPad. 

Being linked to your apple account is the quickest and easiest way for the social casino to manage any purchases you want to make. If you can avoid this method and make it more difficult to purchase credits, you may find you will save money in the long term.

Play with Facebook

Playing with Facebook is an easy log-in option and in this day and age, I expect we are all using a Facebook login for something or another on the internet. {Subject to having a Facebook account that is].

The one thing we will be all too aware of is how our activity or information may be monitored, collected, and used. Expect to see lots of adverts popping up on your newsfeed the minute you register a social casino account with Facebook.

6 Tips for Social Casino to Make it More Fun

• Utilize the Social Aspects: There are tournaments and opportunities to socialize. These aspects set social casino play apart and can add to the fun of the concept.
  
• Spread Your Play: Some social casinos provide hundreds of different slots and games. Spread your play around as many that interest you. Try newly added and unlocked games when they become available
• Play Small Stakes Most of the Time: While you are playing for only virtual money, it can run out quickly with constant high stakes. Wager sensibly to avoid running out of credit too quickly.
• Try Hi Roller Stakes Sometimes: If you get on a lucky streak or hit a jackpot, try some hi-roller stakes while your balance can support it. Gambling virtual money for big virtual wins can be fun.
• Don't Get Too Involved in Rewards: The rewards schemes are there to encourage you to wager more and run out of coins more quickly. Play for fun and make your credits last.
• Set Spending Limits: Whilst social casino is not gambling, if you buys credits to play, costs can run up quickly. Monitor your purchases and set a daily/weekly spend limit.

How Much Does Social Casino Cost?

It is a common misconception that social casino is entirely free to play. With desire to play the games and players getting hooked on the action, there is the option to pay to play. I took a look at ho much it can cost to play social casino games.

Playing Social casino is free but there are options to buy coins and credits from as low as $1 - This can rise to reward packs including Coins, VIP points and Lobby Free Spins costing towards $2,000 for a single social casino purchase.

Do people really buy Coins?

Yes they do. Consider the fact that whilst you can spend a lot of money playing these games, and the fact that you can not win money back and make a profit, tey are a form of entertainment, that when played in a controlled manner, will cost less than playing real money slots in the long run anyway.

Real slots are all set up for you to lose money and the chances are that your losses on real money casino would far outweigh even the most enthusiastic social casino cost.

Can You Win Real Money at Social Casino?

The hard and fast answer as to whether you can win real money at Social casino play is a firm, 'No'. Social casino games are there for entertainment purposes and can be played entirely for free. By the same token, there is no chance of winning real money at a social casino.

Is Social Casino Legal in the US?