In today’s Skillz Games casino review, I’ll be talking about all things Skillz Games. But let’s cut to the chase right now – Skillz Games isn’t somewhere I’d want to play. Ever. And here’s why.Skillz Games Casino Review 2025: How Do They Compare?
The platform, which presents itself as a sweepstakes casino but also advertises questionable “entry fees” on SC-style “Bonus Cash” games, offers hundreds of niche virtual-coin-powered games, though very few casino-themed ones. It’s also app-only, which isn’t great for people who prefer desktop-based gameplay. Nevertheless, here’s all you need to know about the app’s bonuses, payment options, legality, and games.Skillz Games Casino Review 2025: How Do They Compare?
| Welcome Bonus | $3 SWEEPSTAKES COUPONS + 3,000 COINS FOR FREE |
|---|---|
| Has Real Money Prizes | ✅ |
| Has Sign-Up via Facebook | 🚫 |
| Has Daily Rewards | ✅ |
| Redeem Cashout available | ✅ |
| Has Community Chat Rooms | 🚫 |
| Support Types | E-Mail, Live Chat |
| Available States | AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL +34 more, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, DC, WV, WI, WY |
The first thing I noticed about Skillz Games on sign-up is that this simply isn’t your regular kind of sweepstakes casino. Meaning you’re unlikely to find conventional bonuses here either.
Sure, Skillz is a virtual-coin-powered gaming site that for the most part operates on a two-tier coin system – but it isn’t really a platform that prioritizes your typical, casino-inspired slots or blackjack games.
Instead, Skillz Games casino predominantly offers word, trivia and board games – and just a small handful of card and slots-influenced sweepstakes titles.
This of course means that if you choose to claim a bonus here, you might find that your Vegas-style game options are a little on the limited side when compared to those offered by other, more prominent sweeps sites like Stake.us, or McLuck – but more on that later.
Bonus-wise, there’s no explicit Skillz Games casino promo code offer advertised at the time of writing, either. That said, after having downloaded the brand’s app-only platform for myself, I soon found that like most sweepstakes casinos, you can claim a few free gameplay coins from the get-go in selected US states. Here’s how:
I spent a lot of time navigating Skillz Games casino’s mind-boggling FAQs and T&Cs pages in search of a concrete answer to this one – and believe me, it was a struggle. Here’s what I found.
You can currently play at the operator’s just-for-fun games with no purchase requirement from most US states. However, the brand’s “Bonus Cash” games and “Cash Entries”, which offer opportunities to collect sweepstakes-style tokens that are redeemable for real-world prizes, are currently off-limits in Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee. Sweeps card games are also off-limits in Indiana and Maine, too – so US-wide availability here isn’t the best.
Then there’s the issue of the site’s usability and navigation – which, as you’ll learn in the next section, also leaves a lot to be desired. Here’s what I found.
In my time rating and reviewing all the latest sweepstakes casinos, I’ve found that most up-and-coming brands tend to take one of two approaches to usability and navigation.
Generally, you’ll either get a mobile-friendly website where all games are instantly accessible in one place with no download requirement, or a no-nonsense, grid-based site that comes with a sister app that can be downloaded onto iOS and Android devices.
Skillz Games online casino bucks the trend on both fronts. Yes, they have a website – but you can’t actually play any of the operator’s games there; you can only click through to separate, game-by-game downloadable apps.
Yes, the brand offers its own dedicated app, too – but it’s a similar story over there in that games are viewable only, and need to be downloaded individually before they can be played.
This, for me, is a bit of a faff to say the least. But on the upside, the coin system in-play is relatively easy to understand. There are three virtual currencies in-play, which are:
| Type of Online-Only Token | How it Works |
|---|---|
| Zs | These are a just-for-fun, online-only currency – much like what other sweepstakes casinos call Gold Coins (GC). These tokens have no cash or prize-redeemable value. |
| Bonus Cash | These are Sweepstakes Coin (SC) style tokens that can be entered into competitive tournaments. Skillz’ T&Cs state that Bonus Cash is never “withdrawable,” but can help you pursue potential “real cash prizes” later down the line. |
| Ticketz | These are loyalty points that you can collect when playing the above games. They can be redeemed for real-world prizes via the Skillz Prize Store. |
On the brand’s website, all the Skillz Games casino-style games are listed via a carousel on the homepage. Though as I said earlier, these are few and far between when compared to the several trivia and word game options up-for-grabs, and can never be launched directly on the site.
To play, you’ll need to use the left and right navigation arrows to locate the game that best fits your vibe, then click to download it separately from the App or Google Play Store.
When I tried this for myself, I found that not all games are available on both kinds of devices. Frustratingly, the download links don’t always work when clicked, either – meaning you might sometimes need to search for your preferred title manually.
If you ask me, the navigation here is far too messy, particularly in a world where most other sweeps platforms, like Stake.us and WOW Vegas, for example, offer instant-play games on their own websites with no download requirement.
As we’ve seen, then, Skillz Games casino is an app-only platform that’s probably going to require you to have to download multiple games separately onto your device. Unless you’re happy sticking entirely to just one game forever, that is.
It’s a lame set-up in my opinion, and one that’s naturally attracted a fair few negative reviews from other players.
On Apple’s App Store, Skillz Games has a 3.6-star average. A few players have praised the brand’s selection of “very competitive” and “quite interesting” games – though of course, these gamers seem to be more into shooters and trivia games than, say, slots and bingo titles.
In my own experiences, I found that once you’ve gotten past the niggling download requirements, it’s relatively easy to fire-up pretty much any game you like in either Zs free-play or sweeps mode – and loading times aren’t bad, either. Even on complex, graphics-intensive shooters like Big Buck Hunter: Marksman. That said, you will of course need to start the whole game-hunting and downloading process again before moving onto your next game… which sucks.
The fact that all Skillz Games’ trivia, bingo and even shooter-themed games can be played for free using Zs means that no purchases are ever outright required here – as should be the case with any good sweeps app.
However, much as is the case with other, easier-to-use sweeps platforms like Stake.us, my Skillz Games casino review found that additional gameplay tokens can be optionally purchased using a variety of payment options at any time.
Among the options supported are:
Though confusingly, purchases are referred to as “deposits” and options are listed in “$” rather than in “Zs” – which is a bit worrying in a world where sweepstakes casinos should really only be offering their just-for-fun tokens to players on a purchasable basis. Another reason to steer clear, then.
On the upside, the T&Cs do state that no transaction charges are tacked-on at Skillz Games’ end, small bonuses are usually offered alongside each purchase, and most players report that “deposits” are processed quickly.
Though that certainly doesn’t hold true on the prize redemptions front. On TrustPilot and other reviews aggregator sites, multiple gamers have complained that what Skillz calls “withdrawals” can take anywhere up to 4-6 weeks. This, in my experience at least, is way, way longer than average prize redemption waiting times at other sweeps sites.
If you were hoping for speedier processing, then you might want to check out alternative sweepstakes brands like Spree, Jackpota and Scrooge Casino – which I’ve also reviewed very recently right here at DeadSpin.
Pretty much any TrustPilot or Reddit page regarding Skillz Games’ customer support seems to be littered with negative comments about “slow”, “very bad” – or sometimes even non-existent – responses from the Skillz team.
Of course, I set about the task of getting in touch with the operator’s support team myself – and I have to say, I wound up similarly disappointed.
There’s no issue as far as options are concerned – players can choose from:
However, I found that there’s a real problem here when it comes to waiting times.
You see, while top sweepstakes casinos like Chumba Casino or LuckyLand Slots rarely leave us gamers waiting around longer than a few minutes for a live chat reply, I found that Skillz Games often left me hanging for well over 24-hours. And when I tried to hit up support via email, I received no response at all.
I found the FAQs page to be a bit of a minefield, too – while it’s chock-full of articles on useful topics like how individual games work and the various VIP rewards up-for-grabs, these aren’t particularly well organized, and their language regarding “deposits”, “withdrawals” and the like didn’t really fill me with confidence from a US sweepstakes rules standpoint.
Unsatisfactory support and hazy FAQs, then, are in my view yet more reasons you should probably check out some of Skillz Games’ competitors first if you’re seriously thinking of playing here. Look at some of the sites mentioned in my on-page banners for alternative ideas on where else to play in your state.
| Customer Service |  |
|---|---|
| Available Languages: | English |
| Email: | [email protected] |
Generally, sweepstakes casinos that offer virtual-token-powered games with no purchase requirement don’t strictly need to hold state-level gaming licenses in the US. So long as they’re compliant with US sweepstakes rules, sites and apps like WOW Vegas or Stake.us can normally be enjoyed in most US states, aside from Washington, Idaho, Nevada – though you should always look out for any other “excluded territories” in their T&Cs.
As my Skillz Games casino review’s already mentioned, off-limits states here only apply to sweepstakes-style, Bonus Cash Games. They include Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee – as well as Indiana and Maine for sweeps card games.
Despite this, I personally wouldn’t play here from any US state – and here’s yet another reason why. In the brand’s T&Cs, there are mentions of “real cash entry fees” affecting certain Bonus Cash games. This, of course, doesn’t sit at all well with US sweepstakes rules. Could it be construed as “real money” gameplay, even? Who knows – but it’s certainly another reason to keep well away from Skillz.
At the time of writing, real money gaming of any kind is very strictly prohibited in most US states. Any platforms that offer cash-based games need to be locally licensed in your state by the proper regulator – and I didn’t see any such licenses on display here during my Skillz Games casino review.
If you do insist on playing here, I’d stick to the free-to-play, Z-powered games on offer only, and steer well-clear of any “Cash Matches” that suggest USD entry fees of any kind, just to be on the safe side. Though for the reasons already outlined, even from a freeplay standpoint you’d almost certainly be better off checking out competitor sites instead.
Evidently, Skillz Games is far from one of the best sweeps casino apps around. But one thing these guys do admittedly do a decent job off is offering players a steady stream of exciting promotions.
While there’s no obvious sign-up bonus advertised to players in most US states right now, Skillz runs an extensive VIP program not too dissimilar from those we’ve seen offered by better-put-together sweeps platforms like Stake.us, or Chanced.
At the time of writing, Skillz’ VIP program promises “faster withdrawals”, improved customer support and extra bonus Ticketz to players who enroll. However, the entry requirements are more than a little intimidating.
A minimum threshold of loyalty-points-style Ticketz, which can be collected by playing at tournament-style games or claiming bonuses, needs to be hit before you can gain entry – and, as of now, it sits at a staggering 800,000 Ticketz for most US states.
Recent player reviews suggest that you’ll need to play at more than 100 different rounds of Z-powered practice games to get your hands on just 5,000 Ticketz. So, I’d say that an 800,000 entry requirement is seriously tough-going unless you’re an extreme high-roller.
On the upside, a few other Skillz Games no deposit bonus offers are up-for-grabs outside of the VIP program. Some of the most noteworthy ones include:
| Existing Customer Bonus | How it Works |
|---|---|
| “Login Bonus” and “Free Gift” promos | Occasionally, you can claim some bonus Ticketz as a “Free Gift” when logging into your account. However, the offer doesn’t appear to be available daily, making it less generous than the daily login bonuses offered by apps like McLuck or WOW Vegas. |
| “Ticketz Multiplier” offers | Multipliers of up to 6x can be applied on selected Skillz tournaments and games. |
| Treasure Chests | Occasionally, Skillz Games offers treasure chests when logging into the app. You can unlock up to 100 Ticketz, though it’s unclear how frequently chests are available or how their contents are determined. |
| Friend Referral Bonuses | You can claim up to $10 in Bonus Cash for each friend you refer to the platform, provided they enjoy Skillz’ niche games. |
At the time of writing, there’s no explicit welcome bonus advertised here for players in most US states. That said, it is sometimes possible to unlock a treasure chest the first time you play, which could potentially be worth anywhere up to 100 Ticketz.
“Zs” are just-for-fun online tokens that can be used to power online games. They work much the same as “Gold Coins” do at other sweepstakes casinos – they exist purely for your entertainment.
Big Buck Hunter: Marksman attracts some impressive player numbers. It’s a shoot-em-up style game that can be enjoyed either for free or using SC-style online tokens. If you were looking for slots or tables, mind, I’m afraid to say you won’t find too many of either over at Skillz Games.
For me, Skillz Games doesn’t really cut the mustard as a truly worthwhile sweepstakes casino – and here’s why.
For starters, it’s a rather fiddly platform to use, where every single game needs to be downloaded individually and the games that are available are seldom slots, card or casino-focussed, with trivia and word games making up most of the game portfolio. This means the site only really works if you’re into super-niche games.
What’s more, it’s clear from some of the wording regarding “deposits”, “withdrawals” and Bonus Cash “entry fees” that Skillz Games doesn’t always follow the traditional sweepstakes playbook – which is a real red flag in my book. It’s worth remembering that real money gaming is only permitted in a handful of US states right now, and only where a local license is held by the app you’re playing with. Meanwhile, legit sweepstakes platforms ought to only ever offer you access to virtual-coin-powered games if you live in an unregulated region.
In all, then, I’d suggest giving Skillz Games a wide berth for now – particularly as there are several other, more exciting sweepstakes alternatives out there like Stake.us, Chanced and McLuck to choose from. These sites, among others, offer much broader casino-style game selections than Skillz, clearer-cut sweeps rules, and far smoother all-round user experiences.
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I won’t lie to you guys – my Skillz Games casino review was impressed by the variety of games on offer here. Skillz has more than 400 titles available in total; their selection is made up of word games, trivia games, sports-inspired games, shooters, and of course, a handful of bingo and slots-style titles, too.
Trouble is, the latter kinds of games – which are of course what get most sweeps gamers like you and I going – are woefully limited, with just a handful of standout titles to report on.
Blackout Slots is essentially the only real slot-style game Skillz has to offer, for example, and its in-game features are very limited compared to what you might find with games like Sweet Bonanza or Wanted Dead or A Wild. Said titles, which are widely offered by competitor brands like Stake.us, tend to come pre-loaded with way, way more wilds and multipliers. That said, Skillz does offer a decent-enough selection of blackjack and poker titles, including 5-Hand Poker, and a pretty cool, 21-inspired Blackout Blackjack game.
Blackout Bingo is fun at Skillz, too. It’s a sped-up, number-matching game that puts an interesting twist on traditional bingo, though it doesn’t hold a candle to some of the bingo games I’ve played with brands like Pulsz, or Stake.us’ super-popular Keno game.
Unlike Skillz, these longer-established operators tend to source their games from better-known software developers like Pragmatic Play and Hacksaw Gaming. They also tend to offer far faster SC prize redemptions, too.
As I mentioned earlier, the two main virtual currencies used by Skillz Games, are:
Prize options range from cash and household goods to various gift cards. However, as I warned earlier – you could potentially be looking at 4-6 weeks to receive any prizes you choose to redeem. Believe me when I say this is a lot slower than the sweepstakes casino average.
My Skillz Games social casino review found that Skillz Games undeniably puts an interesting twist on the concept of sweepstakes gaming with its unusually themed games. That said, the casino-inspired games up-for-grabs are just too few and far between here. What’s more, prize redemptions take way longer than they ought to, and having to download each game one-at-a-time is just too much.
Keeping all this in mind, along with the concerns I raised earlier regarding Bonus Cash “entry fees”, I’d suggest playing elsewhere for the time being. Feel free to check out my reviews of competitors like Stake.us and McLuck if you’re short of ideas for alternatives.