Terms and Conditions – Social Casinos

These terms and conditions govern your use of shanghai.ist ("the site," "we," "us"). By browsing any page on this site, you accept them in full. If you do not agree, please do not use the site. We may update these terms at any time; the date shown at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

What This Site Is — and What It Is Not

Social Casinos is an independent comparison and review platform. We research and evaluate sweepstakes casinos and social casino platforms available to players in the United States. We publish editorial ratings, platform write-ups, and informational guides to help readers make their own informed decisions.

We are not a sweepstakes casino, a social casino, or any kind of gaming operator. We do not offer games, accept purchases, hold virtual currency, or facilitate any form of prize redemption. Nothing on this site constitutes an invitation to play, a guarantee of any outcome, or legal advice about what is or is not permitted in your jurisdiction.

Who This Site Is For

This site is intended for adults in the United States who are researching sweepstakes casino platforms for their own informational purposes. You must be at least 18 years old to use this site. Some platforms we cover require users to be 21 or older — age requirements vary by operator and, in some cases, by state. You are responsible for confirming the eligibility rules that apply to you before engaging with any platform we mention.

This site is not directed at minors. If you are under 18, please do not use it.

The Sweepstakes Model — A Note on Terminology

The platforms we cover operate under a promotional sweepstakes model, not traditional real-money gambling. They typically offer two types of virtual currency:

Gold Coins (or equivalent) — used for entertainment play only, with no monetary value and no redemption option.
Sweepstakes Coins (or equivalent) — obtained through promotions or as a bonus alongside purchases; these may be redeemable for prizes subject to the operator's terms, eligibility rules, and applicable law.

No purchase is necessary to receive Sweepstakes Coins. Legitimate operators offer a free alternative method of entry (AMOE), often by mail-in request. We do not claim these platforms are equivalent to licensed real-money casinos, and we do not describe them as such anywhere on this site.

Affiliate Relationships and Editorial Independence

Social Casinos earns revenue through affiliate partnerships. When you follow a link from this site to a platform and create an account or make a purchase, we may receive a commission from that operator. This arrangement is standard practice for comparison sites and does not cost you anything extra.

Commercial relationships do not determine our editorial rankings or ratings. Operators cannot purchase a higher position, a better score, or more favourable copy. Our ratings are based on the factors described on our sweepstakes casino reviews page, and every platform we cover carries at least one genuine limitation in its write-up. If you have concerns about a specific rating or relationship, you are welcome to contact us via the Contact Us page.

Accuracy, Completeness and Currency of Information

We make reasonable efforts to keep the information on this site accurate and up to date. However, sweepstakes casino platforms change their offers, terms, eligible states, redemption thresholds, and accepted payment methods frequently. The details we publish — including welcome offers, coin balances, and editorial ratings — reflect our research at the time of the most recent fact-check shown on each page. They may not reflect the current position at any given operator.

Before signing up with any platform, you should:

Read the operator's own terms and conditions in full.
Confirm the platform is available in your state.
Verify the current welcome offer and any conditions attached to it.
Check the redemption thresholds, processing times, and identity verification requirements that apply to you.

We accept no liability for decisions made in reliance on information published on this site, for any inaccuracy arising from changes made by an operator after our last review, or for any losses incurred through the use of any platform we mention.

State Availability and Legal Standing

Sweepstakes casinos are governed primarily at the state level in the United States. There is no single federal law that definitively permits or prohibits them nationwide. Some states allow most sweepstakes casino operators to serve residents; others have enacted laws, taken enforcement actions, or created an environment in which operators choose not to offer their services. Operators themselves decide which states they will and will not serve, based on their own legal assessments.

We do not represent that any platform we review is legally available in every US state, or that it is legally available in your specific state. Laws change frequently, and the position in any given state may have shifted since our last review. You should verify availability and legality in your own jurisdiction before signing up. Nothing on this site constitutes legal advice.

Tax Obligations

Prize redemptions from sweepstakes casinos may be treated as taxable income under federal and state tax rules. If you redeem Sweepstakes Coins or equivalent prizes, you may have reporting and payment obligations. Tax treatment depends on the amounts involved, your state of residence, and your individual circumstances. We do not provide tax advice. Keep records of any redemptions and consult the IRS guidance or a qualified tax professional if you are unsure of your obligations.

Our Content — What It Is and Is Not

Everything published on this site is editorial content produced for informational purposes. Our write-ups, ratings, and comparisons represent the independent views of our editorial team based on research conducted at a specific point in time. They are not endorsements, guarantees, or recommendations that you will have a particular experience with any platform.

We do not claim:

That any platform offers the best odds or highest RTP.
That redemptions are instant or guaranteed.
That any platform is the fastest, safest, or most trusted in any absolute sense.
That our team has personally played, deposited, or withdrawn at any platform we cover.

Our research involves reviewing publicly available terms, platform interfaces, operator disclosures, and other verifiable sources. Where we are uncertain, we say so. Where a fact was not available to us, we do not invent one.

Responsible Play

Even though sweepstakes casinos do not involve traditional real-money wagering, casino-style games involve chance, and some players may find them difficult to moderate. If you or someone you know is struggling with gaming habits — whether on sweepstakes platforms or elsewhere — please visit our Responsible Gambling page for information on support resources available in the United States.

We encourage all readers to:

Set time and spending limits before engaging with any platform.
Treat coin purchases as entertainment costs, not as investments.
Use the self-exclusion and limit-setting tools offered by individual platforms where available.
Seek support promptly if play is causing financial or personal difficulty.

Intellectual Property

All content on shanghai.ist — including text, ratings, editorial commentary, page structure and design — is the property of the site's publisher and is protected by applicable copyright law. You may not reproduce, republish, scrape, or redistribute our content without prior written permission. Brief quotations with a clear attribution and link back to the original page are generally acceptable for non-commercial purposes.

Brand names, logos, and trademarks referenced on this site remain the property of their respective owners. Their appearance here does not imply any affiliation, endorsement, or sponsorship beyond the commercial relationships already disclosed above.

Third-Party Links and Platforms

Links on this site point to third-party platforms that we do not own or control. Once you leave shanghai.ist, these terms no longer apply. The privacy practices, terms, and content of third-party sites are their own responsibility. We are not liable for anything that happens on a platform after you follow a link from this site.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Social Casinos and its publisher, editors, and contributors accept no liability for:

Any financial loss arising from use of, or reliance on, content published on this site.
Any inaccuracy in platform details that has arisen through operator changes made after our last review.
Any unavailability, interruption, or error on this site or on any linked platform.
Any indirect, consequential, or incidental damages of any kind.

Your use of this site is at your own risk. The information provided is on an "as is" basis without warranties of any kind, express or implied.

Privacy

This site collects limited data about visitors in order to operate and improve the service. We do not sell personal data. For full details of what we collect, how we use it, and your rights, please refer to our privacy policy. If you have a specific privacy question, you can reach us through the Contact Us page.

Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to update these terms at any time. The revised version takes effect as soon as it is published. Continued use of the site after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms. We recommend checking this page periodically if you use the site regularly.

Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the United States applicable in the jurisdiction of the publisher. Any dispute arising from your use of this site will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in that jurisdiction.

Contact

If you have questions about anything covered here, or want to report an inaccuracy, please use the Contact Us page. We aim to respond to all substantive enquiries promptly.