The best social sportsbooks offer a free-to-play experience that is similar to traditional sports betting apps such as FanDuel and DraftKings.
These social betting apps allow users to use virtual credits to place wagers on football, basketball, baseball, and other sports. Users in 45 states can also legally redeem premium coins at the top social sportsbooks for cash prizes.
Our recommended social sportsbook
Fliff sportsbook
Fliff is the best social sports betting app on the market right now. It has strong average user ratings on both the App Store and Google Play, as it provides a smooth user interface. It offers various ways to bet on several sports, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, MMA, tennis, lacrosse, and boxing. You will find classic wagers, such as the spread and the moneyline, along with alternate lines and props.
Sports fans can use two currencies at this social sportsbook. Fliff Coins have no monetary value, so they only work to place sports bets for fun, whereas Fliff Cash allows you to redeem any potential winnings for cash prizes or gift cards. You can receive free Fliff Coins and Fliff Cash through various bonuses and challenges.
Fliff takes a larger house edge on its betting lines than traditional sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings. Customer service options are limited, and Fliff does not offer a browser-based platform, so it is not perfect. However, it provides a strong overall user experience, and you can also claim a 100% welcome bonus of up to $100 in Fliff Cash by using the promo code SPORTSBONUS.
- App ratings: 4.8 (iOS), 4.7 (Android)
- Key takeaway: Smooth user experience and a wide range of betting options
- Top feature: Leaderboards and challenges
Available in: Every state except for Washington. Customers in HI, ID, NV, and TN cannot redeem Fliff Cash for prizes, and anyone in AL, GA, IA, IN, KY, LA, MI, MN, MS, OH, and SC can only accrue Fliff Cash via no-cost giveaways.
What are social sportsbooks?
Social sportsbooks look similar to traditional online sportsbooks. They offer a range of bets on hundreds of sporting events each week, including spreads, totals, moneylines, and props. However, you cannot place bets with real money. They do not accept deposits, and you cannot request traditional withdrawals, either. Instead, social betting apps offer two currencies:
- Standard: These are virtual credits. They have no monetary value, and you cannot redeem them for prizes. You can simply use them to place sports wagers for entertainment purposes. The name of this standard currency will vary from social betting site to social betting site. For instance, Fliff uses Fliff Coins.
- Premium: These credits will allow you to redeem winnings from successful wagers for cash prizes (in other words, once you’ve completed a 1x playthrough requirement). You cannot buy premium currency; it will only be available for free via bonuses and giveaways. Again, the name will vary depending on the platform. Fliff calls its premium currency Fliff Cash.
The best social sportsbooks provide various ways to unlock free credits, including a welcome bonus, login bonuses, leaderboards, and no-purchase giveaways. Social sportsbooks will always offer some way that you can play for free, and there is never any obligation to buy coins. However, if you decide to purchase standard coins, you will often receive premium coins as a gift, provided your state does not restrict cash prizes.
Social sportsbooks accept customers in every state apart from Washington. These apps are popular in states that have not legalized traditional online sportsbooks, such as California and Texas, as they offer a similar experience.
They are also similar to social and sweepstakes casinos, such as Chumba Casino, WOW Vegas, Pulsz, and High 5 Casino. Those sites allow you to play slots and table games for fun with standard coins, and you can also legally redeem premium coin winnings for cash prizes. These social casinos are also popular in states where traditional online casinos are illegal.
How to use a social sports betting site
Using a social sports betting site is similar to placing bets at a traditional online sportsbook. Follow these steps:
- Open the main menu and browse a variety of sports, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and soccer. Each sport may offer a range of leagues and tournaments.
- Select a league and then choose a game that you would like to wager on. Browse the options, which may also include alternate lines, and select one that appeals to you.
- Your pick will appear on your betting slip, along with the odds. At this point, you can use a button to switch between regular coins and premium coins.
- Enter the amount you would like to risk in either standard or premium coins. The slip will highlight the potential payout that you stand to receive.
- Check that you are happy with your selection, and then tap the button to confirm. The coins will be deducted from your account balance, and if your pick was correct, you will receive your payout after the game.
You can repeat this process as many times as you like. If you complete a 1x playthrough requirement on premium coins at a social sports betting app like Fliff, you can redeem them for cash prizes at a rate of 1:1.
Are social sportsbooks and sweepstakes betting sites legal?
Yes, social sportsbooks and sweepstakes sports betting sites are legal. These sites comply with federal regulations, such as the Fair Credit Billing Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. They also adhere to local sweepstakes regulations in each state.
- Washington is the only state that prohibits social sports betting sites and sweeps betting sites outright.
- If you are in Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, or Tennessee, you can use these sites, but you cannot redeem their premium coins for cash prizes. That means that you can only play for fun.
- Anyone in Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, or South Carolina can play at social sports betting apps for fun. You can also redeem premium coins for cash prizes. However, you cannot receive premium coins as a bonus when you buy regular coins. You can only receive them for free via no-purchase promotions and giveaways.
- In the other 34 states, you can place sports wagers for entertainment purposes at social and sweep betting sites. You will also be able to receive premium coins via bonuses or as a gift when purchasing regular coins, and you can legally redeem them for cash prizes or gift cards.
Sweepstakes are legal in most states. Popular examples include the McDonald’s Monopoly game and Kellogg’s National Cereal Day giveaway. When you play at apps like Fliff, you essentially participate in legal sweepstakes, which are rendered in the form of making predictions on sporting events.
Sweepstakes sportsbook bonus offers
You can unlock free coins via bonuses at many social sportsbooks. For example, these are the bonuses available at Fliff:
- Welcome bonus: New customers can use the Fliff bonus code SPORTSBONUS to claim a 100% first purchase bonus. This bonus is worth up to 600,000 Fliff Coins and $100 in free Fliff Cash.
- Giveaways: If your balance is low, Fliff will give you a small amount of free Fliff Coins and Fliff Cash every two hours.
- Rewards program: You will earn experience points (XP) by placing bets with Fliff Coins. The app will give you 1 XP for every 1,000 Fliff Coins you play. You can redeem 10,000 XP for $10 in Fliff Cash.
- Challenges: Fliff will give you 2 XP for each challenge you complete. The challenges are simple, such as “make a straight pick” or “make any pick on Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals.” They are located in a dedicated section of the app.
- Leaderboards: The app runs many leaderboards, which allow users to accrue rewards for good performance.
- Referral bonus: You can also receive rewards for referring friends. Fliff will give you 200 XP for every $5 that one of your referred friends spends on purchasing Fliff Coins.
You can also receive Fliff Cash as a bonus if you buy Fliff Coins, but that is only available in 34 states.
List of social sports betting sites, sweepstakes sportsbooks
- Fliff
- Rebet Sportsbook
- Sportzino
- Thrillzz
- BetRivers.net
States where social sportsbooks operate
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Sweepstakes sportsbook payment options
To be clear, you are never obliged to purchase coins in order to play at social sports betting sites. They give you regular opportunities to collect free coins via bonuses, challenges, and giveaways.
However, you may decide to buy regular coins if you want a larger stack. In many states, you will also receive free premium coins as a bonus if you buy standard coins. If you would like to buy coins, these are the options at your disposal:
- Credit card
- Debit card
- Bank transfer
- Skrill
Just tap on the cashier button, and you will see a list of packages. The app will display the price, the number of regular coins you will receive, and also the number of free premium coins you will receive if that option is available in your state. Choose a package, enter your payment details, and the coins will show up in your account immediately.
As mentioned, if you complete a 1x playthrough requirement on your premium coins, you can redeem them for prizes. At Fliff, the minimum redemption is 50 Fliff Cash, which is equivalent to $50. You can redeem a cash prize via a bank transfer or Skrill, or you can redeem the premium coins for a gift card at a retailer, such as Chipotle or Airbnb.
Social sports betting, sweepstakes sportsbook FAQ
You can use virtual currency to play for fun at social sportsbooks. These coins have no monetary value, and you cannot redeem them for prizes. They are different from premium coins, such as Fliff Cash, which will allow you to redeem winnings by wagering them for cash prizes.
No purchase is necessary if you play at social sportsbooks such as Fliff. There are several ways to unlock free coins on the Fliff app, including social media contests and no-purchase bonuses. You can earn regular coins and premium coins, known as Fliff Cash. See above for details.
Social sportsbooks offer traditional wagers, such as the spread, total, and moneyline, but you cannot play with real money. By contrast, pick’em fantasy apps allow you to play with real money. For instance, apps like Underdog Fantasy host contests, which typically focus on head-to-heads between two players within a stat category or using fantasy points. Other options may involve picking higher or lower on a stat line for a given player, similar to a player prop at a traditional online sportsbook.
No, you cannot play with real money on social sportsbooks. They do not accept traditional deposits or provide withdrawals. Instead, you can play for fun with standard coins, or you can use premium coins, which are redeemable for cash prizes if you win.
Yes, you will receive a secure payment if you redeem your Fliff Cash for a cash prize at this social sportsbook. If you have winnings of at least 50 Fliff Cash, you can hit the “Redeem” button. Fliff will then transfer the funds to you via a bank transfer or Skrill.
No, Fliff is not designed for kids. You must be 18 or older to play at this social sportsbook. The registration form asks for your date of birth, and you will also need to verify your age and identity before participating in sweepstakes at Fliff.
Fliff Cash itself has no monetary value. Winnings that you receive from wagers that you have made using Fliff Cash can be redeemed for cash prizes at a rate of 1 Fliff Cash to $1. Essentially, that means you will need to complete a 1x playthrough requirement, and the Fliff Cash will then become eligible for a redemption. The minimum redemption limit is 50 Fliff Cash, which equates to $50.