Social Casinos: A New Way to Enjoy Free Casino Games
Fancy the thrill of casino games without the real money risk? Social casinos are a fun, free-to-play alternative, perfect for UK players looking for entertainment without financial commitment.
These gaming sites, often found on platforms like Facebook, let you enjoy your favourite casino games online – completely free of charge. Think of it as casino entertainment with zero financial risk.
Whether you prefer a solitary spin on the slots or a sociable game with friends (or even strangers!), social casinos offer a flexible and engaging gaming experience. It's all about the fun, without the financial pressure. Find your perfect social casino today!
Top casinos
What Exactly Are Social Casinos in the UK?
Social casinos are user-friendly, mobile-first online platforms and handy apps. They offer UK players access to casino-style games without the need to wager real cash, making them a totally free-to-play experience.
What Games Can You Play at UK Social Casinos?
You'll find a good selection of classic online casino games, such as roulette, slots, Texas hold'em poker, and blackjack. Many social casino sites also feature exciting twists on these classics, offering new and fun variations.
It's worth noting that some of the most popular social casino apps downloaded globally in recent years include titles like Coin Master, along with specific card games such as Teen Patti Gold Poker and Rummy.
Why Are Social Casinos Hugely Popular in the UK?
Millions of people across the UK and worldwide use their phones and computers for online gaming.
This number significantly dwarfs those participating in real-money gambling at online casinos.
The main draw for most social casino players is the pure entertainment value of playing casino games online for free, with no financial risk involved.
A staggering 80% of social casino enthusiasts access these platforms exclusively via their mobile devices or tablets. This means they're enjoying casino games on the go – during their commute, while waiting in a queue, or simply to fill a spare moment and break up the daily routine.
Another significant reason for their popularity is the integration with social media. We naturally love sharing our lives, experiences, and connections on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These sites act as virtual communities, keeping us connected and up-to-date with friends and family.
So, merging social casino features with these familiar social media environments makes perfect sense from a user perspective.
Many social players enjoy keeping track of their game scores and comparing them with friends and family who are also playing. This fosters a sense of connection, camaraderie, and community, much like a friendly pub game.bonhomie and community.
Furthermore, the core appeal of these social casinos is that, beyond the initial setup of a login or user account, there's no actual money exchanged. This means you bypass any concerns about secure payment methods, banking options, or making that first deposit.
New players can dive straight into the excitement of casino games without any delays or the stress of uncertain financial outcomes.
Plus, you often get extra perks like a welcome bonus, free spins, and other goodies.
What About Winnings and Payouts?
When you play casino games on social casino apps, any 'winnings' you achieve are purely virtual. You still get that thrill of a win, but there are no actual monetary gains or losses to worry about.
For this reason, social casinos are a fantastic, safe way to pass the time, hone your gambling skills, or simply entertain yourself without any real financial commitment.
How to Get Started with Social Casinos in the UK
It's incredibly simple to start playing on your mobile or computer. Just find a social casino that appeals to you for your social gaming, and download its app to your device.
You can even play your favourite games and access these online casinos in countries or regions where real-money online casino gambling might be restricted. This is primarily because they are not typically classified as actual gambling.
Getting Started: A Quick Guide
To begin, simply create your account on your chosen social casino site. You can sign up using your email address or link your existing social media profile, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Once registered, you can jump straight into playing your games online.
You'll have access to a wide array of popular games, including progressive jackpot slots, table games like roulette, card games such as blackjack and baccarat, and even live dealer games like poker. Some platforms may also offer games with free sweeps coins and big jackpot potential.
Many social casino games are designed with progression in mind, often featuring story elements and levels, similar to progressive jackpot slots. You'll often find tutorials available to help you learn how to play and progress through the game, giving you that satisfying feeling of advancement.
Your account will be credited with a starting balance of virtual chips, allowing you to start playing immediately without any financial commitment whatsoever.
Understanding the Rules of Play
The fundamental rules for social casino games mirror those found in traditional online and land-based casinos. They primarily depend on the specific game you choose to play.
However, with online gaming on social gambling sites, if you win, instead of winning a payout or cash prizes, you will get more chips. But, if you lose the bet, you lose the chips you’ve bet on. Nor will your chips respawn right away.
You can always try to win more chips, or, if you don’t want to wait 24 hours, you can spend some real money and buy more chips to continue playing.
If you have gambled at a land-based casino, or an online casino before, then you will feel right at home on a social casino site.
This is because the actual gaming experience is pretty similar to a Real Money casino, where you play for payouts. The only difference is, social casinos are cash-free. However, you may be charged for upgrades or to access pro features.
What to Expect
When you play at your social casino, you can expect the same experience you are used to in real person or online at your regular online casino.
The Las Vegas-style games you find in these casinos are designed to imitate the look and feel, and even the sounds of casino games that you know from traditional casinos and your favorite online casino.
Most casinos offer other perks aside from social games, such as tournaments, a free bonus or two, maybe cash prizes, gold coins, maybe real money prizes, free sweeps coins, free spins, free slots, bonus features, and weekly challenges to keep you entertained.
Play Social Casinos for Free
Thanks to social media and social casino gaming apps, you can play for free whenever you want to. Once you have downloaded the app, or have logged into the social casino site, you can start playing.
You can play free slot machine games, free-to-play poker through Facebook, or any classic or modern table games or card games you like that you would usually find on an online casino or regular casino gaming platform.
You can even play big jackpot slots, with a progressive jackpot, and other Las Vegas-type gambling games.
Look on Google Play for android or on your iPhone’s app store to find your favorite online gaming app for casino games and free games.
However, even though the game is free and there is no financial risk, it is still a highly addictive activity. Winning gold coins, enjoying bonus offers, and playing favorite games online on a user-friendly platform is a great distraction, but it can be detrimental to those with a gambling problem.
Play Social Casinos for Real Money
If you are tired of playing for free, and you are ready to play for payouts, then you can find an online casino with real money gambling.
If you want a safe top online casino from anywhere in the world, then ensure the online casino is safe and trustworthy and offers casino bonuses and promotions, sports betting, sporting events, and other online casino games to keep you entertained for longer.
Then, use your money to buy chips and place your bet on your favorite online casino games. Or, if you prefer, you can do sports betting, bet on horse racing, or any other game you like.
Different Versions of Casinos
There are two kinds of online casinos: real money casinos, and free-to-play social casinos.
Land-based or online casinos
The traditional online casino is where gamblers buy chips to place bets on their game of choice with real money. Here, gamblers play casino games such as slot machines, table games such as blackjack or craps, or other games such as roulette, baccarat, poker, and more. They play with their own money and get real money payouts, and so these are called real money casino games.
Social casinos
These casinos, on the other hand, allow players to play whatever gambling game they want to, but with virtual chips that cost them nothing. Winnings are also virtual.
Social casino games are freely available as downloadable apps and, as a result of them being free and highly entertaining, social casinos are more prevalent than land-based or traditional online casinos.
While these present zero financial risk, and many gaming options, they also offer no real reward (aside from the thrill of winning).
Both of these types of casinos are available online, be it on your mobile phone, your tablet, or your computer.
How to Win at Social Casinos
These casinos on your mobile device or tablet follow the same rules as other casinos - be they brick-and-mortar buildings or online. However, the great thing about social casinos is that - aside from the games themselves - there are often storylines and a sense of progression for the players.
Winning on social casino sites and apps is all about making it to the next level.
Each game will have its own set of rules and criteria that you will have to meet in order to progress to the next level.
What to Look for in Social Casinos
The first thing to look out for when looking for the best social casino is that it offers free-to-play games.
You can also look for perks such as free spins, the number of virtual chips you get, the variety of games available, and ease of use to identify the best social casinos online.
Ideally, you want the site to have online games that include:
- Roulette - This famous game has some of the highest-paying online casinos for gamblers.
- Blackjack - Enjoyed by millions, online, and in real life, blackjack is a staple game.
- Baccarat - Popular and exciting, this online casino card game is played by baccarat lovers.
- Poker - As far as popularity goes, this card game wins, hands down.
- Slots - Whether online or in a classic casino, slots are a firm favorite game.
- Bingo - Popular around the world, this game has been around since 1530!
- Craps - A dice game played online and in land-based casinos with great enjoyment.
- Dragon Tiger - One of the most popular casino card games played online today!
Plus, if you really want the best social casino for your online gaming, then find one that also has some of the other online gambling games.
These could include games such as Caribbean Stud, Faro, Keno, Mini Roulette, Slingo, Punto Banco, Casino Holdem, Flop Poker, Lottery, Monopoly Big Baller, Rummy, Sports Betting, Casino War, Football Betting, Mahjong, Video Poker, Online Betting, Scratch Cards, Texas Holdem, Dream Catcher, God of Fortune, Mini-Baccarat, Pai Gow, Sic Bo, and Three Card Poker, to name a few.
Here are some of the best sites for online gambling games, with free bonuses and spins:
- 1xBet - Get up to €1500 plus 150 free spins.
- Play Ojo - Get 80 wager-free spins.
- Casino.com - Get up to $400 plus 200 free spins.
Discover Top Social Casino Providers
There are many sites that say they are the best social casinos available. However, there are a host of social casino providers you can choose from. See our list at the top of this page.
If you want to dip your toe into the world of real money online casinos that are safe, well-trusted, and easy to play, then check out our list of top online casino games.
Safety and Security
There are plenty of social gambling sites on the market, but not all of them are safe to gamble on.
As a result, we have created lists of safe online casinos and providers that have been investigated by us, against our strict protocols and years of experience.
This ensures that you will only get the safest, most trustworthy online sites and the best online gambling games.
Since social and online casinos have many overlaps but some differences, our approach to security and safety is different between them. When evaluating a site, country laws and regulations must be taken into account.
Our main concern is ensuring that the site is regulated and that the deposit methods available are legitimate and reputable.
Online CasinoRank won't feature a site that isn't secure!
FAQ
Can social casinos feature games from multiple software developers?
Yes, absolutely. Many different software providers are often used to ensure a wide variety of safe and engaging online casino games are available for players in the UK.
Is it possible to win consistently at social casinos?
No, it isn't. Social casinos, much like traditional online casinos and brick-and-mortar gambling establishments, rely on random number generators (RNGs) to determine game outcomes. This means there's no specific strategy, skill, or trick that can guarantee consistent wins at social casinos. The principle is similar to slot machines, where no amount of practice or strategising can influence the purely random results.
How important is the Return to Player (RTP) percentage?
Return to Player (RTP) is a crucial factor for real-money online casinos. However, it's less relevant for social casinos. RTP represents the percentage of all wagered money on a game that is paid back to players over time. It's the mechanism by which regular casinos maintain profitability.
In social casinos, RTP doesn't play a significant role because the games are primarily for entertainment and don't involve real money wagering. The focus is on enjoyment and social interaction rather than financial gain.
Are social casinos vulnerable to hacking or manipulation?
Online casinos invest heavily in robust cybersecurity measures. Consequently, successful hacking attempts are extremely rare.
Furthermore, given that social casinos don't operate for real-money profit, rigging the games is unlikely. Wins are represented by virtual tokens or chips, which serve as indicators of progress within the game rather than financial rewards. The longer players remain engaged, the more opportunities the platform has to generate revenue through advertising. Therefore, it's in the casino's interest to avoid discouraging players with excessive losses, as this could lead to premature abandonment of the game.
Which social casinos offer free bonuses to players?
Most online casinos, particularly social casinos, provide free bonuses. These often include free spins and complimentary tokens or chips, allowing you to play without spending real money. Social casinos aim to keep you playing for extended periods, as their revenue comes from advertising. The longer you play, the more ads you see, and the more profit they generate. Therefore, rewards and free bonuses are commonly offered to both new and loyal players to encourage continued gameplay and repeat visits. Additional bonuses may also be available, depending on the specific site or app.
