The Honest Chumba Casino Review

Chumba Casino Review – Overall

Chumba Casino hit the online gaming playground in 2017 when it was established by VGW Malta Limited. It’s a unique casino since it employs a sweepstakes-based system that makes it possible for players from the US (excluding Washington) and Canada (excluding Quebec) to register and play legally for cash prizes.

Chumba Casino sells Gold Coins that come with bonus Sweeps Coins, which can be played with and redeemed for cash prizes.

For example, you make a purchase for $5 and receive Gold Coins as well as a bonus 5 Sweeps Coins. Your Sweeps Coins winnings can be redeemed for cash prizes.

Chumba is limited in its number of games and lacks things like live dealers, but because it can accept almost every US credit card for purchases and send cash prize redemptions right to your bank account, it should be considered more convenient and user-friendly than almost any other online casino.

However, this is not enough to save this negative Chumba Casino review. I would not call this a reputable or trustworthy site; on top of all of the gaming aspects which leave something to be desired, this makes it a casino that I just cannot recommend. 

The Chumba Casino Sweepstakes System

Officially, Chumba Casino is a social casino that allows users to play their games for free. Members of the casino can play the games on the website using two types of social currencies:

• Gold Coins
• Sweeps Coins

Once you register, you can visit the cashier and buy Gold Coins for real money, but you cannot buy Sweeps. However, when buying Gold Coins, Chumba Casino will give you a certain number of Sweeps Coins for free.

When playing games, you can choose which currency you want to use to bet. Gold Coins (GC) have no monetary value and cannot be redeemed for real money afterwards, which is different than a traditional casino like Ignition. On the other hand, if you play with Sweeps Coins (SC), you can later redeem them for cash prizes.

Is Redeeming Sweeps Coins for Cash Prizes Legal?

According to Chumba Casino, they have employed some of the best lawyers and legal advisers in the iGaming industry to make sure that their Sweepstakes system does not violate any US laws.

The parent company of Chumba Casino, VGW, are experts at navigating this system and have gotten a Malta Gaming license as a result. Another property of VGW that utilizes the exact same system on the poker side is Global Poker.

Even if the US legal system decides against the Sweepstakes system, there is no risk involved for players at all. You will not be breaking any laws and you can freely play and redeem your cash prizes unless you are a resident of Washington (USA) or Quebec (Canada).

The sweepstakes format Chumba uses is almost identical to other social purchase-only casinos such as Funzpoints.

Chumba Casino No-Purchase Gold Coin Package

For new players, Chumba Casino once offered a no-purchase bonus of 2,000,000 Gold Coins and 2 Sweeps Coins, which were automatically credited to your account after verifying it.

This offer is no longer available, sadly.

However, the minimum redemption in Chumba is 100 Sweeps Coins, which means you cannot redeem it just yet. This isn’t hurdle was the first red flag I encountered.

Chumba Casino Promotions

Only the 2 free Sweeps Coins are available at the moment of writing this review, as well as the $10 Gold Coin package. So, there really isn’t a range of promotions available here.

Last year, I contacted Chumba Casino customer support and asked about future plans. One of the customer support reps assured me that the casino is working on new bespoke promotions – but I have yet to see the fruits of that labor. 

Chumba Casino Software

Overall, the software looks appealing and has a modern touch to it. This is Chumba’s proprietary software, along with all of the games in the package.

Main Page Layout

The layout of the front page is quite simple, which makes the UI generally positive. At the top of the page, you can see your account balance and switch between Gold Coins and Sweeps. This is also where you can buy more Gold Coins or redeem your Sweeps Coins for cash prizes.

In the left corner, you can see a small window that is constantly updated with recent wins.

While the site might look great, one of the major problems I had was the software seems slow at times, with the issue occuring most often when I was trying to load a game. Moreover, I’m not a big fan of the central interface that shows 8 games at a time. Slots and other games do not have their own sections, so it can be tricky to find the game you want to play.

Game Variety

Chumba Casino has more than 150 games that you can play as soon as you register on the website, without making a purchase. The majority of the games are slots, but there are several blackjack and video poker variations available as well.

As I’ve mentioned, these are proprietary games, which means that Chumba Casino develops them in-house. Therefore, you should not expect to play popular titles that you would find at other online casinos such as Starburst, Age of Gods, Gonzo’s Quest, and so on.

Blackjack and Video Poker

If you want something other than slots, note that Chumba Casino has some blackjack and video poker games as well. The blackjack game pays 3:2. The minimum stake you can play with is 10K Gold Coins or 1 Sweeps Coin, depending on which currency you choose.

If you like video poker, you can find the Jacks or Better game. The minimum bet you can make in this game is 10K Gold Coins or 1 Sweeps Coin, the same as with blackjack. The weakest winning hand, as the name tells you, is a pair of Jacks.

Live Dealers

Chumba Casino does not have any live dealer games. If you’re looking for somewhere to play live dealer games at a US-facing casino, you’ll need to play at a site like Wild Casino.

Chumba Casino on Mobile

Chumba Casino’s mobile app and website work exactly the same way as the desktop site. Normally, this would be a good thing but this just means the issues I encountered while playing on my computer were replicated when playing from my smartphone.

Chumba Casino Purchase Methods

Even though the concept of purchasing money at Chumba Casino is different due to the Sweepstakes System, the experience of making a purchase is pretty much the same as with any other casino you’ve played in.

To purchase Gold Coins and get free Sweeps Coins, you need to click on the red Buy Now button at the top of the website. A new screen with then open and show you the exchange rates: how many Gold Coins you get for your purchase, as well as your bonus Sweeps Coins.

To make a purchase, you can use the following payment methods:

• Visa
• MasterCard
• Skrill
• Instant ACH
• Rapid Transfer

This is not a lot but most US and Canadian players will find something that works for them. The cheapest package you can at Chumba Casino buy costs $1 and gets you 200,000 Gold Coins and no Sweeps Coins.

The most expensive one will refill your account with 120 million Gold Coins for $300 and comes with 315 bonus Sweeps Coins.

Chumba Casino has some of the lowest minimum purchases of any online casino and, because they’re operating legally, will almost never be blocked by any USA credit card.

This also makes Chumba Casino an appealing option if you’re averse to learning about Bitcoin since your credit card is almost certainly just going to work.

Chumba Casino Payouts

To redeem Sweeps Coins, you first need to click on the green Redeem button at the top of the screen. You can redeem for either cash prizes or gift cards from a variety of retailers like Instacart, Sam’s Club, Starbucks, Lowe’s, Home Depot and more.

After that, if you’re redeeming for the first time from Chumba Casino, you need to verify your identity by providing the following:

• Government-issued photo ID — Driver’s License, National ID, Passport
• Proof of residential address — Utility bills, bank statements
• Bank statement

After that, you can exchange Sweeps Coins for cash prizes and redeem a minimum of 100 Sweeps Coins. If you want to exchange for gift cards, the minimum is 10 Sweeps Coins. 

In my experience, 100 Sweeps Coins ends up being about $100 – which is quite a steep minimum withdrawal requirement.

Chumba has been quick to award gift cards but is not particularly timely when it comes to cash payouts. Myself, along with many other players on Reddit, Trustpilot and other casino forums have noted that Chumba tends to drag its heels somewhat when fulfilling bank transfers for winning players. Some don’t ever receive their payouts.

Player Support

Unfortunately, there is no live chat or phone support feature available for players to get in touch with a customer support agent, which is a shame since this has become a must-have for the majority of online casinos in recent years.

More disturbingly, I recently also received reports from multiple Chumba players of support agents disrespecting players, refusing to pay out winnings based on unfounded accusations of multiple accounts.

Chumba Casino Conclusion

Previously, my impressions about Chumba Casino were overall positive but, the more time I’ve spent playing here and reading about what other members of the online casino community have to say, I have to change my tune.

The slow (and sometimes non-existent) payouts, lack of promotions and downright disappointing customer service are unacceptable, even in the US online gambling market.

If those issues were eventually resolved, though, I’d still like to see improvements in the Chumba Casino software as it could definitely work more smoothly. More games, live dealers, and more purchase and redemption methods would be a big plus as well.

Unfortunately, I just cannot continue to recommend Chumba over better online casinos available to USA players, which include more deposit methods, live dealers, and a real bonus.

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