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Sweepstakes glossary
The vocabulary in this category borrows from two worlds and belongs to neither. Here is what each term actually means.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Dual-currency model | The structure every established brand in this category uses: one entertainment-only virtual currency and one promotional currency, running side by side. |
| Gold Coins | Entertainment-only virtual credits with no monetary value. Purchasable in packs, never redeemable, and they stay Gold Coins whatever you accumulate. |
| Sweeps Coins | The promotional currency. Never sold directly. Arrives bundled with coin packs, through daily and promotional routes, and by no-purchase written request. |
| Coin pack | A purchasable bundle of Gold Coins — for example 1.5 million Gold Coins for C$19.99 — typically with promotional entries included alongside. |
| No purchase necessary | The principle that promotional entries must be obtainable without spending, and that spending must not improve your chance of receiving them. |
| Mail-in request | A free written request for promotional entries, made under the brand's official rules. The route that keeps the sweepstakes structure valid. |
| Redemption threshold | The minimum quantity of promotional entries — typically C$50–C$100 equivalent — before they may become eligible for prize redemption. Set by each brand. |
| Redemption eligibility | Reaching a threshold makes entries eligible for consideration under a brand's rules. It is a chance, not a completed outcome, and verification applies. |
| Official rules | The binding document each sweepstakes brand publishes covering eligibility, entry routes, thresholds and processing. Where rules and marketing disagree, the rules govern. |
| Daily login reward | A recurring free allocation of virtual currency for returning to a brand. Small individually, and the mechanic most designed to build routine. |
| Social casino | Casino-style entertainment on a single virtual currency with no prize-redemption element of any kind. |
| Sweepstakes casino | The dual-currency model, where a second promotional currency can become eligible for prize redemption. |
| Eligibility | Whether a person may take part, based on age and on the state or province they are in. Set brand-side and changes with state law. |
| Virtual currency | Credits that exist only inside a brand and carry no monetary value outside it. Not convertible, not transferable, not an asset. |
| Promotional entry | A unit of participation in the sweepstakes side of the model, obtained free or bundled with a purchase, never sold on its own. |
Two phrases worth being precise about
"A chance to" belongs before any mention of prize redemption. Entries create a chance to become eligible; they do not promise an outcome.
"No monetary value" applies to both currencies as currency. Gold Coins have no monetary value at all, and Sweeps Coins are entries rather than money — what they may lead to is governed entirely by the brand's own published rules.
Play for fun only. No cash prizes.
Tessera covers entertainment-only sweepstakes and social casino brands. No real money wagering takes place on the brands described here, and nothing on this website offers cash, cash-equivalent credits, or prizes that can be sold or traded for money.