
Many people play Baccarat online for real money due to its simple gameplay and low house edge - but with real money online casinos only licensed in a handful of states, more and more players are turning to social casinos instead.
These sites let you play Baccarat games using virtual currencies instead of real money, with the chance to redeem your eligible Sweeps Coins for prizes. In this guide, I'll break down why Baccarat is so popular, where you can play it legally in the US, and the best social casino alternatives if you’re outside those seven states.
Baccarat is easily one of the most popular casino games - and honestly, it's not hard to see why. First off, the game is incredibly easy to pick up. Even if you're brand new to casino games, you can learn the rules of Baccarat in just a few minutes. You basically just bet on whether the banker or the player hand will win - or if it'll be a tie. That’s it. No complex Baccarat strategy is needed, and there are no confusing rules to worry about. Just straightforward, fast-paced gameplay.
But simplicity isn’t the only reason players love it. What really sets Baccarat apart is its house edge - or rather, how low it is. When you bet on the banker's hand, the house edge is usually just 1.06%. That's way lower than what you’ll find for other games like slot machines and American roulette. A lower house edge means better odds for you, which is always a win. And to top it off, Baccarat is available at pretty much every online casino, so finding a table is never an issue. All of that combined has made Baccarat a go-to choice for both casual players and high rollers alike.
Real money Baccarat is only available in seven states where online casinos are licensed and regulated. Those states are:
Legal states: | New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island |
If you live in one of these states and meet the legal gambling age, you can sign up at a licensed online casino or download a Baccarat app to play online for real money. But if you're in any of the other 43 states, you're out of luck - you won't find any real money online casinos licensed in your state.
If you want to play Baccarat online but live in a state where real money casinos aren't licensed, social casinos are easily the best alternative. Real money online casinos are only licensed in 7 states, but social casinos are legal in 48 - Washington and Idaho are the only exceptions.
What’s great is that these social casinos usually offer the same Baccarat games you’d find at regular online casinos - some even have live dealer tables. The big difference? You’re playing with virtual currencies instead of real money.
These virtual currencies are typically called Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. Gold Coins are just for fun and entertainment. Sweeps Coins, on the other hand, can be used in promotional sweepstakes mode games.
When you play Baccarat in this mode, you can redeem your eligible Sweeps Coins winnings for real prizes like cash or gift cards. So while you're not technically playing online Baccarat for real money at social casinos, you can still walk away with something.
You also don’t need to make a purchase to get started. Most social casinos give you free virtual curencies just for signing up, and you can get more through daily bonuses, giveaways, or even mail-in entry options.
You can play Baccarat online for free at these recommended social casinos, all legal in most US states. They use virtual currencies instead of real money, but still offer the same top-quality Baccarat games as traditional online casinos.
Stake.us has six different Baccarat games, which is more than most other sites. Even better, three of them are played with real live dealers - something you don’t always see at a social casino. Some standout titles include First Person Baccarat from Evolution Gaming, standard Baccarat from Pragmatic Play, and Live Baccarat from Live88.
But the real standout? Stake Originals Baccarat. Not only is it exclusive to Stake.us, but it also comes with a super low house edge of just 1.10% - which is about as good as it gets for online Baccarat.
If you’re new to the site, sign up with code STFSOCIAL and you’ll be able to claim 560,000 Gold Coins, 56 Stake Cash, and 5% rakeback - completely free. Stake Cash is basically Stake.us’s version of Sweeps Coins. You'll use this virtual currency in a promotional sweepstakes mode, where eligible Stake Cash winnings can be redeemed for prizes after playing through them at least three times.
RealPrize offers over 500 casino-style games, including six live dealer options. One of the standout titles is Grand Bonus Baccarat - a popular variant created by Iconic21.
It follows the classic rules with Player, Banker, and Tie bets, but adds a twist with exciting features like progressive bonuses, dynamic multipliers, and the chance to win Mega or Grand bonuses for bigger virtual currency returns.
If you want to check it out for free, just create an account at RealPrize. After signing up and verifying your phone number, you’ll instantly get 100,000 Gold Coins and 2 Sweeps Coins - no strings attached.
When you sign up at McLuck, you’ll get 7,500 Gold Coins and 2.5 Sweeps Coins for free - no promo code needed. On top of that, your first GC purchase comes with a 150% bonus in virtual currency, which is honestly a solid deal. You can use this virtual currency to play Baccarat - either with Gold Coins in standard mode or Sweeps Coins in promotional mode.
While there isn’t a dedicated Baccarat section, you can find Grand Bonus Baccarat tables with real live dealers. Just head to the “social live casino” section or search for it directly. I’d suggest starting with Gold Coins to get a feel for the game - especially if you're still learning how to play Baccarat. You can play with anything from 5 to 5,000 Gold Coins.
Jackpota is hands down my favorite place to play Grand Bonus Baccarat. Why? For one, the limits are super flexible. You can play with as little as 0.50 SC or 2.5 SC, or go big with up to 5,000 GC and 2.5 SC. What really makes Jackpota stand out, though, are the exclusive jackpots. I haven't seen these when playing Grand Bonus Baccarat anywhere else.
We're talking jackpots worth up to 200 million Gold Coins and 100 Sweeps Coins. The bonuses are a big plus too. When you sign up, you’ll get 7,500 Gold Coins and 2.5 Sweeps Coins for free.
And on your first GC purchase, you can grab 50,000 Gold Coins and 25 free Sweeps Coins for just $9.99, which is easily one of the most generous deals around right now. Oh, and the referral program? You can get up to 100 SC per referral, which is pretty wild.
Sidepot.us has three Baccarat games: Baccarat 777, American Baccarat, and American Baccarat Zero Commission. But just so you know, these aren't real money Baccarat games. Instead, you’ll use Sidepot’s virtual currencies - Fliff Coins and Fliff Cash. Fliff Coins are pretty much like Gold Coins on other sites - they’re just for fun and don’t have any monetary value.
Fliff Cash, on the other hand, works like Sweeps Coins and lets you play in sweepstakes mode. All you need to do is meet a 1x playthrough requirement and collect at least 100 Fliff Cash - then you’ll be able to redeem your eligible Fliff Cash winnings for cash prizes.
When you first sign up, you’ll get 10,000 Fliff Coins and 1 Fliff Cash as a free welcome bonus. After that, you can grab another 10,000 Fliff Coins and 1 Fliff Cash every 24 hours with the daily login bonus. Just keep in mind - to claim it, you’ll need to have less than 1 Fliff Cash in your account and no pending prize redemptions.
WOW Vegas is best known for its online slots, but don’t sleep on the other casino-style games - it’s got a strong lineup, including real live dealer options like Grand Bonus Baccarat.
You can get in on the action with anywhere from 100 to 100,000 WOW Coins, which gives you plenty of flexibility. What I really like is how smooth the live streams are. The video and audio quality are top-notch, making it feel just like playing at an online casino with live Baccarat for real money.
Getting started is super easy. Just sign up for an account and you’ll get 250,000 WOW Coins and 5 SC for free. On your first WC purchase, you can also claim 1.75 million WOW Coins and 35 free Sweeps Coins.
Playing Baccarat online for real money has always been popular, and to be honest, that’s not changing anytime soon. It’s easy to see why - the game’s simple, fast-paced, and has one of the lowest house edges out there. That said, more and more people are starting to turn to social casinos instead.
The biggest draw of social casinos is that you can play completely for free using virtual currency, and no purchase is needed to get started. Plus, you’ve actually got the chance to redeem any eligible Sweeps Coins winnings for real cash or prizes.
Social casinos are also legal in 48 states - only Washington and Idaho are off-limits. Compare that to just 7 states where you can legally play online Baccarat for real money, and it’s easy to see why these sites are becoming so popular.
If you’re ready to get started, the social casinos I’ve recommended are all excellent places to play. They’ve got top-tier Baccarat games, including live dealer tables, flexible limits, and some of the best bonus offers you’ll find.
Yes, but only in a few places. Real money online Baccarat is legal in just seven states where online casinos are licensed - like New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. If you're in one of those states and meet the legal age requirement, you can play for cash. Otherwise, you might want to check out social casinos, which are legal in 48 states.
The core rules and gameplay are basically the same. The big difference is that real money casinos use actual cash, while social casinos use virtual currencies. These virtual currencies are usually called Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. Gold Coins are just for fun, while eligible Sweeps Coins winnings can be redeemed for prizes.
Not directly - all wins are awarded in virtual currency. However, when you play games in the promotional sweepstakes mode, you will be able to redeem your eligible Sweeps Coins winnings for prizes. These prizes commonly include real money and gift cards.
21+ and present in VA. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Trading financial products carries a high risk to your capital, especially trading leverage products such as CFDs. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.