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Get Started FreeHigh-Risk Industries · Sweepstakes
PayKings provides sweepstakes merchant accounts and payment processing for sweepstakes casinos, sweep slots platforms, and promotional sweepstakes businesses — with card, debit, ACH, Apple Pay, and Google Pay acceptance, chargeback alerts, and terms you can read before you sign.
Be approval-ready
What underwriters ask for
Declined elsewhere?
Sweepstakes sits on the prohibited list at most mainstream providers. Stripe and PayPal decline the category outright — read why Stripe prohibits sweepstakes businesses before trusting an aggregator with Gold Coin revenue. Sweepstakes is one of dozens of high-risk processing industries we underwrite, so our team already knows how your model works: which banks approve it, what documentation they ask for, and why disappointed entrants dispute charges at above-average rates. You will not spend the first call explaining what Sweeps Coins are.
Stripe
Prohibits sweepstakes
PayPal
Prohibits sweepstakes
PayKings
Underwrites sweepstakes
Your terms, before you sign
24 hrs
Most merchants are approved within 24 hours.
0.80%
Pricing starts at interchange plus 0.80%, with every fee disclosed in the merchant service agreement before you sign.
Next-day
Funding available on card volume, which otherwise settles in 1–2 business days.
Apply
Most banks keep sweepstakes on their decline lists, and aggregators that onboard the category can freeze an account at the first review. Stable processing starts with a bank that approved your model knowingly.
PayKings is a specialized sweepstakes processor:
Getting set up
Start your journey with a simple online application process for your sweepstakes business.
Provide the required documents to support your sweepstakes merchant account application.
Our expert team will guide you through the underwriting process for sweepstakes businesses.
Begin accepting payments for Gold Coin sales and prize redemptions through your new account.
Payment methods
| Payment Method | Typical Settlement Speed | Chargeback Exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Credit & debit cards | 1–2 business days (next-day funding available) | Higher — offset with chargeback alerts and clear descriptors |
| ACH bank transfers | 3–5 business days | Low — ACH returns instead of card chargebacks |
| Apple Pay & Google Pay | 1–2 business days | Lower — tokenized with device authentication |
Behind the scenes, Gold Coin purchases settle to your bank account as standard card-not-present sweepstakes transactions, while Sweeps Coins prize redemptions are disbursed by ACH or other payout options. Offering several online payment methods also builds redundancy: if a player's card declines, ACH or a digital wallet keeps the purchase alive.
Choosing a provider
If you run a sweepstakes casino, the provider question comes down to a short list. Before you sign with any casino payment provider, confirm it delivers each of these:
We built our sweepstakes program around that list.
One scope note: sweepstakes casinos are legally distinct from real-money gambling, and this page covers the sweepstakes model. If you operate a real-money casino, sportsbook, or iGaming platform, start with our online gaming merchant account program instead — it is built for that risk profile.
Payment gateway
The gateway is where the provider checklist becomes technical. Most mainstream gateways prohibit the sweepstakes model outright, so knowing how to choose a payment gateway for sweepstakes casinos comes down to what the infrastructure delivers. Confirm every item below before you commit:
Every item on this checklist ships standard with a PayKings sweepstakes payment gateway, alongside the acquiring bank relationships, multi-MID redundancy, and chargeback alerts covered above.
Integration is developer-friendly. Connect through our API for a fully customized checkout, or use a hosted payment page to keep card data off your servers and minimize PCI scope. The gateway works with custom-built platforms and off-the-shelf sweepstakes casino software, and supports cards, ACH, and digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Most platforms finish sandbox testing and start processing live sweepstakes transactions within days of approval. We handle the rest of secure payment processing, including communication with the acquiring bank.
On the compliance side, PCI compliance is not required by law, but non-compliance can result in fines and legal action — our PCI DSS-compliant infrastructure limits your financial liability.
If part of your volume arrives by phone or mail, we also offer mail order and telephone order merchant account services. Call us for a free consultation or fill out our intake form to start onboarding today.
Pricing & approval
Sweepstakes transactions
Sweepstakes transactions follow two distinct money flows, and your merchant account has to handle both cleanly:
PayKings screens each of these sweepstakes transactions with fraud detection and AVS checks, and sets clear billing descriptors so the charge a player sees on their statement matches your brand — the single most effective way to prevent unrecognized-charge disputes.
Fast, predictable redemptions protect your reputation and reduce disputes on the purchase side. When a dispute does occur, our chargeback alert network flags it early so you can refund or fight it with documentation — coin delivery logs, terms acceptance, and redemption records — before it counts against your chargeback ratio.
What we underwrite
The same underwriting expertise behind our sweepstakes program extends to a raffle merchant account. Acquiring banks classify raffles as high-risk for the same reasons they flag sweepstakes: prize-based promotions are regulated differently in every state, chance-based sales can require additional card brand registration, and disappointed entrants dispute charges at above-average rates.
Aggregators like Stripe, Square, and PayPal routinely freeze or terminate raffle merchants without warning — often while ticket revenue is still sitting in the account. A PayKings raffle and contest merchant account solves this with underwriting through banks that accept chance-based businesses, clear billing descriptors so ticket buyers recognize the charge, chargeback alerts, and the same card, ACH, and digital wallet acceptance our sweepstakes casinos rely on.
If your raffle or contest platform is growing, secure a dedicated high-risk merchant account before a mainstream processor shuts you down mid-drawing.
Our specialized payment processing solutions offer several advantages for sweepstakes businesses
Advanced fraud prevention and detection systems to protect your business and customers.
Support for credit cards, debit cards, digital wallets, and ACH payments.
PCI-compliant payment processing to ensure you meet all necessary industry standards.
Most merchants are approved within 24 hours, with underwriting built for high-risk sweepstakes businesses.
Access comprehensive transaction data and analytics to optimize your business.
Robust tools and strategies to minimize chargebacks and protect your revenue.
The sweepstakes model
A sweepstakes casino is an online gaming platform that operates using a sweepstakes model instead of traditional real-money gambling. Players do not directly wager real money; instead, they receive virtual currencies:
These coins are often acquired through free daily bonuses, social media promotions, or by purchasing Gold Coins, which may come with free Sweeps Coins as a bonus.
Since sweepstakes casinos do not require direct cash gambling, they can legally operate in many regions where traditional online casinos are restricted. This model allows players to enjoy casino-style games, such as slots and poker, while having the opportunity to win real rewards.
“Sweepstakes casinos offer a legal alternative to traditional gambling, allowing players to enjoy casino-style games while having the opportunity to win real rewards without direct cash betting.
Sweep slots
Sweep slots are slot-style games available at internet sweepstakes casinos. These games function similarly to real-money slots, offering spinning reels, extra features, and jackpots. Players can use Gold Coins for entertainment or Sweeps Coins for a chance to win real cash or prizes in online sweepstakes.
Sweep slots are popular among players looking for a casino experience without the legal complexities of traditional online gambling. These slot machine games are primarily found online, but some have a mobile app for iOS or Android where customers can play:
Sweepstakes software
Sweepstakes software solutions handle the promotion side of the business: automated entry tracking, winner selection, compliance with legal regulations, fraud prevention technology, and real-time analytics. PayKings does not provide entry tracking or advertising services — our part of the stack is the payments.
Whatever software runs your promotions, we connect it to a payment system with the options players expect:
Every one of these sweepstakes transactions runs through the same secure, PCI-compliant processing infrastructure — whether a player pays by card on a desktop or through a digital wallet on a mobile browser.
What's included
Keep processing
The difference
Built for the businesses other processors turn away.
FAQ
Everything you need to know about high-risk payment processing
See how PayKings supports adjacent verticals and the payment solutions that pair with them.
