Is Chumba Casino Legit or Rigged?

Launched in 2012 by Virtual Gaming Worlds, Chumba was already established when online casino legalization started moving. The overturning of PASPA in 2018 didn’t actually make all US online casinos legal but instead allowed a few to apply for a select number of licenses to operate in NJ, PA, WV, CT, and MI.

Social casinos were already popular by then, providing a free-to-play alternative to offshore online casinos dominating the US gambling market. However, social casinos didn’t payout real money and only provided a dozen of online slots and table games. The offshore gambling sites alternative was even worst since these sites appeared as legit online casinos, and players deposited serious cash to play games there. However, money withdrawals and fair games aren’t the strongest aspects of offshore online casinos.

As a result, Chumba Casino and its sister sites LuckyLand Slots, Global Poker, Scratch Carnival, etc., quickly stood out. With over 50 free casino games and the potential for real cash withdrawals, Chumba Casino became a beacon for US gamblers. The question remains, though – is Chumba Casino legit?

Chumba Social Casino

First, we should explain how Chumba and other sweepstakes casinos operate to understand the nitty-gritty safety and legitimacy concerns. The concept is simple, although most fail to lay it down clearly.

Chumba Online Casino runs on two virtual currencies – sweeps and gold coins. Players do not bet money to play the games at the site, but these two virtual coins. Sweepstakes sites hand out several free gold and sweeps coins on registration or through regular promotions, deeming all real money purchases unnecessary. Therefore, this system sets casinos like Chumba as social sites and are available under sweepstakes laws in all US states, bar Washington.

What helps Chumba and its sister casinos stand out is their real cash prize redemption feature. Like traditional online casinos, players who win over a minimum number of sweeps coins at Chumba can exchange them for real cash. To remain a sweepstakes casino, the Chumba gold coins carry no monetary value and can be purchased. The sweeps coins are the ones exchangeable for real cash, only available as a bonus for purchasing gold coins or through Chumba promo codes and offers.

Although some do not payout real cash, the above system applies to all modern sweepstakes casinos. At Chumba Casino, players can enjoy the following:

• Blackjack, poker, roulette, and 60+ top Chumba slots by VGW
• Software by VGW, Golden Rock Studios, and Playtech
• 2 free sweeps coins and 2,000,000 gold coins on sign up for free
• Multi-million progressive jackpots
• Mobile-optimized social casino
• Chumba Lite app version
• Social media contests, mail-ins, daily login bonuses, and purchases bonuses

Chumba Casino Software

The software that runs the casino style games on the Chumba site that present you with the opportunity to win cash prizes is relatively straightforward. The software works directly in your browser and there is no need to install and programs or add on features on your desktop. As most of the games are made up of online slots, the software doesn’t have to be anything special.

The games lobby has a simple design, giving players an overview of how many Gold Coins they have, a record of Sweeps Coins collected and also a history of all completed gaming transactions. Other things to note include a list of all of the games available on the Chumba site and a table that constantly updates with the latest big winners.

Chumba Casino App

Like most modern online casinos, Chumba works well when just entering the URL on a browser via a mobile device or tablet. There isn’t a particular requirement to install a dedicated mobile app, all you need to do is head to the Chumba homepage and go from there. All of the games work smoothly when playing on mobile and it also provides you with a greater sense of flexibility as you can play whenever and wherever you like.

Now, it is time to see how Chumba Casino performs compared to legal and legit online casinos.

Are Chumba Casino Games Rigged?

The easiest way an online casino can make money is to rig its games. For instance, the current average payout for online slots is 96%. For an operator to make a decent profit, a long period should go by for this percentage to be realized. Many high rollers would also need to play for the money to reach a high value. With blackjack at 99% average RTP and roulette at 97.5%, online casinos would have to play the long game until cash flows in. However, if a casino manipulates the games’ RTP to be 40% or 50%, the money would start pilling significantly faster.

Online casinos apply for iGaming licenses, use trusted software companies, and allow 3rd party testing of their games to assure players of their fairness. Those three aspects should put even the most suspicious players at ease. So, does Chumba Casino employ the above to provide paying customers with peace of mind?

• The company behind Chumba Casino, Virtual Gaming Worlds, is licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority. Unlike offshore casinos that apply for a Curacao license, which adds zero authority to an operator, the MGA is considered one of the strictest regulatory bodies. And Chumba Casino is currently holding an active license through it.
• The companies powering its gaming catalog, Virtual Gaming Worlds, Golden Rock Studios, and Playtech, are all licensed software companies. This means that their games are rigorously tested for fair RTP and RNG software usage.

It is implausible that Chumba Casino games are rigged based on the above. The VGW company would have to risk losing its license for all Chumba sister casinos by rigging its games, despite being a massively profitable company.

However, it’s important to mention that Chumba Casino has been the target of a class-action lawsuit under Kentucky gambling law which allows players the opportunity to take legal action against gambling operators to receive their losses back.

Is the Company Behind Chumba Legit?

The argument made above heavily relies on the legitimacy of Virtual Gaming Worlds, the company running Chumba Casino. As such, it is worth exploring its operations in further depth to ensure Chumba players are not wasting their money or time with an illegitimate operator.

• Over 900 people are employed at VGW, with offices in Australia, the USA, and Malta.
• Launched Chumba Casino in 2012 and has operated since 2010.
• Owner of Global Poker, LuckyLand Slots, and Scratch Carnival, all renowned gambling platforms.
• Collaborates with several safe and trustworthy payment processors to provide secure banking methods for players.
• Zendesk manages all complaints and questions concerning Chumba.
• Golden Rock Studios and Playtech, the two outside software companies working with VGW, are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission and the Malta Gaming Authority; the most robust gaming authorities globally.

Since Chumba is not a real money casino and doesn’t require a license from individual US state bodies, i.e., the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement or the West Virginia Lottery, VGW seems to tick all boxes that would make it legitimate.

Is Chumba an Overall Safe Casino?

A few other aspects concerning the safety of players would be related to online transactions, website encryption, customer support, and commitment to sweepstakes laws.

Online transactions

Chumba Casino supports all the major bank cards (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express), processing visa and debit card purchases and redemptions. ACH and Skrill have also been recently added to the payment options list for faster services. The payments are instant, but withdrawals require 10 days or more for internal processing, which is ludicrous. This is even worst than some sketchy offshore online casinos, which payout within six days. A decent payout time would be instant to two days.

The documents required for the KYC procedure, a prerequisite for the first redemption at Chumba, often take days to be verified as well.

Another red flag in the redemptions department is the 50 sweeps coins minimum limit, the equivalent of $50. Compared to the $10 or $20 minimum at most USA online and social casinos, Chumba sets the bar considerably high.

Customer support

Zendesk is the company hired by VGW to run the support department at Chumba. One would guess that such a move would ensure swift responses and professionalism. They would be completely off in this case.

There is no live chat or phone support, both preferred support options for players. The FAQ section is decent, covering slightly over 60 questions with detailed answers. The easiest alternative is to email Chumba Casino via the site’s contact form. Response time is over two days. We also tested the social media live chats, but we got no reply from the people managing them.

Sweepstakes laws

Players outside the USA (except Washington) and Canada (except Quebec) cannot exchange sweeps coins for cash at Chumba. This model is only legal in the US, showcasing Chumba’s commitment to local laws.

Sweepstakes sites are also responsible for deeming real money purchases unnecessary. This point should be supported by sign-up offers, regular bonuses, and real sweepstakes contests and competitions. In this regard, Chumba lags behind other similar casinos.

The sign-up offer is a mere two sweeps coins and 2 million gold coins, and the daily bonus is minuscule. Regular promotions are non-existent, so players have to rely on social media contests or the sweepstakes, which have millions of participants. The mail promo only works once, and there is no VIP scheme. As such, players who enjoy playing Chumba Casino games would either need to win a fireshot jackpot in the first go or conduct in-app purchases.

Privacy Policy Agreement & Responsibilities Towards Players

Chumba Casino commits to keeping all player data and information private. The site is also SSL-bit encrypted, and we have no evidence or reviews against these two claims. Players can close their accounts or limit transactions with Chumba by contacting the customer support team. Their request might take a while to be viewed, but their wishes will be granted.

Chumba Casino Scam Complaints & Reports

A simple Google search will bring up several reports concerning Chumba Casino. Many players consider Chumba Casino a scam and illegitimate and suggest that the games are rigged. Overall, there are 10,000+ player reviews of Chumba online.

A very recent comment attached above indicates that the current offers at Chumba are enough to enjoy daily free gaming.

Another user seems to consider the game’s payout ratio unfair, based on his personal experience.

This player review meets our research data, indicating failure to provide support and address issues within a reasonable time.

Another player who seems to have a negative experience on Chumba feels that Pulsz Casino’s games perform much better. This social casino is powered by independent software companies, which could indicate a lower RTP at Chumba’s casino games.

The above review indicates massive payout delays by Chumba, matching our records and illustrating the work required for improvement.

Should I trust Chumba Casino or Reviews?

Player reviews about social and online casinos are tricky. Most sites will accept reviews and publish them without validating the users’ emails or personal details. Trusting all Chumba Casino reviews would be reckless, but the general consensus gets it right.

Chumba has 4 stars on Trustpilot after thousands of reviews, so it is generally considered a decent site. However, there are many negative reviews about the payout speed and customer support response. These appear legit, unlike users reporting the games as rigged.

Aspects That We Don’t Like About Chumba Casino

Among the various positive areas of Chumba Casino, we have identified and noted a few areas that need work. To begin with, Chumba has excellent games, is widely accessible, and pays out real cash. On the flip side, Chumba lags compared to other sweepstakes sites in the following aspects:

• The RTP of Chumba Casino games cannot be lower than 92% to comply with the MGA guidelines. However, Chumba’s poker variant has a 96.15% RTP instead of 99.54% on other online casinos. The same is true for the American Roulette variant at Chumba, featuring a 5.26% house edge.
• Slot machines RTP is not provided, leaving players in the dark.
• The games cannot be tested in free mode, so using gold coins and sweeps coins to play is essential.
• The current promotions are hardly enough to sustain a free playing experience.
• The no deposit bonus stands at $2 currently, which is inadequate compared to sites like Funzpoints providing sweeps coins equivalent to a $22 registration bonus.
• Redemptions take 10 days or over.
• Customer support is almost non-existent.
• VGW in-house powered games are not available on real money online casinos. There is a lack of data or evidence proving their fairness, unlike games like Pulsz Casino or BetRivers.net powered by Microgaming, Pragmatic Play, Big Time Gaming, Everi, NetEnt, and other top providers.
• There is a small range of games without any live dealer titles or table game variations.
• High minimum redemption limit at 50 free sweeps coins.

As soon as Chumba Casino addresses all or most of the above issues, players are likely to continue reporting it as a scam or accusing them of rigged games. Even satisfied players would likely play more if better customer support and banking departments were implemented.

Key Takeaways

Chumba Casino might be the most popular sweepstakes casino going in the US, but it is far from the best. LuckyLand Slots, Global Poker, Scratch Carnival, and Chumba seem to operate under the same principles through VGW, their owner. Fun games, easy-to-use sites, but below basic supplementary services. If they were real money online casinos, they would have most likely lost their licenses. Their status as sweepstakes sites is what makes them still relevant today. Nonetheless, there is no proof or evidence that Chumba games are rigged or the site is illegitimate.

Still, until Chumba commits to improving and treating its loyal customers with respect, we will be recommending other sweepstakes sites like it instead. Pulsz, Fortune Coins, and BetRivers are legit alternatives without arguments about being a scam or rigged sites. All US players over 18 should join these instead of Chumba, raising the bar for older social casinos that refuse to commit to excellence.