Best of Pennsylvania’s sweepstakes casinos in 2025

If your winnings can be redeemed or used like cash, the state wants to know about it. That includes:

• cash payouts (bank transfers, checks, PayPal, etc.)
• gift cards or store credits
• redeemable Sweeps Coins
• prizes that combine cash and goods

If you win cash, redeemable coins, or gift cards from a sweepstakes casino and live in Pennsylvania, you’ll pay 3.07% on those winnings – the state’s flat personal income tax rate.

Unlike the IRS, Pennsylvania doesn’t have a minimum threshold for reporting sweepstakes or gambling winnings.

That means:

• All taxable winnings count from dollar one – even if you only cash out $1 worth of Sweeps Coins.
• The moment a prize becomes redeemable or spendable, it’s taxable income.

Not everything gets taxed. You can ignore prizes you didn’t actively try to win,  like:

• door prizes handed out without signup
• freebies where you didn’t enter, pay, or take any action

If you live in PA, it doesn’t matter where you played – in-state, out-of-state, online – the moment you win something of value, it becomes taxable in Pennsylvania.

If you don’t live in Pennsylvania, you still report sweepstakes or gambling wins if:

• the promotion or event was run by a Pennsylvania-based operator
• you played on a PA-hosted platform or entered while physically in the state

When tax season rolls around, use PA Schedule T to report your sweepstakes and gambling income (Here’s an example of what the form looked like in 2024).

• if you win big, the casino might send you a W-2G form
• but even without a form, you’re still responsible for reporting your prize