Stake Cash vs Gold Coins: What Each One Is Actually Worth
One of these two currencies can become money and the other never can. Here is the difference, what the 3x playthrough actually costs, and why the game you clear it on is worth more than the withdrawal fee everyone talks about.
Last reviewed: August 2026
The short version. Gold Coins are play money: no value, never redeemable, and they do not convert into anything (ToS cl. 7.1). Stake Cash is the currency that redeems, at roughly 1 SC to $1 (cl. 13.4 to 13.5). If your Stake Cash was purchased or came as a bonus, you must wager it 3 times before you can redeem it (cl. 13.1), and that requirement, not the withdrawal fee, is usually the bigger cost.
The two currencies
| Gold Coins (GC) | Stake Cash (SC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Can it be redeemed? | Never (cl. 7.1) | Yes, for crypto or cash (cl. 13.4 to 13.5) |
| What is it worth? | Nothing | About $1 per SC before costs |
| How do you get it? | Free daily, or purchased | Free daily, giveaways, postcard request (5 SC), or bundled with a Gold Coin purchase |
| Wagering requirement | None, it goes nowhere anyway | 3x on purchased and bonus SC (cl. 13.1) |
| Most of your play | This one | The smaller balance |
The thing worth internalising: Gold Coins do not convert into Stake Cash. They are separate balances. A five-figure Gold Coin number on screen is not five figures of anything, and the interface is not going to keep reminding you of that.
What the playthrough actually costs
Purchased and bonus Stake Cash has to be wagered 3 times before it can be redeemed. Wagering costs money in expectation, at exactly the house edge of whatever you are playing, so clearing a 3x requirement costs about 3 times the house edge of the game you clear it on.
That makes the choice of game worth more than most people assume. Here is 100 SC of purchased or bonus Stake Cash, cleared on each of these, then withdrawn to a bank:
| Clear it on | House edge | Playthrough cost | Expected payout |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackjack, basic strategy | 0.50% | 1.50% | $96.53 |
| Baccarat, Banker | 1.06% | 3.18% | $94.88 |
| Craps, pass line | 1.41% | 4.23% | $93.85 |
| Roulette, single zero | 2.70% | 8.10% | $90.06 |
| Roulette, double zero | 5.26% | 15.78% | $82.54 |
| A 90% RTP slot | 10.00% | 30.00% | $68.60 |
| Stake Cash exempt from playthrough (cl. 13.1.c) | n/a | 0% | $98.00 |
Same 100 SC, a $27.93 spread depending only on where you cleared it. That is the number this page exists to put in front of you.
The fee is not the problem, and it is the only cost anyone quotes. The bank withdrawal took about 2% when we cashed out in June 2026. The playthrough costs more than that as soon as the house edge passes 0.67%. Blackjack with basic strategy is the one common game that sits below the line, at 1.50%. A 90% slot sits at 30%, which is 15 times the fee.
What this model does not tell you
- It is an expectation, not a forecast. These are long-run averages. A single playthrough will land somewhere either side of them, often a long way either side, and the higher the edge the wider the scatter. Our house edge guide covers why.
- You can bust before clearing. The arithmetic quietly assumes you finish the wagering. A real balance can hit zero partway through, and then the expected payout is not $68.60, it is nothing.
- Edges are per game, not per casino. The figures above come from this site's own solvers for those games and are linked so you can check any of them. They are not a claim about which titles a particular operator carries or how they are configured.
- Crypto redemptions are priced differently. The 2% figure is a bank transfer. Crypto pays that coin's network fee instead, which moves.
Play enough volume and the VIP Club starts handing some of this cost back as rakeback, at rates from 10% of the house edge at Bronze to 20% and up at the top of the ladder. What that is actually worth, and the basis mistake that makes it look twenty times more generous than it is, is in our rakeback breakdown.
Getting Stake Cash without paying for it
Stake.us is genuinely no-purchase-necessary (ToS cl. 2.3), which is the legal basis of the whole sweepstakes model. The free routes are the daily login bonus, social giveaways, and a mailed postcard request worth about 5 SC (cl. 8.2 to 8.3). Gold Coin purchases, which bundle bonus Stake Cash, are capped at $9,000 a day (cl. 7.2.g).
Redemptions in our June 2026 test required a 50 SC minimum per request, with no limit on how many requests you make and no published daily maximum. The friction is the identity check before your first cash-out. The full walkthrough, including what verification collects, is in our Stake.us review, where we scored it on a published rubric after completing a real redemption.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between Gold Coins and Stake Cash?
Gold Coins are the play-only currency. They have no monetary value and can never be redeemed for anything (Stake.us ToS cl. 7.1). Stake Cash is the sweepstakes currency, and it is the only one that can be redeemed for prizes, at roughly 1 SC to 1 USD in crypto or cash (cl. 13.4 to 13.5). Most of your play will be in Gold Coins, and none of it is worth money.
Can you turn Gold Coins into Stake Cash?
No. They are separate balances and Gold Coins never convert. That is the single most common misunderstanding about this model: a large Gold Coin balance is not a large amount of money, no matter how it is displayed.
Do you have to buy anything to get Stake Cash?
No, and that is what makes it a sweepstakes rather than gambling. Stake.us is no-purchase-necessary (ToS cl. 2.3). Free Stake Cash comes from the daily login bonus, social media giveaways, and a mailed postcard request worth about 5 SC (cl. 8.2 to 8.3). Buying a Gold Coin package that includes bonus Stake Cash is optional, and Gold Coin purchases are capped at $9,000 a day (cl. 7.2.g).
What is the 3x playthrough on Stake Cash?
Purchased and bonus Stake Cash has to be wagered three times before it can be redeemed (ToS cl. 13.1). Clause 13.1.c exempts Stake Cash won through Promotional Play. Wagering three times your balance costs three times the house edge in expectation, which is why the game you clear it at changes what the balance is worth: from 1.50% of face value at blackjack to 30% at a bad slot.
How much does it really cost to cash out Stake Cash?
Two costs, and the smaller one gets all the attention. The withdrawal fee on a bank transfer was about 2% when we tested a real redemption in June 2026, with a 50 SC minimum per request. The playthrough is usually the larger cost: it only falls below the fee if you clear at a house edge under 0.67%, which in practice means blackjack with basic strategy and almost nothing else.
Is Stake Cash actually worth a dollar?
It redeems at about a dollar, which is not the same thing. Stake Cash already exempt from playthrough is worth close to face value, about $0.98 per SC after the bank fee. Purchased or bonus Stake Cash first has to survive the 3x wagering: about $0.97 per SC if you clear it at blackjack, and about $0.69 if you clear it on a 90% slot.
Currency rules, playthrough, the alternative method of entry and the purchase cap are from the Stake.us Terms of Service v16.0 (dated 2026-05-19), parsed 2026-06-20, with the clause cited for each. The withdrawal fee, the redemption minimum and the absence of a per-day cap are from our own completed redemption in June 2026, because the terms do not publish them. House edges are computed by this site's solvers, each linked above. Terms change often, so check the current ones before you plan around any of this.
Not supplied, endorsed or reviewed by Stake.us. 21+ and not available in every state. Sweepstakes play is not real-money gambling, and no game with a house edge can be beaten over the long run. If it has stopped being fun, our responsible gambling page lists free help.