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Orion Stars is a decent sweepstakes casino with a complex, unconventional operating model, even for some experienced users. For one, it doesn’t accept user registration directly, and good luck trying to find a distributor worth using.
Thankfully, you can always use one of the numerous sites like Orion Stars if you’re among those who struggle with the social casino’s operating model. I reviewed several, and Stake.us, DingDingDing, and MegaBonanza consistently come ahead in most relevant tests. In this guide, I’ll explain how Orion Stars falls short and the best sites to use instead.
There are many reasons to consider Orion Stars, but it also has some drawbacks. Here are some pros and cons I observed throughout my review of the sweepstakes casino:
Orion Stars has a unique operating model. While most other sweepstakes casinos like Orion Stars accept direct registrations from users to give them direct access to the games available on the social casino, it’s an entirely different story. Orion Stars uses distributors that handle user account management, and the site only provides games for those distributors to distribute.
Here are some benefits you should expect from that operating model and from Orion Stars itself:
Mobile users can download the Orion Stars app for Android or iOS to access any of the social casino’s games on the go from their smartphones. The app organizes all your games in one place and lets you play those games conveniently. You can also manage your coins and send customer support queries from within the app, making it the ideal do-everything app for Orion Stars players.
Moreover, you don’t need the apps to play at the sweepstakes casino. When you open the website from a desktop, you can log in using your username and password and instantly gain access to all your games without downloading any app or extra software.
Due to the decentralized nature of Orion Stars, distributors handle bonuses, and that’s both a positive and a negative. If you choose a generous distributor, you’ll likely get a great bonus, often rivaling what you get from sweepstakes casino sites like Chanced and Dabble.
Orion Stars has a great selection of fish games, slots, and table games, making a pretty diverse library. The game library isn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. For one, there are no live dealer games and you won’t find titles from any of the industry’s top gaming software providers like you would on sites like Dabble, but for a sweepstakes casino exclusively offering in-house games, Orion Stars is a top choice.
Orion Stars is a pretty decent social casino, but it’s not perfect. I found many missing functionalities you’d naturally expect from sites like Orion Stars. Here are notable improvements that’d massively improve the experience at the social casino:
While Orion Stars has a decent selection of slot, fish, and table games, they’re all exclusives, making the site much of a social casino software provider. In short, you can only play Orion Stars games at one of the casino’s distributors; nothing from Pragmatic Play, Evolution, or Slotmill. It’s no problem if you only play once in a blue moon, but for more experienced players, it’s just not enough.
Due to Orion Stars’ unique operating model, the site doesn’t handle customer support directly. All support queries from users are channeled to the distributors, who often do not have the capacity for round-the-clock customer support. The convoluted process makes for a slower and less reliable customer support experience, making the experience fall behind that of competing sites like Carnival City and Stake.us with 24/7 support.
If you read the preceding section, you’d know it’s pretty clear Orion Stars has quite a bit to improve. Since you don’t necessarily have to wait for these improvements, here are top sweepstakes casinos like Orion Stars you can use instead:
Stake.us doesn’t use distributors like Orion Stars, but it’s a viable alternative, as both social casinos operate using the sweepstakes model. Unlike Orion Stars, Stake.us offers a consistent yet generous welcome bonus to play the social casino’s expansive game library. Sign up and use our exclusive code BALLISLIFE to unlock $55 Stake Cash, 260,000 Gold Coins and 5% rakeback. Speaking of games, Stake.us is unparalleled, offering a wide range of slots, table games, and live dealer games you can play for free with the bonuses from your welcome offer.
Speaking of welcome offers, you get one of the most generous of any sweepstakes casino with Stake.us, and you can spend the Stake Cash and Gold Coins from the bonus on promotional sweepstakes play and fun gameplay respectively. When I reviewed Stake.us, I tried some of the most popular slot games like Big Bass Bonanza and Gates of Olympus, and the web-based social casino handled them excellently well.
DingDingDing is an Orion Stars alternative with over 1,400 social casino games you can play for free once you sign up and claim the site’s generous welcome bonus. Speaking of welcome bonuses, the site offers an impressive 100,000 Gold Coins + 5 Sweepstakes Coins bundle, which I spent on exclusive games like Red Diamonds and Crazy Monkeys.
While you can play all DingDingDing games for free, some require attaining a specific level before unlocking them. You can move up the levels by playing the regular games with the Gold Coins and Sweepstakes Coins you get as part of your welcome bonus. DingDingDing is no Stake.us, but it's one of the few sites that offer games like Orion Stars I can recommend.
MegaBonanza is one of my favorite sites like Orion Stars, as it offers a pretty generous welcome package for a social casino. Signing up for the first time, I got 7,500 Gold Coins + 2.5 Sweepstakes Coins for free, allowing me to play games like Vikings Crusade and Aztec Fire. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, I also got a first-purchase bonus offering 150% extra on my first $9.99 Gold Coin bundle purchase, making it a pretty well-rounded bonus for a social casino.
While MegaBonanza lacks table and live casino games, it also launched in 2024, so it’s only fair to temper expectations with game selection. Among new sweepstakes casinos, however, MegaBonanza is unmatched.
Site | Bonus |
---|---|
Stake.us | $55 Stake Cash + 260K Gold Coins and 5% rakeback – use code BALLISLIFE |
DingDingDing Casino | 100,000 Gold Coins + 5 Sweepstakes Coins |
MegaBonanza | 7,500 Gold Coins + 2.5 Sweepstakes Coins |
Orion Stars is a decent sweepstakes casino, but there are equally good, if not better alternatives. Stake.us, for example, has a better welcome bonus and a more diverse game selection without missing any major Orion Stars functionality. Check my recommendations above, choose a decent site, and claim the welcome bonus to start playing Vegas-style social casino games without an initial purchase.
There are many good alternatives to Orion Stars, and the best depends on what you're looking for in a sweepstakes casino. Stake.us, MegaBonanza, and DingDingDing are some excellent options with great bonuses, excellent customer support, and top-tier games.
Yes, sweepstakes casinos like Orion Stars and Stake.us are legal for US residents, unlike conventional casinos that are restricted in most US states. They follow US sweepstakes law, allowing them to offer social casino games legally.
No, sites like Orion Stars generally don't allow real money gameplay in the US. You can only play available games with Gold Coins and free Sweepstakes Coins from bonuses or Gold Coin purchases.
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