Sweepstakes Side Hustle: Can Entering Contests Make You Money?
A sweepstakes side hustle means entering free giveaways in bulk, hoping to win cash, gift cards, trips, or products you can use or sell. It can pay off now and then, but it is not income in the normal sense. Every win is luck, nobody can tell you what you'll earn per hour, and prizes are taxable even when they arrive as a TV or a trip instead of cash. If you treat it as a hobby with a small upside, it can be fun. If you need dependable money, you're better off with work that pays per hour or per job.
How a sweepstakes side hustle works
A sweepstakes is a promotion where winners are picked at random. In the US, a company can't make you pay to enter, which is why official rules say "no purchase necessary." Sponsors have to offer a free way in, often called an alternative method of entry or AMOE. Sweepsy's AMOE guide explains that this free route is what keeps a sweepstakes from counting as an illegal lottery: take away the payment and you're left with a prize and chance, not gambling.
People who do this seriously call themselves "sweepers." The routine usually looks like this:
- Find giveaways on brand websites, social media, and sweepstakes listing sites.
- Enter the ones with prizes you'd actually use or could sell.
- Re-enter daily-entry sweepstakes on a schedule.
- Watch a separate email inbox for winner notices and reply before the deadline.
- Sign and return any affidavit or tax form the sponsor sends.
The work is repetitive. You fill in the same form hundreds of times. The payoff is irregular: you might win nothing for months and then get a gift card, a kitchen gadget, and a weekend trip in the same season.
What you can win, and what it really pays
There's no reliable figure for what a sweeper earns, and you should be wary of anyone who quotes one. Your odds depend on how many other people enter each giveaway, and the official rules for a giveaway should say how the odds are set. A small local giveaway with a few hundred entries is a very different bet from a national car sweepstakes.
A few things push the odds in your favor without costing money:
- Smaller, local, or short giveaways. Fewer people find them.
- Entries that take effort. Essay, photo, or recipe contests get fewer entries than quick forms. Note that a contest judged on skill is not a sweepstakes; it's a contest, and your work matters.
- Daily-entry promotions. If the rules allow one entry per day, consistent entrants have more tickets in the drum.
- Reading the rules. Entries that break rules on age, state, or entry limits can be disqualified.
Cash and gift cards are the easiest prizes to count as money. Products only turn into money if you sell them, and our guide on how to make money reselling covers where to list them and what the platforms charge.
Prizes are taxable
This is the part new sweepers miss. The IRS treats prizes as income. IRS Publication 525 (2025) says that if you win a prize in a drawing, quiz program, contest, "or other event," you must include it in your income. If the prize is goods or services, you include their fair market value. So a $1,500 TV counts as $1,500 of income, even if you'd never have paid that much for it. The same publication says that if you refuse a prize, you don't include its value.
Sponsors report bigger prizes to the IRS. The IRS instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC (December 2026 revision, for 2026 payments) list prizes and awards in box 3 with a $2,000 reporting threshold. Smaller prizes still count as income even when you don't get a form. Keep a simple list of everything you win, the date, and its value. If you turn reselling prizes into a business, the IRS page on self-employment tax may apply too. Ask a tax professional about your own case.
That tax bill is why a big non-cash prize can cost you money. You may owe tax on a trip or car before you've seen any cash from it, so read the prize details before you accept.
The sweepstakes casino version
Some "sweepstakes side hustle" videos are not about giveaways at all. They push sweepstakes casinos, sites that give you free coins you can play on slot-style games and sometimes redeem for cash. The free entry for these sites is often a handwritten mail-in request, which is where the "$5 a letter" pitch comes from. We covered that in detail in our post on the letter writing side hustle.
If you'd rather make videos than read about it, VidPuff turns a title into a faceless video. No waitlist, cancel anytime.
That model is a gambling product, and it's being shut down in a growing number of states. In June 2025, the New York Attorney General said 26 sweepstakes casino platforms stopped selling coins in New York after cease-and-desist letters, and warned that nobody checks whether these games are fair or whether winnings will be paid. In 2026, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee passed laws restricting or banning online sweepstakes casinos, according to a July 2026 legal summary from InfoLawGroup. Laws keep changing, so check your own state's attorney general or gaming commission before you sign up anywhere.
If a "side hustle" asks you to buy coins, deposit money, or play games to cash out, it's gambling. If you or someone close to you is struggling with it, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), by call or text.
How to spot sweepstakes scams
The FTC's page on fake prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scams (updated September 2025) gives three signs:
- You have to pay to get your prize. Real sweepstakes don't charge "taxes," shipping, or processing fees up front.
- You have to pay to improve your odds. Legit sweepstakes are free to enter.
- You're asked for bank, card, or Social Security details to claim. The FTC says that's a scam.
The FTC also says to be wary of payment by wire transfer, gift cards, payment apps, or crypto, to look up the company yourself instead of using the contact details in the message, and to skip foreign lotteries. You can report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
A few habits help on top of that. Use a separate email address for entries so winner notices don't get lost in spam and scam mail. Only enter giveaways where you can find the official rules and the sponsor's real company name. On social media, be careful with "you won" direct messages from accounts that copy a brand's name and logo.
Is a sweepstakes side hustle worth your time?
It depends on what you want from it. As a hobby, sweeping is low-cost and some people enjoy the routine. As a way to pay bills, it's weak, because you can't predict the outcome and the hours add up.
If you like the idea of small, steady extra money, look at side hustles where your effort decides the result. Our list of weird ways to make money has a few odd but real options, and how to make money without a job covers the more common ones. If you'd rather build something that keeps earning, a faceless YouTube channel is one route: VidPuff turns a title into a narrated long-form video that you review and edit before you upload it. It still takes consistent work and time to grow, but the result depends on you, not on a random draw.
FAQ
Can you make money entering sweepstakes?
You can win prizes, and some are cash or gift cards. But it's chance, not pay. There's no reliable earnings figure for sweepers, so treat any income claim with doubt.
Do you have to pay taxes on sweepstakes winnings?
Yes. IRS Publication 525 says prizes are income, and non-cash prizes count at fair market value. Sponsors file a 1099-MISC for prizes at or above the reporting threshold, but smaller prizes are still taxable.
Is a sweepstakes side hustle legit?
Entering free, legitimate giveaways is legal. Any version that charges you to enter, to claim a prize, or to "improve your odds" is a scam, according to the FTC. Sweepstakes casinos are a gambling product and are banned or restricted in a growing list of states.
How do sweepers find giveaways?
On brand websites and social accounts, sweepstakes listing sites, and in-store promotions. Read the official rules for each one so your entries aren't disqualified.
See how it works →