Social casino games include online games that mirror real-life casino games such as poker, slots, roulette or jackpots but don't offer any financial winnings. For example, advertisers can run ads that offer the opportunity to win coins  as long as the coins don't have any monetary value.

Social casino games differ from real-money gambling by several distinct features. First, social casino games do not require monetary payment to play, rather players' wager virtual credits. Second, they are based on or interact with social networking sites.