Rows of slot machines under bright neon signs inside the Silver Legacy casino in Reno, Nevada. Photo: Jim G, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Look at the top-grossing chart of the App Store on almost any day and you will find slot machines. Not real-money slots, in most cases, but "social casino" games where you spin for virtual coins. They are among the most profitable apps ever made for the iPhone, and their story is a lesson in how mobile games are designed.
How social casino works
- You get free coins to start and a top-up every few hours.
- When you run out, you can wait or buy more coins with in-app purchase.
- Coins cannot be cashed out for real money, which is the key legal point.
- Levels, daily bonuses, collections and tournaments keep players coming back.
Many of these games are made by the same companies that build physical slot machines, so the reels, sounds and maths feel familiar to anyone who has walked through a casino floor like the one in the photo.
Are they gambling?
In most places, no, because you cannot win anything of real value. That position was tested in Washington state. In 2018 a US federal appeals court found that virtual chips in Big Fish Casino could count as a "thing of value" under Washington law, which allowed a class action to proceed. The companies involved later agreed to a settlement of around 155 million dollars, approved in 2020. Similar cases followed against other social casino publishers.
Apple's rules
Because no real money can be won, social casino apps can sell coins through in-app purchase, unlike real-money gaming apps. Apple's broader rules still apply, including the 2017 requirement to disclose odds for loot boxes and other randomised purchases. The contrast with real-money apps is covered in casino apps and the App Store rules.
Tools for players
iOS has built-in tools that help keep any game in check, slots included: Screen Time can set daily limits for an app or a category, and Ask to Buy plus purchase restrictions stop children from buying coins. You can review and cancel subscriptions and see past purchases in your Apple Account settings.
A jailbreak footnote
In the Cydia days, some tweaks claimed to give unlimited coins in social casino games. Most were fakes or malware, and the rest got accounts banned once games moved their logic to servers. Today almost everything important happens on the publisher's servers, which makes such cheats pointless. For the security side of that era, read jailbreak security risks.