Did you know there are legit ways to make money playing games online? The great thing about this is that you can earn extra cash in your spare time.
Let’s say you’re sitting bored at home, waiting for a class or appointment or just feel like playing games. You can earn money while you play games and hone your gaming skills.
Check out these websites that will pay you to play games in your spare time.
Table of Contents
Sites That Will Pay You to Play Games
The sites we mention here are legit sites that really will pay you to play games. Here are some details about each site and how you can earn cash as you play.
Note that you won’t make enough money playing games to support yourself. However, you can earn enough money to help build up your savings account or pay for other extras you might want.
1. InboxDollars
InboxDollars has paid members over 57 million dollars for playing games and doing other tasks. They’ve been paying people to do various activities such as playing games since 2000.
With InboxDollars you can choose from over 30 free games to play and earn money. In addition, you can earn money taking surveys.
They’ll also pay you for watching videos, shopping online and more. You’ll earn money for each activity you complete.
Then, when you’re ready to get paid, you can request to have a check mailed to your home. Or you can ask for an ePayment in the form of a retailer gift card or prepaid Visa card.
InboxDollars offers retailer gift cards from Walmart, Amazon and other big name merchants. Bonus: as of this writing, InboxDollars is offering a free $5 bonus just for signing up with them.
2. Swagbucks
Swagbucks is possibly one of the most well-known sites that will pay you for playing games. This company has paid out over 331 million dollars to members so far.
When you play games on Swagbucks, you’ll earn points called SB points. Plus, you can earn points for taking surveys, watching videos, shopping online, searching the web and more.
You can play Swagbucks free online games to earn points, or you can make in-game purchases to earn points as well.
When you’re ready to cash your points in you can get gift cards to PayPal, which means cash in your pocket. If you don’t want a PayPal gift card, you can get gift cards to popular retailers.
The retailer gift cards you can get with Swagbucks include Walmart, Amazon, Target, eBay and many other choices as well.
Note: As of this writing, Swagbucks is offering a $10 bonus to all new members.
3. GSN
GSN (Game Show Network) will pay you to play all types of free games. You can choose from bingo games, casino games, card games, word games, arcade games and more.
And these are just the free games you can choose from. When you play a game, you’ll earn what the site calls Oodles. You can use the Oodles you earn to get gift cards, entries into cash sweepstakes and more.
In addition, there are other games you can play against competing gamers. GSN does their best to match you with gamers who have similar skill levels to yours. This gives you a better chance of winning.
It’s free to register with GSN, but note that some games do cost money to play. For that reason, it’s important to read the fine print before choosing which games to play.
4. EarningStation
EarningStation is a site that will pay you to take surveys, shop online and watch videos. Also, they’ve partnered with GSN to give members the chance to earn money by playing games.
When you play games through your EarningStation account, you’ll earn 20% cash back for every $1 you spend on GSN games.
Note that it can take up to 45 days for EarningStation to credit your account with cash you’ve earned from playing games.
5. Roblox
Roblox works a bit differently than the other gaming sites we’ve mentioned here. This site lets you create and release games for Roblox members to try out.
Games you create can reach Roblox’s community of 50+ million members. As a creator, you can earn money by providing in-game purchase opportunities for people who play your games.
The company even offers tutorials on their Roblox Wiki page to help you learn to make games. If you have ideas for games you want to create, consider checking out Roblox. This could be a way for you to turn your passion for playing games into a legit passive income source.
Bonus: it’s free to create games using Roblox’s creation engine.
6. PaidGamePlayer
PaidGamePlayer offers you the chance to earn money while playing games. You can earn money by competing with others in games that include cash tournaments.
Plus, you can earn points by playing games, writing game reviews and taking part in surveys. You can use the points you earn from these activities to enter daily, weekly and monthly cash drawings.
It’s free to sign up with PaidGamePlayer, and you get access to over 500 games to choose from. The site also offers a Premium membership for more game playing options and chances to earn additional points.
Note that you have to be at least 18 years old to sign up with this site.
7. Gamesville
Gamesville offers a variety of free games for anyone to play. This site offers puzzle games, casino games, card games and more.
When you play and win games, you get awarded GV Rewards. You can use your GV Rewards to get prizes. There are cash competitions as well on Gamesville.
It doesn’t cost anything to sign up with Gamesville, and everyone has a chance to play and win cash and prizes. Prizes are mailed out within 60 business days of winning, via U.S. Mail.
8. Bingo Zone
If you like to play bingo, you might want to check out Bingo Zone. Bingo Zone is a site that is owned and managed by Gamesville. With Bingo Zone, you can play online bingo games 24 hours a day.
The site offers progressive cash prizes for each game. All prizes start at $1 and keep increasing until a winner is declared.
Winners are paid by check in U.S. dollars within 60 business days. It’s free to join Bingo Zone, and players need to be 18 years of age or older to join.
9. QuickRewards
QuickRewards has been paying people to play games since 2002. With QuickRewards, you earn rewards for playing games, taking surveys, watching videos and more.
You can use your rewards points to get PayPal payments or to get gift cards to popular retailers. Gift card options include choices such as Amazon, Walmart, Olive Garden, Applebee’s and more.
Once you’ve earned your rewards, you can cash out with PayPal for as little as one cent. If you want gift cards, you’ll have to wait until you’ve earned at least five dollars’ worth of rewards.
It’s free to join QuickRewards.
10. Playandwin
Playandwin will pay you to play puzzle games, board games, card games, arcade games and more. You’ll earn points for the games you play, and you can redeem the points for cash and prizes.
If you want cash, you can choose a PayPal cashout for your cash prize. Or you can enter Playandwin sweepstakes to have a chance at winning prizes.
This site also tournaments you can compete in to win points and prizes. It’s free to join Playandwin and to play games on the site.
11. Lucktastic
Lucktastic is a free site that will let you play games and earn chances of winning rewards. This site offers casino games, trivia games and more.
You’ll earn tokens as you play games, and you can use your tokens to get gift cards and other prizes. You can choose from over 30 retailers if you want to use your tokens for gift cards.
Also, you can enter sweepstakes to win prizes such as free gas or free groceries for a month. Lucktastic also has daily sweepstakes giveaways of Amazon gift cards and other prizes.
Note that with Lucktastic, you can only play on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. You can’t play Lucktastic on your personal computer.
12. Pogo
Pogo lets you play online games for free too. You don’t have to register to play games with Pogo. However, if you register for a free account, you’ll have access to over 100 free games.
And when you register, you can earn tokens to make virtual purchases for free. Pogo has daily drawings where you can win gift cards worth up to $50.
They also have Jackpot Spinner games where you can win additional prizes. Pogo also has another account option called Club Pogo.
Club Pogo costs $6.99 per month and gives you access to over 1,000 gaming challenges. When you join Club Pogo, you can play ad-free as well.
13. PCH Games
Have you heard of Publishers Clearing House? They’re the folks that knock on doors and give away cash for life.
Well, Publishers Clearing House (PCH for short) also has a game site. The PCH game site lets you win tokens when you play games. You can use your tokens to enter sweepstakes and possibly win cash and prizes.
Plus, there are tournaments you can enter to win cash prizes. PCH Games features card games, arcade games, strategy games, word games and more.
It’s free to register on the PCH Games site. And when you do, you’ll be entered into their Cash for Life drawing as well.
14. Bingo for Money
Bingo for Money is a site that has multiple bingo jackpots with cash payouts. Some of the cash jackpots have winnings in the tens of thousands of dollars range and higher.
Note that it does cost money to play bingo here. Bingo cards cost from 5 cents up to $3.00 per card. As of this writing, Bingo for Money has a $25 sign up bonus for new members, and it’s free to sign up.
This site also has Keno games, Blackjack, and a few other types of games available. When you want to withdraw your winnings, you’ll need to refer to the customer service page for withdrawal methods. This is because options vary based on which country you live in.
15. Givling
Givling is a different kind of online gaming site. With Givling, you play trivia games. You can play Givling trivia games twice a day for free to compete for cash prizes.
You’ll get matched with two other players. If your three-person team gets the highest score, you’ll split the cash payout.
There is a charitable component to Givling too. As people play trivia on the site, at the same time, they raise money. The money they raise goes to crowdfund payoff of peoples’ student loan and mortgage debt, up to $50,000 per person.
Givling has worked together with members to help several people pay off loans so far. This can be a great way to potentially earn money playing games and to help others in the process.
Givling is available as an app for Android and iPhone.
Summary
As you can see, there are many legit ways to make money playing games. Unless you happen to win a big cash tournament, which is rare, you’ll likely only earn a few extra bucks a day at most.
As a result, most of these options won’t earn you enough money to support yourself. But playing games can be a fun way to pay for smaller expenses or spending cash.
And remember to always read the fine print before signing up for any gaming site. That way you won’t be caught off guard by rules and regulations.
Have you ever used any of these game playing sites to earn money? If so, what was your experience? We’d love to hear about it. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments section on our Facebook page.