16 Legit Games That Pay Real Money (And 6 We No Longer Recommend)

I love mobile games. I can play them while I’m waiting for a doctor’s appointment, watching a TV show, or when I’m putting off doing something useful like vacuuming.

There are three main ways to win real money while playing online games. 

1. Gaming rewards apps: The first option is to use an app or online platform that will pay you to play games and other tasks. These reward apps usually have a variety of games for you to choose from and they'll monitor your game play, paying you based on how long you play or how far you advance in the game. You don't need to deposit money to play or to make money, though occasionally you might be incentivized to make an (optional) in-app purchase. Check out our gaming rewards apps recommendations.

2. Skill-based games: Another way to make money playing games is to play skill-based games that pay you when you win. These are usually familiar games like solitaire and bingo but with the option to play against other people for money. Unlike the gaming rewards apps, you usually need to deposit money to win real money and you could lose money. There are also options to play for free, but you aren't likely to win a lot of money unless you're willing to make a deposit and play with real money. See the best skill-based games to play

3. Lottery and raffles: You can also play the lottery or enter raffles for a chance to win. See the best lottery and raffle games.

We'll share options for all three types of games so you can pick the ones that make the most sense for you. Whatever you choose, the games on this list are legit, and they offer the opportunity to make real money. 

How we evaluate products

Gaming apps are a fun way to pass the time, but they can also be a great way to make extra income.

We rate gaming apps based on payout options, the minimum redemption threshold, app store ratings, and how much fun they are to play.

1. Best gaming rewards apps that pay you to play games

I like variety, and I’ll often play one game for a while, then get a little bored and start wanting a new challenge. These online apps pay you for doing exactly that. You download games, play them for a set amount of levels, and get paid. Then you download another game and do the same thing.

Plus these platforms sometimes have other ways to make money like taking surveys or signing up for different services.

You can’t go wrong with any of these. I’m a bit partial to Mistplay, but Freecash is the best option if you don't have an Android phone. 

Rewards app	Devices	App store rating
Freecash	iOS and Android	4.2/5 on Google Play
Mistplay	Android only	4.6/5 on Google Play
Cash Giraffe	Android only	4.4/5 on Google Play
Rewarded Play	Android only	4.4/5 on Google Play
Scrambly	iOS and Android	4.5/5 on Google Play

Freecash

Availability	Android app or use in browser on iOS devices
Cash-out options	PayPal, bitcoin, gift cards including Amazon, and more

I really like the variety that Freecash offers — it pays you for testing different apps and games, as well as taking surveys. When I tried it for the first time I had offers to play games like Monopoly GO, Yahtzee, and RAID, a role-playing game. I also got an offer for $5 to download my first game.

Freecash works like other reward apps and platforms. You'll need to download apps or sign up for services and you'll get paid for your activity. Freecash tracks what you download and how long you play to determine what you'll earn.

If you get tired of playing games, Freecash also rewards you for signing up for certain services like Netflix, TikTok, or Postmates. You can also take surveys for money. 

 Is Freecash legit? To date, more than $50 million has been earned by Freecash users and it has a 4.7 (excellent) rating on Trustpilot. I personally didn't encounter any issues while testing Freecash.

Sign up for Freecash | Read our Freecash review

Mistplay

Availability	Android only
Cash-out options	Paypal, gift cards, Visa or Mastercard prepaid cards

Mistplay brands itself as a loyalty program for mobile gamers, and the more that players engage with the different games offered by Mistplay, the more opportunity they have to earn rewards.

Mistplay awards units for playing games like Panda Pop, Cookie Jam, Emoji Blitz, and Idle High School, which can be traded for gift cards at retailers like Amazon, the Google Play store, and others. I like the wide variety of games available — I can download what actually sounds fun rather than just choosing from a couple of options, like my experience with Freecash.

Is Mistplay legit? More than 554,000 ratings and 4.6 stars out of 5 on Google Play are a testament to Mistplay's legitimacy.

Read our Mistplay review

Cash Giraffe

Availability	Android only
Cash-out options	PayPal, or gift cards for Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks, and more

Cash Giraffe is a platform that pays you for playing games or scrolling apps like TikTok. It's easy to install and fun way to earn cash at home.

I like that Cash Giraffe offers a lot of variety with its available games and apps. If you see an offer you like, be sure to download it right away, as the offers on Cash Giraffe change. Some examples of games you might see in the app are slot machine games like Coin Master, bingo games like Bingo Blitz, and virtual card games like Phase 10.

Is Cash Giraffe legit? The app has over 260,000 reviews and more than 5 million downloads on Google Play. Our team tested the app and was able to withdraw our winnings for a gift card.

Read our Cash Giraffe review

More options

Here are two more gaming rewards platforms to consider.

Rewarded Play: Another option for Android users — you can earn points for playing games and completing other activities like watching advertisements. These points can be redeemed for gift cards. Unlike some of the other platforms, you can't redeem your points for cash via Paypal. Rewarded Play has over 10 million downloads on Google Play and a rating of 4.4 out of 5 from over 200,000 reviews. 
Read our Rewarded Play review

Scrambly: While Scrambly doesn't have an iOS app, you can still use it via your web browser on an iPhone or other Apple devices. You'll just need to scan QR codes to download the gaming apps you'll be trying via Scrambly. While it sounds convoluted, we found it pretty simple to use during our testing. If you're on an Android device, they do have an app. Payout options include PayPal and gift cards (Amazon, Visa, Apple). With solid ratings of 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot and 4.5 out of 5 on Google Play, Scrambly is a great option to get paid to play games.
Sign up for Scrambly | Read our Scrambly review

2. Best skill-based games

Best bingo games you can play for cash

No longer do you have to hang out in church halls with sub-par snacks for hours at a time to play bingo. These bingo games have timed rounds and take a little bit of skill as well as luck.

Game	Devices	FinanceBuzz Rating
Bingo Cash	iOS and Samsung	4.8 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.
Bingo Winner	iOS	4.3 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.
Bingo Stars	iOS	4.6 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.

Bingo Cash

Availability	iOS and Samsung
Cash-out options	Options include PayPal and Apple Pay

Bingo Cash games only take a minute and a half to play, so I can basically play whenever I have a spare moment. With Bingo Cash, the goal is to daub matching numbers on your digital bingo card quickly. The faster you daub, the more points you earn and the faster your booster bar charges. Your booster bar gives you a variety of different boosters.

When you get a bingo, hit the bingo button. Just be careful not to hit that button when you don’t have a bingo because that could earn you a penalty! The person with the most points at the end of a match wins the most prizes, which could be gems or cash.

Is Bingo Cash legit? Yep. The Bingo Cash points system and booster options make this game a little tricky to learn at first, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. The game has an impressive 4.7 stars in the App store with over 170,000 ratings.

Download Bingo Cash | Read our Bingo Cash review

Bingo Winner 

Availability	iOS only
Cash-out options	Options include PayPal and Apple Pay

Bingo Winner is another option to play bingo for fun or to try to win cash prizes. Like Bingo Cash, you can play for free or you can deposit money and enter tournaments to compete against other players for real money prizes. 

One downside to Bingo Winner is that we found in our testing that we needed to earn at least $30 before we could cash out — This is a little higher than the norm with similar games. 

Is Bingo Winner legit? Bingo Winner is a legit app with over 78,000 reviews and a 4.7 star rating in Apple’s App Store. The game was developed by JoyBox Studio Limited, which also offers solitaire games for the iPhone and iPad.

Download Bingo Winner | Read our Bingo Winner review

Best solitaire games you can play for cash

Solitaire is a classic card and computer game, but I don’t think anyone would call it exciting. These apps make it an entirely different experience. You’re competing against other players, your play might be timed, there might be mini-games to play, and you could win real money. These are our favorite Solitaire apps.

Game	Devices	FinanceBuzz Rating
Solitaire Cash	iOS and Samsung	4.6 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.
Solitaire Smash	iOS	4.9 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.
Solitaire Royale	iOS	4.6 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.

Solitaire Cash

Availability	iOS and Samsung
Cash-out options	Options include PayPal and Apple Pay

Is Solitaire one of your preferred ways to have some fun and pass the time? If so, the Solitaire Cash app might be an ideal way to do the same thing with the added bonus of possibly earning real money at the same time.

I like how easy it was to get started, especially because I’ve never been much of a Solitaire player. But I was able to quickly learn how to play and start competing against other players of similar skill levels.

The main downside? It has a lot of pop-ups, which are very annoying.

Is Solitaire Cash legit? With an App store rating of 4.6 out of 5 and over 350,000 ratings, it's clear this is a quality game with a lot of fans.

Download Solitaire Cash | Read our Solitaire Cash review

Solitaire Smash

Availability	iOS only
Cash-out options	Options include PayPal and Apple Pay

Like with other games on our list, the primary way to win real money with Solitaire Smash is to deposit some of your own cash and then play in cash tournaments. You'll be paired up with other players of similar skill levels.

Solitaire Smash is only available on iOS devices, including iPhones and iPads. It isn’t available on Android devices.

Is Solitaire Smash legit? The reviews say yes. With 4.8 out of 5 stars and over 63,000 ratings on the App Store, Solitaire Smash is a legit, popular, game.

Download Solitaire Smash | Read our Solitaire Smash review

More skill-based games you can play for cash

Game	Devices	FinanceBuzz Rating
Bubble Cash	iOS and Samsung	4.6 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score products and companies on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence our ratings.
Blackjack Royale	iOS	Coming soon - review in progress

If card games aren't your thing or you just want more variety, Worldwinner is a gaming platform with lots of options including classic word games like Scrabble and Boggle, as well as familiar titles like Yahtzee, Domino Dynasty, and Wheel of Fortune. You can choose to play head-to-head or join multi-player tournaments. Either way, you'll test your skill against other players for a chance to win real money.

Bubble Cash

Bubble Cash is a popular bubble shooter game that is a lot of fun to play. The graphics are colorful, and the gameplay is simple, making it a good choice for unwinding after a long day. 

As you shoot and pop bubbles, you earn points. The goal is to get the highest possible number of points to beat other players in timed matches. It's not easy though. Even after roughly 20 hours of total gameplay, I’ve never won #1 in a tournament without both clearing the board and finishing before the time runs out. You’ll need both of those bonuses to be at all competitive with other players on the leaderboard.

Download Bubble Cash | Read our Bubble Cash review

3. Best lottery and raffle games

Jackpocket

With this app, you can skip the trip to the convenience store and buy lottery tickets right on your phone. You can buy tickets for familiar games like Mega Millions and Powerball though the games will vary by state. While the app is widely available including for iOS, Android, and Samsung devices, there are state restrictions that limit your ability to play in some locations. All in all, it's a quick and easy way to play the lottery without leaving your house.

Get Jackpocket | Read our Jackpocket review

Lucky Day

If you love scratch-off tickets, then it's your lucky day because this app allows you to play scratch offs for a chance to win. In order to get scratch offs, you need to watch ads. Some reviews complain about how long it takes to earn enough to redeem, but if you want some mindless fun and have the patience, you can win real money.

Get Lucky Day

Advice for making money with game apps

Using game apps safely

Game apps are an enjoyable way to spend your free time, and you may win money while playing depending on what games you play.

If you can, use PayPal or gift cards for any cash games you play rather than directly linking your bank account. This provides a measure of financial protection.

Is it legal where you live?

Although these games are not gambling apps, some games, such as dice, slots, or bingo, may have limited access to cash games in some states. The best way to find out whether a game is available in your state is by attempting to download the game.

Managing your earnings

If you play cash games for Android or iOS, decide ahead of time how much you plan to spend playing. In-app purchases and entering cash games can be tempting, but when you reach your limit, stop playing. Make playing these games a part of your budget if it’s something that you enjoy.

When you win, decide what to do with your winnings, and be sure to keep track of them.

Don’t forget about taxes

Depending on the amount you win, you may be required to report your earnings to the IRS and pay taxes on them. If you have any concerns, consult a tax professional.

Games that didn't make our list

We recently removed some games from our list including Bingo Clash, Bingo Tour, 8 Ball Strike, Blockolot, Word Search, and Solitaire Clash because AviaGames, the developer of these games, is currently involved in a class action lawsuit. This suit alleges that players were duped into playing against bots instead of being matched up against other human players. While the lawsuit hasn't been decided yet, it gives us pause to continue to recommend these games. 

FAQs

Bottom line

Gaming apps could provide a fun way to potentially win cash prizes, but it’s important to vet these types of apps before using them, even if they're popular games.

Read reviews to see how the experience has been for other users so you can avoid scams, and keep in mind that you typically need to deposit money and pay to win cash in these games. In other words, they’re not free money.

Also, try the free versions of games (many legit game apps offer free game modes) before investing any real money. This could help you see if you enjoy a game before using any money on it in paid game modes. 

Check out our list of other legit ways to make money for more opportunities to pad your income on the side.