Spin for Good, founded by economist Steven Levitt, lets users enter slots or blackjack tournaments for a small fee. The winner chooses which charity, from a list of more than two dozen partners, receives the pot.
"Spin for Good allows players to have fun and make a real world impact," said founder Steven Levitt. "You can spin the reels to help the next generation or cards to build the next shelter."
The model is simple: Users pay an entry fee of $1 or $5 to play in tournaments, increasing to $25 for weekly prizes. The winning entries go into a single pot, which is 100% donated to the winner’s charity of choice. The site keeps around 20% in administrative fees.
The partner organizations are heavily vetted. Current nominees include global health organizations like the Against Malaria Foundation, the US military support group Wounded Warrior Project, and Barks of Love Animal Rescue in South Florida. Nomination is competitive: there is a waiting list, and the organization considers financial need, impact potential, and community outreach activities. The organization has seen donations increase 100% each year thus far, with contributions reaching 5,000 players and $50,000 donations in 2023.
Other Gaming Philanthropy Platforms
While Spin for Good is novel in bringing together wagering and philanthropy, there are multiple other organizations using gaming to drive charitable impact. Mental health app Besitos estimates there are 155 million mobile gamers in the United States, 85% of whom are in Gen Z. It recently entered into a partnership with bone cancer research to use the app’s KaskKick feature for gaming-linked charity donations. Users can stream games to viewers, who then match the time spent with dollar-funds.
The ACS partnership in particular makes gamers a force for good by leveraging their time offline, too. For every 30 minutes a user plays, Besitos will match their playtime to give charity partners money. 24 hour streams thus far have raised $6,800 for cancer awareness, with more in planning.
There are even more ways to tie in charity to gaming. Playda is a Games for Good platform that lets brands and organizations sponsor browser-based arcade games, as well as curated console and PC launches. The difference is, rather than simply sponsorship, each play or download directly drives funding. Playda has hosted Disney, NFTs, and gender justice causes at scale. The company keeps a close relationship with brands to ensure accountability: with each release, Playda provides brands with impact reports and transfer receipts demonstrating their reach.
Even dedicated gaming studios have made room for charitable giving. BGaming made a donation to the A7MA Galeria Institute in São Paulo, Brazil, and PokerStars announced a £100,000 grant over two years for The BillyChip Foundation on September 20, 2023, and tied the launch to a charity poker tournament in London. Microgaming consulted community partners to found PlayItForward seven years ago.
The Bigger Picture
Spin for Good is just one paving the way. According to iGamingBusiness, GambleAware collected £49.5 million in voluntary charitable donations from gambling operators in 2023-24. The four largest UK gambling operators accounted for 94% of that funding and had pledged to increase donations to 1% of gross gambling yield over four years. Something does not have to be a casino for results, either: Giving Pledges reported that donors famous for large giving support charities aligned with public causes 22% of the time, compared to 9% typically.
The effect is clear: gamers, casino regulars, and brand supporters are a diverse, broad pool that can help social impact causes grow. Previous reservations about the technology appear unfounded: Spin for Good is entirely virtual, and Playda mechanics are open works in a browser. There are no app downloads, save for those with already-large footprints.
In the last year alone, online gambling spending in the U.S. topped $500 billion. If even a fraction shifted to philanthropic gaming, it could have a significant impact on causes at scale. Spin for Good may just be paving the way for something bigger.
While Spin for Good has only recently launched, the company is already considering a slot machine store, opening thousands of new potential locations, and broadening the charity options. From a market perspective, there is ample room for growth in both US and international markets, and the team is curating opportunities carefully. Let’s see how they stack up in the next year.