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Last Updated on April 1, 2023 by Chris Panteli
Money Earning Games
Mobile gaming is huge. By 2025 it’s estimated that 2.2 billion people around the world will be playing mobile games.
Perhaps you are one of those mobile gamers. If you are, then you should know that you can get paid for playing some of these free games.
Sounds awesome right? You can have fun playing your favorite games and earn real money at the same time.
All these real money-earning games can be played anywhere using your mobile device.
Money Earning Games
If you’re looking to make money playing games the good news is that there are real money games out there for everyone. Arcade, cards, bingo, and anything else you can think off are all covered here.
Bingo Cash
Bingo is great because anyone can play, and you don’t need any skill. Millions of people love playing bingo and now you can play it anywhere using your mobile device.
Fans of bingo can download Bingo Cash for free. The game matches players around the world and gives you the same board, boosts, and call numbers. To win you must daub faster than your opponents. The winner gets the cash.
Although you can play free games, they don’t pay real money. To win real cash you must deposit real money.
Winnings can be withdrawn to a PayPal or Apple Pay account. Plus, you can win daily gifts and bonuses just for logging in.
Bingo Cash is available from the App Store or Samsung Galaxy Store. If you’re a Google Play Store user, then you can’t play Bingo Cash. Cash games are not available in AZ, AR, IA, LA, DE, and SC.
Solitaire Cash
Solitaire is a card game you normally play alone. To make it interesting and give you a chance to earn money, Solitaire Cash was created.
The game puts two players of similar skill levels against each other. Both players get the same cards dealt. You play solitaire like you normally would and the player that earns the most points wins the cash prize.
You can play for free at first to get some practice. To play for real money, you’ll need to deposit cash to wager against another player.
You can download the Solitaire Cash game app for free from the App Store or Samsung Galaxy Store. However, it’s not available in the Google Play Store.
When you win, payouts can be requested to an Apple Pay account or PayPal. Extra cash can be earned by logging in daily. Bonuses, trophies, and daily gifts are given out to players that play often. Cash games are not available in AZ, AR, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, SC, MT & SD.
Bananatic
If you like playing games, reviewing them, and connecting with other gamers, then you must check out Bananatic.
When you join Bananatic you get access to hundreds of fun-filled games. You’ll earn a unique currency called Bananas for playing games, leaving reviews, and completing challenges.
Bananas can be exchanged for a wide range of exciting rewards. Gift cards, premium games, and digital content are all reward options. Cash rewards can also be claimed by redeeming your bananas for PayPal cash.
Blackout Bingo
Bingo fans will be delighted to learn you can play your favorite game from your mobile device and win real money.
Introducing Blackout Bingo created by Big Run Studios. The free game app is available from the App Store and Galaxy Store if you use a Samsung device.
You will play bingo against competitors from all around the world. Winnings can be taken as cash or other prizes like gift cards.
To boost your winnings when playing Blackout Bingo, you can use boosts and other features.
Dominoes Gold
Dominoes is a classic game that people of all ages enjoy playing. To revamp this classic for the modern world the creators of Dominoes Gold have given the game a makeover and added real cash prizes.
For starters, the dominoes in this game are gold. This makes the game much more visually appealing than the traditional black dominoes you’re used to playing with.
Every game you play gives you the chance to earn points. Those points can be converted to prizes including real money. You can compete in cash tournaments
You can claim cash to be paid to your PayPal account. Other prizes you can claim include Amazon gift cards, watches, and even cars.
Download the free Dominoes Gold game app now in the App Store or Google Play Store.
Gamehag
Gamehag is free to join, and members earn soul gems for playing games. You earn soul gems by playing games, completing quests, and engaging with the Gamehag community.
The more video games you play, the more you earn. You probably have a favorite video game, but at Gamehag you can choose from hundreds of titles.
For example, choose from the MMO section if you fancy playing a long game. Mafia City, Game of Thrones Winter is Coming, and Final Fantasy XIV are a few of the games you can play.
You can choose a video game from categories including arcade, strategy, and puzzle. No matter what mood you’re in you’ll find an online game for you. The best part is every game you play are real money-earning games.
Gamehag members can log in and play straight from the Gamehag website. You can also download the free Gamehag gaming app from the App Store or Play Store. That way you can still play real money games anywhere you have some spare time.
If you want to make money online playing video games, you’ll be pleased to know you can redeem your soul gems for PayPal cash.
Players that want a gift card have a huge choice of rewards. Looking through the gift card choices reveals a lot of options. You can pick a gift card for Twitch, Prepaid Mastercard, Robux, and Steam.
Inbox Dollars
Inbox Dollars pays you for completing online tasks. One of the tasks you can do to earn money is play games.
It’s free to join Inbox Dollars and you’ll have instant access to the massive game’s library. Every game rewards you for playing.
You can earn points for playing a variety of games. Cards, word games, and action are all covered.
Fancy something a bit more challenging. Pit yourself against other players from the WorldWinner games library. Real cash games available here include poker, casino games, and wheel of fortune. You can also enter cash tournaments for the chance to win cash prizes.
When you’re ready to cash out your points, you can claim free PayPal cash. If you prefer gift cards as a reward, they are available. Retailers including Amazon, Starbucks, and Target all offer gift card rewards on Inbox Dollars.
Look out for more ways to earn money online on Inbox Dollars including:
- Surveys
- Watching videos
- Reading emails
- Cashback
- Completing sign-up offers
Plus, when you join Inbox Dollars you get a free $5 sign-up bonus.
Recommended: InboxDollars Review: Ultimate Guide
KashKick
KashKick rewards members for completing tasks. Playing games is one of those tasks you can choose to do.
Any US resident over the age of 18 can open a free KashKick account.
Once you’ve earned at least $10 you can request your cash be paid straight to your PayPal account. If you need fast cash, KashKick is great because of the low payout threshold.
You can earn more rewards by answering surveys, watching videos, and searching the web. Combined with the money playing games KashKick can be a top way to make money online.
Mistplay
Mistplay is a gaming app that’s only available for Android users. You can download the free Mistplay gaming app from the Google Play Store and start earning rewards today.
The app lets you choose from hundreds of mobile games. You earn rewards, called gems, for playing games, completing challenges, and making in-game purchases.
Gems can be exchanged for gift cards. Rewards you can choose from include PayPal cash, prepaid Visa card, and Starbucks.
Recommended: 17 Awesome Apps Like Mistplay
Pool Payday
Pool Payday lets you compete for real money and other prizes. You’ll be pitted against other real-life players. To win a game you must score the most points. Make sure to brush up on your trick shot game to score bonus points and increase your chances of winning.
Points get converted into real cash prizes. For more chances to win you can enter cash tournaments. These are real money games that could mean you win big-time cash.
Payouts can be made to Apple Pay or PayPal. To download the free Pool Payday app head to the App Store or Play Store on your mobile device.
Rewarded Play
Rewarded Play is a simple idea. You download the free Rewarded Play app, play new mobile games, and earn points. Those points can then be redeemed for gift cards.
Bonus points can be earned by completing achievements for the game you’ve downloaded. Make sure to check all earning opportunities so you don’t miss out on any points.
Rewards are paid out using gift cards. Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy are some of the big retailers you can claim a gift card for.
Solitaire Clash
When you’re looking for real money-earning games, what’s your ideal reward? For most people, cash is what they want. Solitaire Clash doesn’t disappoint. All winnings are paid out in cash straight to your PayPal account.
Players of Solitaire Clash get put into similarly skilled groups. You all get the same deck of cards and then it’s a race to see who can finish first.
Winners get real cash prizes. You can play free games and win real money. However, if you want to win big-time cash, then you’ll need to deposit money to play in bigger games.
Cash games aren’t just for you against one other player. You can enter cash tournaments for the chance to win big cash prizes. Plus, mini-games give you the chance to have a break from playing solitaire but still win more rewards.
Solitaire Cube
Solitaire Cube pits you against one other player. Both players are dealt the same cards and you must finish first before the timer runs out to win the match.
Every win gives you points. The points can be redeemed as cash rewards to be paid to your PayPal or Apple Pay account. If you prefer you can redeem your winnings via Mastercard, AMEX, or Visa.
You can take part in head-to-head real cash games or tournaments for the chance to win big.
Solitaire Cube is free to download from the App Store or Play Store.
Spades Cash
If you like solo real cash games, then you should check out Spades Cash. You can play Spades Cash on your own time and don’t have to worry about a direct opponent.
Every time you play the game you earn points. The more points you have the higher on the leaderboard you’ll be. If you want to you can join multiplayer tournaments to boost your chances of winning.
The highest player on the leaderboard can win real cash or other prizes.
Swagbucks
Swagbucks is free to join and gives you lots of ways to earn points. Those points can be converted to cash rewards paid via PayPal. Or you can request gift cards for retailers including Amazon, Uber, and Walmart.
One of the tasks you can get paid to do on Swagbucks is play games. You’ll be rewarded for playing new games, completing challenges, and in-game purchases.
To earn lots more rewards on Swagbucks you can:
- Answer surveys
- Watch videos
- Claim cashback
- Complete special offers
- Read emails
Plus, get a free $10 when you sign up for a new account.
Recommended: 25 Awesome Sites Like Swagbucks
Bubble Cash
Bubble Cash is a classic online game that involves shooting bubbles by matching 3 or more in a row.
To win real money on Bubble Cash you’ll play against other players in tournaments. To win cash you must finish in the top 3 of the leaderboards.
When you’re ready to cash out your Bubble Cash winnings, they can be redeemed to your PayPal account.
21Blitz
Card games like Blackjack and Solitaire are hugely popular. You’ve probably played these games for fun at some point. Maybe you’ve even played at a casino and won some real money before.
21Blitz is the perfect free app for fans of Blackjack and Solitaire. That’s because you can play your favorite games with other players. Plus, you’ve got the chance to win real money.
To win you must finish top of the leaderboard. When you do you can claim your cash prize to be paid to your PayPal or Apple Pay account.
21Blitz is free to download from the App Store, Play Store, or Samsung Galaxy Store.
Other Ways You Can Earn Money From Games
Earning money playing games is swell, but what if you run out of games to play? Or maybe the games you love to play aren’t listed. Good news. There are lots of other ways to earn money from games.
All these ideas are unique and legit ways to earn money from the games you love.
Recommended: 16 Legit Cash App Games That Pay Real Money
Become An Influencer
An influencer is someone that has an online following. Thanks to that following they get paid by brands to promote goods and services.
You may be thinking that to be an influencer you have to have millions of adoring fans liking your every post.
That’s not true. Some influencers, known as micro-influencers, only have a few thousand fans and still make bank.
To be a successful influencer you must pick a niche. By posting regular content and building a following you can start earning money. Brands relevant to your niche will want to partner with you to reach those fans that are dedicated to that topic. You could be paid sponsorships or a commission for sales.
You could build a community focusing on a gaming franchise, the latest tech, or general gaming topics.
To build your community you can make social media accounts focusing on your topic. Instagram and Twitter are popular channels to build an online community.
Another way to become a successful influencer is by building a gamer forum. Discord is one platform that is popular with gamers. A successful forum will let gamers share hints, walkthroughs, and where to find hidden in-game stuff.
Betting
Sports betting is huge. Now, you can bet on eSports too. You may already watch eSports and follow players or teams. If you do, then you could place a bet on them.
Please be careful if you decide to start betting. That’s because gambling is risky and most of the time, you’re going to lose your stake. Make sure you only bet with money you can afford to lose. If you’re worried about developing a problem gambling habit, then you should skip this one.
Blog About Games
Blogging is a popular side hustle that can be a great way to build a steady passive income. Although you could blog about anything we’re here to talk about games. Why not start a blog about games?
The gaming niche is massive and there are lots of topics you can write about. That means you’ll never run out of content ideas. Gaming topics you can write about include:
- Video game reviews
- Board games
- Playthroughs
- Hints and tips
- Tutorials
- Gaming accessories
The good news is that starting a blog doesn’t cost much. You’ll need to pay for a domain name, choose a host, and start writing.
By posting quality content on a regular basis, you’ll build a reader base. Regular traffic means you can make money from your blog.
Blogs can make money using a variety of methods like:
- Affiliate marketing
- Sponsored posts
- Selling digital items
- Ads
Don’t worry if you don’t make money straight away. Blogs can take time to start getting traffic. The good news is that once your blog starts making money, then you can enjoy collecting that sweet passive income every month.
Competitions
Gaming competitions are big business. Solo players and eSports teams compete for millions of dollars in cash prizes.
If you’re good at video games, and I mean exceptionally good, then you could enter competitions.
To have a chance of winning you will need talent and the best equipment. However, if you put the hard work in you could become a paid game player for an eSports team.
Game Tester
Anyone that grew up playing video games probably dreamt about getting paid to play games all day. If you get a job as a game tester, then you could start living that dream.
Every game that gets released will have a period of testing. As a game tester, it’ll be your job to play the game to find bugs, check replayability, and give other feedback.
For a gamer, the job of a game tester probably sounds too good to be true. However, you should know that you may not enjoy this job as much as you might think. You’ll have to play the same game for hours and weeks at a time. You may be given games to play that you don’t enjoy. Despite that, it’s your job to keep playing and do your job.
If you think you can hack it, then start searching for game tester job opportunities. These might be office-based or remote jobs.
Sell Gaming Stuff
You can sell gaming stuff online or offline to make money. Digital items, currency, and accounts are all potential ways to earn money from games.
Books And Courses
If you’re an expert in an online game, then you can create books and courses about that game. You could write detailed walkthroughs or tips for the game.
You can create video courses talking players through the game or helping them find secret stuff.
Another option if you’re a good writer is to write fiction set in that world. When your book is ready you can self-publish using Amazon KDP.
Gamer Accounts
For some gamers, the thought of starting from scratch is too much. They don’t want to spend time grinding away to level up a character. This presents a unique opportunity for you.
You can spend the time leveling up a character and then sell the account. There are many games that you can do this for. Trusted platforms like Player Auctions have been set up to help buyers and sellers of accounts trade accounts.
You can also sell other in-game stuff such as currency or digital items you’ve earned.
Gaming Gear
Serious gamers are always on the lookout for good gaming gear. Gaming chairs, headsets, and other accessories all sell well.
You can start your own online business selling gaming gear. If you’re already part of an online gaming community, then you already have access to potential customers.
To start selling you could create your own online store using a platform like Shopify. Another option is to list things for sale on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Craigslist.
Photos
Making money from photos isn’t as hard as you might think. All you need to do is upload your pics to a stock photo site. When someone wants to use your photo, you’ll get paid. This can be a great way to earn a passive income as you only need to upload the image once.
Top stock photography sites:
T-Shirts
One thing most gamers love to buy is stuff featuring their favorite games or characters. To make money from this you can design t-shirts to sell based on popular games.
Don’t worry. You aren’t going to need to buy a factory to do this. Instead, partner with a print-on-demand company like Printify. They’ll handle manufacturing, packing, and shipping. All you need to do is upload your outstanding designs.
Make sure to share with everyone you know in your gaming community or on social media. That way you should start getting sales faster.
Start A Gaming Channel
Anyone can start a gaming channel. You don’t even need to be good at games. In fact, if you’re really bad that may attract viewers just as much as someone that’s really good.
What you will need is the ability to entertain people. Most popular streamers play popular games to a high level and have the ability to engage with followers at the same time.
If you can do this, then you can start your own gaming channel. To get started you can create a free account on YouTube or Twitch. You can live stream or record yourself and upload the videos.
Your goal is to get views. Once you have regular viewers, your channel can start making money. Here are all the ways to make money from a gaming channel:
- Ads
- Sponsors
- Donations
- Subscription fees
- Affiliate marketing
- Selling merch
How Much Money Can You Make Playing Games
Every option listed in this post can make you money. How much you can make does depend on how much time you can play. A little luck won’t hurt either.
Let’s be honest though. It’s doubtful you will get rich. If you’re lucky enough to get rich playing games, you definitely won’t get rich overnight. Whilst it’s true that some gamers earn millions of dollars, most don’t.
However, making a decent side income by playing games is perfectly possible. You can have fun playing games and make a few extra dollars a week. Plus, if you start a blog, gaming channel, or other gaming business that could also earn you several hundred dollars extra a month.
Although you may not earn millions of dollars, if you’re going to play games anyway, you may as well get paid something for it.
FAQs
Are all the apps listed here safe?
Yes, every app and website in this post is legit and will pay real money.
Is making money from games a good side hustle?
You (probably) won’t get rich playing games. However, if you want a fun side hustle that you can do anywhere using your mobile, then making money from games is perfect.
Are there any Cash App games?
Although all these games pay real money, you’ve probably noticed most use PayPal for payouts. Cash App games don’t currently exist.
If you’re a Cash App user don’t worry. You simply need to claim your winnings, then transfer the money from your PayPal account to your preferred platform. That might be Cash App, Venmo, or Paytm Cash.
What are Mars Dollars?
Mars Dollars were an in-game currency for an online game called Exodus 3000. When you’d earned enough Mars Dollars, they could be converted to cash with payouts made to PayPal. Sadly, Exodus 3000 has been offline since June 2022 with no news about a possible return.
Could I make money from board games?
Video games are going to be the easiest way to make money. To make money from board games you could buy and sell classic games or create your own for sale.
Another option is to make a YouTube channel talking about board games. This could also include you playing various board games with friends and family.