Sweepstakes casinos face mounting threats across the U.S. as more states ramp up regulatory and legislative enforcement against the popular dual-currency, free-to-play model
One state that has flown under the radar but is now seeing a major shakeup is West Virginia. Recently, the Mountain State’s Attorney General, John McCuskey, shared that he has sent 47 subpoenas to sweepstakes casinos.
He told the audience at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States summer meeting in Louisville, KY, that while none have responded, 19 have exited.
Casinobeats has since confirmed that the number is even higher, making West Virginia one of the states that have experienced a mass exodus of sweepstakes casinos in recent months.
Over 20 sweepstakes casinos have exited West Virginia, with Chance and sister site Punt.com among the latest. The platforms that Casinobeats has confirmed to list the state as an ineligible jurisdiction per terms and conditions include:
Notably, High 5 Casino‘s July 2 terms and conditions still list West Virginia as an eligible jurisdiction. However, in February, the operator announced plans to withdraw from West Virginia and other states with regulated online casinos, likely due to its parent company High 5 Games content license suspension in Connecticut.
High 5 Games later settled with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Gaming Division.
While McCuskey has not shared which operators he’s sent the subpoenas to, if the ones that have already exited are on the list, it suggests that at least half have yet to comply.
This pattern is not uncommon. Some sweepstakes casinos respond quickly and cautiously to legal action, while others continue operating despite regulatory warnings.
For example, while it recently exited Delaware after a cease-and-desist order, VGW, the parent of Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker, ignored a previous order for two years. The company has similarly ignored a June order in Mississippi and a March one in Maryland.
While it listed Maryland as an ineligible state this month, Stake.us ignored a 2024 cease-and-desist order there for over a year.
Other states, including New York, Connecticut, and most recently New Jersey, have passed a law explicitly banning sweepstakes casinos. Despite that, there are still platforms operating in those states.
As of now, only Crown Coins, Luckybird.io, and Spinfinite still list New York, while nearly a dozen still accept Connecticut players. Meanwhile, just a handful of platforms have left New Jersey.
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