Opponents of sweepstakes casinos have maintained throughout 2025 that the industry’s operators fall short in terms of player protection, age verification, and responsible gambling. Gaming tribes in California said that their battle to ban sweeps casinos occurred because the casinos violated their exclusive right to offer gambling in California, which is protected by their state gaming compacts.
But the leaders in the sweeps industry aren’t buying it.
Executives from some of the largest brands in sweeps gaming stated at last week’s Online Social Games Expo, which was organized by the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance after sweeps leaders were excluded from a panel at the Global Gaming Expo, that they think fear of competition is the primary driver of the surge in opposition to their platforms in 2025.
The executive product advisor for VGW, which owns Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker, Derek Brinkman, stated, “That pressure usually is outwardly attacking us on many of the things that we’ve addressed today.” “But when you start looking at who is funding that pressure, you realize that it’s really just an anti-competitive push by people who want to be able to supplant us in the video game market.”
“They’re attempting to use very specific language.”
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As an illustration, Brinkman cited the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, the tribe that controls both Play and the biggest casino on the West Coast. Players can exchange their virtual currency for casino credit at Yamaava, an online social casino.
Assembly Bill 831, which was primarily sponsored by the YSMN, passed on September 12 and, with the signature of Governor Gavin Newsom, will formally ban sweeps casinos in California on January 1, 2026.
The YSMN is well-funded and has benefited from the long-term success of its casino, Yaamava’ Resort & Casino. It also purchased a commercial urging viewers to urge their MPs to vote in favour of AB831.
According to Brinkman, Play.Yamaava “follows the exact kind of business model that all of the SGLA businesses follow.” ” ” They have included very specific language regarding “dual-currency” in the bill when combining sweepstakes and social casino. This allows them to continue operating both their social casino and their sweepstakes promotions within that casino, as they do not require the use of dual currency.
“In order to make sure that their operations continue and that ours at the SGLA is documented in the law so that they are no longer required to compete with us, they are attempting to be extremely specific in the wording that they put into this law.”
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