Sweeps Casino Regulation Expands as Operators Pivot to Aggressive Marketing – US Sweeps Bills That Mattered This Week

Lawmakers and industry stakeholders across the U.S. advanced and discussed several bills targeting sweepstakes casino games this week. Although no new sweepstakes casino-specific statute was drafted or signed from March 9th to 13th, a few bills advanced and at the brink of getting passed. 

Florida and Tennessee’s Senate approved an anti-sweepstakes casino bill sending it to the Houses, Virginia tries to reconcile similar bills, and Baltimore filed a complaint against six popular  sweepstakes casino operators.

Also, Maryland’s SB652 remained in the committee level after the March 11th hearing, and now under our “watched” category, rather than “passed’.

Anti-Sweepstakes Casino Bills Move Forward

Lawmakers across states managed to sustain the momentum started at the beginning of the year. After Indiana became the first state this year to send its bill to the governor’s desk for signing, a few more states sprung into action to present their own versions of this legislative agenda.

• Florida. The state’s SB1580 is now in play at the House after the Senate unanimously approved it, 34-0. Before the vote last March 6th, this bill was heard by the Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government (8-0), and the Rules Committee (21-1).

• Tennessee. SB2136 has been officially engrossed by the state’s Senate last March 2nd, which explores illegal gambling activities, including sweepstakes casino games. According to this bill, illegal gambling activities violates the provisions of Tennessee’s Consumer Protection Act.

• Virginia. Lawmakers recently formed a conference committee to reconcile HB161 and SB118.

• Baltimore. The city, as represented by the Dicello Levitt and its Law Deparment has filed a lawsuit against six opetators for running illegal gambling platforms. According to the plaintiffs, these operations violate the city’s Consumer Protection Ordinance.

As Regulations Tighten, Some Sweeps Operators Turn Up the Marketing

A few sweepstakes casino operators have tuned their attention to bolder and innovative marketing to remain relevant. For example, Modo.us has partnered with an F1 racing team to become its official social casino partner.

Modo recently announced a campaign/giveaway over at X/Twitter, highlighting a Pierre Gasly helmet. This campaign taps into the popularity of Drive to Survive Season 8, available on Netflix.

Then, there’s VGW’s long-term collaboration with WWE. According to a company’s press release, VGW will leverage WWE’s fanbase and contests to showcase the brand and potentially increase signups. No specific details of this collaboration has been shared with the public as of press time.

REFERENCES

• Florida’s SB1580

• VGW