The 2025 Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention at the San Diego Convention Center provided attendees with the opportunity to discuss topics impacting tribes and other key stakeholders. One of the main topics of discussion concerned unregulated sweepstakes operators and offshore sites.
Sweepstakes Platforms Affect Tribal Gaming
The discussion, moderated by Closing Line Consulting analyst Dustin Gouker, included American Gaming Association Vice President of Government Relations Tres York and California Nations Indian Gaming Association Chairman James Siva.
The panel discussion also included Crowell Law Office Founding Partner Scott Crowell and Light & Wonder Global Head of Government Affairs Howard Glaser.
Lawmakers and regulators nationwide seek to ban online sweepstakes operators, citing the unlicensed platforms circumventing laws by using a dual-currency system instead of real money. As a result, the unregulated sites are able to remain open for business since they operate in gray area.
However, sweeps operators also allow users to wager and win real money by buying virtual coins. Such platforms continue to impact the tribal communities’ bottom line nationwide.
“Sweepstakes in the last two years has built the volume with the amount of money that’s invested in the growth of these platforms. It’s mind-boggling. It’s not just an intrusion on tribal sovereignty. And it’s also siphoning away tribal gaming dollars,” said Crowell.
Sweeps Gaming Has Been Met With Lawsuits, Outright Bans
States like Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Michigan have already taken action against sweeps operators.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) revealed in a Gaming Oversight Committee hearing last week that it has issued 18 cease-and-desist letters to sweepstakes casinos operating in the Keystone State.
“In California, it really popped up a few years ago or really came on our radar as an actual threat and as we learned more about what was happening and how quickly it grew then it became a priority for us,” said Siva. “Because in California, the main thing that we try to protect is our gaming exclusivity. In California, tribes are the exclusive operators, period.”
Last month, a lawsuit was filed in federal court alleging that Stake.us, an online sweepstakes casino, has been operating an illegal gambling website in California. The complaint, filed by plaintiff Dennis Boyle, claims the platform violates state law by offering casino-style games to Golden State residents.
Stake.us’s “no purchase necessary” model for sweepstakes gaming is the main problem in the case. Boyle alleges that the site’s “Gold Coins” and “Stake Cash” system should be classified as real-money gambling. This is precisely why tribes are against sweeps platforms.
“It’s astonishing that the California Attorney General has not acted on this because this state could put a stop to a lot of it,” said Glaser. “No one has more to lose than tribes.”