Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently announced that dozens of online sweepstakes platforms have already or will be shuttering their operations due to enforcement by the AG’s office.
The House Crumbles
They say the house always wins. However, if online sweepstakes companies are considered the “house,” then that age-old axiom is no longer true after Tennessee’s attorney general put them in his crosshairs and has ordered all dual currency digital sweepstakes platforms to leave the Volunteer State.
The Attorney General’s office has released a statement that 38 sweepstakes sites have deleted “unlawful components of their platforms” or set a date in the near future to do precisely that.
Some of the more popular names being targeted include:
- Chumba
- Global Poker
- Luckyland
- High 5 Casino
- WOW Vegas
- Zula Casino
- McLuck
- FunzCity
- Fortune Coins
- Stake
The AG’s office contends that dual currency sweepstakes platforms require customers to pay for tokens that can be used in online casino games. Any tokens won or not used can then be converted back to cash, essentially mimicking online casinos. The AG’s office believes that this violates the Tennessee Constitution and also runs afoul of Tennessee gambling and consumer-protection laws.
A survey taken last year by Interpret revealed that 750 paying and non-paying sweepstakes casino players believed that 65% of the respondents are primarily motivated to play for the opportunity to win money.
Moreover, 90% of those sweepstakes’ customers believe it is a form of gambling, with 59% responding that it is “definitely” gambling while 31% felt it is “probably” gambling.
Nationwide Trend
Tennessee launched mobile sports betting in November 2020, but the sweepstakes companies that are operating in the Volunteer State are unlicensed and engage in iGaming, which has not been granted approval in the state as of this writing.
Although Tennessee has taken an aggressive approach to get rid of sweepstakes companies that are taking a bite out of its gaming industry, it is certainly not alone. Beginning in 2026, California has outlawed sweepstakes companies, while New York recently passed a bill banning them in the Empire State.
Not to be outdone, Connecticut, Michigan, and Maryland have recently issued cease-and-desist orders to online sweepstakes companies, while Maine, Indiana, and Florida have also filed legislation prohibiting sweepstakes platforms from operating within their boundaries.
Similarly, lawmakers on the Massachusetts Joint Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee have until March 16th, 2026, to decide if they will advance a bill banning online sweepstakes in the Bay State.
Although momentum has clearly shifted against these dual-currency gaming sites, the sweepstakes industry trade organization known as the Social and Promotional Games Association has pushed back with a statement directed to Massachusetts lawmakers, stating the following:
