Published on: November 6, 2025, 11:07h.

Updated on: November 6, 2025, 11:26h.

• Minnesota’s Attorney General mandates sweepstakes casinos to exit by December 1.
• Utah federal court faces over twenty class-action lawsuits against sweepstakes services.

Sweepstakes casinos face significant challenges as state attorneys general, regulatory bodies, and public sentiment rally against these contentious online gaming platforms.

Sweepstakes casinos market themselves as platforms for social gaming or free-to-play applications. However, due to their use of a secondary currency known as sweep coins, which can be acquired for gameplay and exchanged for cash, critics argue these platforms are breaching state gambling laws.

Recently, Google reclassified sweepstakes as social gaming, disallowing them from running ads on its Search and YouTube platforms. Further hurdles emerged this week.

Minnesota Bans Sweepstakes Casinos

On Wednesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) announced that 14 sweepstakes casinos operating “illegal gambling websites” must prevent access to users within Minnesota. This directive follows a notice issued by the Minnesota Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement agency five months ago, stating that the “sweepstakes-based gambling model is illegal” in the state.

“While out-of-state and international platforms might create the illusion that online gambling is authorized and secure in Minnesota, let me clarify: it is not. Rebranding poker chips as virtual currencies does not alter the fact that these operations are illegal,” stated Ellison.

“By continuing to run online gaming sites in Minnesota, these operators are blatantly disregarding our state’s legal framework, and I will not tolerate this,” Ellison emphasized.

Ellison has set a deadline of December 1 for the following operators to halt their activities in Minnesota: VG LuckyLand, Zula Casino, Fortune Coins, BetAnySports, BetUS, XBet, BetNow, BetWhale, EveryGame, BetOnline, SlotsandCasino, Bovada, MyBookie, and SportsBetting.

Notably, Ellison did not mention prominent sweepstakes players like Modo, Stake, and MyPrize. Casino.org has verified that these platforms remain operational in Minnesota.

Legal Action in Utah

In Utah, over two dozen proposed class-action lawsuits against sweepstakes companies were filed this week in federal court. The lawsuits target several operators, including Modo, Stake, VGW, and McLuck.

Utah is one of the most stringent states regarding gaming laws. As the home of the Mormon Church, the state does not permit any form of legal gambling.

Utah offers an appealing jurisdiction for these sweepstakes lawsuits due to laws that allow plaintiffs to claim double the amount of their assessed damages.

“An individual experiencing an economic loss due to a gambling device has the right to file a lawsuit against anyone operating or profiting from said device to recover damages, costs, and legal fees,” states the Utah Code. “A plaintiff may be awarded double the amount of their economic loss.”

Utah and Hawaii are the only states that do not allow any form of legal gambling.