This sector is closing. Ten states have banned sweepstakes gaming by statute, four more effectively prohibit it, an eight-year-old flagship brand shuts down next month, and Florida’s attorney general sued the two largest operators yesterday.
Most published guides to sweepstakes casinos are describing a market that no longer exists. They lead with brands that have shut down, list states that have banned the model, and quote operator terms that have not caught up with their own geoblocking.
Here is where it actually stands, and the honest answer to whether you should bother.
On this page
The sector is contracting fast
One number tells the story. At the end of 2024 the largest operator in the sector blocked play in five US jurisdictions. It now blocks sixteen.
Three things have happened in the last twelve months that any guide published before them is wrong about:
- LuckyLand Slots is shutting down permanently. Gold coin sales ended 3 August 2026, gameplay stopped on 24 August, and redemptions cease on 14 September 2026. It was eight years old and one of the founding brands of the category.
- Florida’s attorney general sued the two largest operators on 19 August 2026, naming Stake’s co-founders personally and four payment processors as defendants. Florida is roughly 8.5 percent of national sweepstakes revenue.
- Chumba is no longer the biggest brand. Crown Coins now leads the sector on traffic share at roughly 23 percent against Chumba’s 17. Almost every published list still opens with Chumba.
Content suppliers are leaving too, which is the signal that usually precedes the operators. Pragmatic Play has exited US sweepstakes entirely, and Evolution and Playtech have limited what they will supply into California and Illinois.
Where it is now illegal
Ten states have passed statutes specifically targeting the dual-currency online sweepstakes model.
| State | Bill | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| Montana | SB 555 | 1 October 2025, first in the nation |
| Connecticut | SB 1235 | 1 October 2025 |
| New Jersey | A5447 | 15 August 2025, immediately on signing |
| New York | S5935A | 5 December 2025, immediately |
| California | AB 831 | 1 January 2026 |
| Indiana | HB 1052 | 1 July 2026 |
| Maine | LD 2007 | Mid to late July 2026 |
| Tennessee | HB 1885 | 22 May 2026 |
| Louisiana | HB 883 | 1 August 2026 |
| Oklahoma | SB 1589 | 1 November 2026, after a veto override |
On top of those, Idaho, Washington, Michigan and Nevada effectively prohibit the model under pre-existing law, and every operator geoblocks them. That is fourteen closed jurisdictions.
Several more states are enforcing without a statute. Illinois has issued more than sixty cease and desist letters and is now the most aggressively policed non-ban state. Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia each cleared out twenty to forty operators through enforcement alone. Minnesota ordered fourteen operators to cease in December 2025. New York’s attorney general had already issued 26 cease and desist letters in June 2025.
We checked. One major brand’s own terms and conditions list five excluded states while it actually blocks at least thirteen. Another’s sweepstakes rules exclude five states and make no mention of the 2025 and 2026 ban wave at all. The terms page is not a reliable statement of where a brand operates, and it is what most affiliate guides copy from.
The reason the bans are hard to design around is that they attack the mechanism directly. California, New York, Indiana, Maine and Louisiana all define the offence by reference to a dual-currency or multi-currency system, rather than by naming operators. California’s AB 831 goes further and reaches payment processors, geolocation providers, content suppliers and media affiliates.
Who has already gone
The list of closures since 2024 is long enough that reciting all of it would be tedious, so here is the shape of it.
2025: Juked, SunSpin, DingDingDing, Sweeptastic, SweepSlots, Yay Casino, SportsMillions, Vivaro, iCasino, Vegas Coins, Bitsler.social and a cluster of four brands that closed on a single day in November.
2026 so far: Betty Sweeps, ToraTora, Playnomic, LuckyBird, Grand Vault, Vegas Gems, Kickr, Mega Frenzy, ZanZo, Gold Ahoy, LuckyStake, and in August alone The Money Factory and CoinFrenzy, with Monster Treasure in liquidation.
When The Money Factory closed on 11 August 2026 it did not commit to automatic refunds of customer balances. CoinFrenzy set a redemption deadline of 25 September. If a brand closes while you hold sweeps coins, whether you get paid depends on the operator’s goodwill, because there is no regulator standing behind it.
Mass exits have followed each new law. Roughly thirty platforms left Tennessee after about forty cease and desist letters in December 2025. Around twenty-five left Indiana by 1 July 2026. More than forty left West Virginia after the attorney general issued forty-seven subpoenas.
Who is still operating
As of 20 August 2026, and with the caveat that this changes monthly:
| Brand | Status |
|---|---|
| Crown Coins | Live, now the sector leader on traffic share |
| Chumba | Live, excluded from sixteen jurisdictions |
| Stake.us | Live, but restricted in 21 states by its own help centre, the longest list of any major brand. Now a defendant in Florida’s 19 August suit |
| McLuck | Live, excluded from about eighteen states |
| High 5 | Live, but exited California, Tennessee and Indiana |
| Pulsz | Live, exited California, Maine and Indiana |
| Global Poker | Live, exited New York, received an Illinois order |
| WOW Vegas, Modo, Zula, Sportzino, RealPrize, Jackpota, Spree, Legendz | Live, all with shrinking state footprints |
| LuckyLand Slots | Closing. Redemptions end 14 September 2026 |
| Fortune Coins | Rebranded to Fortune Wins in April 2026 and has since fallen out of the measurable top thirty |
| Fliff, Rebet | Live but converting to prediction markets, see below |
| Novig, Prophet X | No longer sweepstakes. Both are now CFTC-regulated prediction markets |
How the model actually works
Two currencies, always.
Gold Coins are what your money nominally buys. They cannot be redeemed for anything. They are for play only.
Sweeps Coins, or Fliff Cash, or whatever the brand calls them, are redeemable for cash or prizes, and by law must be obtainable free. They arrive bundled as a free bonus attached to a Gold Coin purchase.
The legal theory is that because the redeemable currency is always free and the purchased currency has no cash value, there is no consideration, so it is a sweepstakes rather than gambling. Every 2025 and 2026 statute attacks exactly this reasoning, which is why the model cannot easily be redesigned around them.
A sweepstakes sportsbook like Fliff uses the same architecture but the outcome is a real sporting event rather than a random number generator, and your sweeps coins are locked up until the game settles. That difference matters more than it looks, because a sweeps sportsbook can convert into a federally regulated prediction market and a sweeps casino cannot.
The free entry route, and what it really costs
Sweepstakes law requires a free way in. In practice that means posting a handwritten letter.
Chumba’s published requirements are typical. A standard number 10 envelope, postage affixed, the words “Sweepstakes Entries” and your return address in the upper left, handwritten in black ink, no digital or automated entries. Inside: a twelve-digit postal request code from your account, valid sixty days, your full legal name, account email, residential address and a required declaration. The mail has to originate from the state matching your verified address. One request per envelope, unlimited requests.
You receive five sweeps coins per request.
Chumba’s minimum cash redemption is 100 sweeps coins. At five coins per envelope, that is twenty handwritten letters to reach one cash-out, before any playthrough requirement. Fliff pays ten Fliff Cash per request against a $50 minimum redemption, so five letters. The free route exists because the law requires it, and it is priced to make sure you buy instead.
On the paid side, Chumba’s cash redemption minimum is 100 sweeps coins with a 1x playthrough, gift cards from 10 coins, and a stated payout speed of three to five days. Fliff’s minimum is $50, it may take up to thirty days to process, redemptions over $599 add another seven days for security checks, and you may make one request per five-day period.
Where the demand went
The sweepstakes sportsbook category is effectively liquidating itself into prediction markets, and the reason is regulatory arbitrage that works in the customer’s favour for once.
Novig retired its sweeps product and relaunched as a CFTC-designated contract market on 4 August 2026, live in around 47 states. Prophet X received federal approval in June 2026 and relaunched across 49 states. Fliff filed its own federal registration on 12 August 2026 and Rebet in June.
The logic is simple. A federally registered exchange reaches California, Texas, Georgia and Florida, which are the biggest markets and all closed or closing to sweepstakes. A sweeps casino has nowhere to go when a state bans it. A sweeps sportsbook can re-paper the same customers as a futures product and walk back into the state that just banned it.
Do not read that as settled either. Courts in Utah, Connecticut, New York and Washington all ruled against prediction markets between June and August 2026, and Kalshi has agreed to cease operating in Nevada. We cover the position in best sports betting sites.
Our honest verdict
If you live in one of the thirty states with legal online sports betting, there is very little reason to use a sweepstakes product. You would be accepting worse economics, slower redemptions and no regulator, in exchange for nothing you cannot get from a licensed app.
If you live in a state without legal betting, sweepstakes is one of three imperfect options, and it is no longer obviously the best of them. A prediction market from a large regulated company has federal registration behind it. An offshore book has better product and no protection at all. Sweepstakes sits between them and is the only one of the three actively shrinking.
If you do use one:
- Redeem regularly and keep balances small. Brands are closing at roughly two a month and at least one closed without committing to refund balances.
- Check the state list on the operator’s site, not in its terms, because the terms are routinely out of date.
- Take the gift card minimum rather than the cash minimum where it is much lower. Ten coins against a hundred at Chumba is a meaningful difference in how quickly you can get value out.
- Expect the brand you pick to be gone or restricted within a year. That is the current base rate, not pessimism.
Common questions
Are sweepstakes casinos still legal in 2026?
In most states, but the number is falling fast. Ten states have passed statutes specifically banning the dual-currency model: Montana, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, California, Indiana, Maine, Tennessee, Louisiana and Oklahoma. Idaho, Washington, Michigan and Nevada effectively prohibit it under existing law, making fourteen closed jurisdictions. Illinois, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and Minnesota are enforcing without a statute. The largest operator blocked five jurisdictions at the end of 2024 and now blocks sixteen.
Which sweepstakes casinos have shut down?
Dozens since 2024, at roughly two a month through 2026. LuckyLand Slots, an eight-year-old flagship brand, ends redemptions on 14 September 2026. August 2026 alone saw The Money Factory close on the 11th and CoinFrenzy begin winding down with a 25 September redemption deadline, while Monster Treasure entered liquidation. Earlier closures include Sweeptastic, SweepSlots, DingDingDing, Vivaro, iCasino, Betty Sweeps, Kickr and Vegas Gems. The Money Factory did not commit to automatic refunds of customer balances.
What is the biggest sweepstakes casino now?
Crown Coins, at roughly 23 percent of sector traffic share as of August 2026, ahead of Chumba at about 17 percent. Almost every published guide still leads with Chumba, which is out of date. Chumba is still operating but is now excluded from sixteen jurisdictions, and its sister brand LuckyLand Slots is closing permanently in September.
How does the free entry method work and is it worth it?
You post a handwritten letter. Chumba requires a standard number 10 envelope, black ink, no digital entries, containing a twelve-digit postal request code from your account, your full legal name, account email, residential address and a declaration, posted from the state matching your verified address. You receive five sweeps coins per envelope. Since Chumba’s minimum cash redemption is 100 coins, that is twenty handwritten letters for one cash-out before any playthrough. Fliff pays ten per request against a $50 minimum, so five letters.
How long do sweepstakes redemptions take?
Chumba states three to five days, with a 100 sweeps coin minimum for cash and a 10 coin minimum for gift cards, plus a 1x playthrough. Fliff states a $50 minimum, up to thirty days to process, an extra seven days for redemptions over $599, and one request per account per five-day period. Across the sector, internal review typically takes 24 to 48 hours, gift cards clear in about a day and bank transfers can take a couple of weeks.
Are sweepstakes sportsbooks like Fliff going away?
The category is converting rather than disappearing. Novig retired its sweepstakes product and relaunched as a federally regulated prediction market on 4 August 2026 across about 47 states. Prophet X did the same in June across 49 states. Fliff filed its own federal registration on 12 August 2026 and Rebet in June. The logic is that a federally registered exchange reaches California, Texas, Georgia and Florida, which are all closed or closing to sweepstakes.
Is my money safe at a sweepstakes casino?
There is no regulator standing behind your balance, and brands are closing at about two a month. When The Money Factory closed on 11 August 2026 it did not commit to automatic refunds. Florida’s attorney general sued the two largest operators on 19 August 2026, naming Stake’s co-founders personally and four payment processors. More than a hundred class actions were filed nationwide in 2025. No court has yet ruled on the merits of whether the dual-currency model is illegal gambling, so treat every case as pending.
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