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Chavdar Vasilev is a gambling news writer with several years of experience in the iGaming industry. He started creating promotional content but soon found he loved reporting on the industry itself. Since then, he’s delivered...Top Crypto Casino in Saudi Arabia – BitStarz Ranked #1
Read Full BioVirtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), arguably the biggest operator in the sweepstakes casino space, has joined forces with several other operators and industry stakeholders to form a new trade group, the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA).Top Crypto Casino in Saudi Arabia – BitStarz Ranked #1
VGW is the parent company of Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker. Other founding members of SGLA include:
- B-Two Operations (McLuck, Hello Millions, and Spin Blitz)
- Yellow Social Interactive (Pulsz)
- ARB Interactive (Modo)
- Play Studios (developer of social mobile games, such as MyVegas)
- Nuvei (payment provider)
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The alliance officially launched on May 20. According to a press release, its goal is to educate the public and lawmakers and help them understand the growing sweepstakes casino industry.
SGLA promotes the free-to-play sweepstakes model, emphasizing responsible innovation, player protection, and industry integrity. It plans to engage with legislators, the media, and the general public. According to its website, the alliance’s principles include:
- Free-to-play: Online social games can be enjoyed for free, with no purchase necessary to play.
- Responsible social gameplay: The alliance emphasizes responsible gaming, even with free games. Members monitor behavior, train staff, and offer tools to players to play responsibly.
- Protecting players, platforms, and community: Implementing “Best-in-class” financial crime prevention, data protection, and security protocols to keep users safe.
- Age-restricted platforms: Implement an age-restricting verification process to ensure underage players are not allowed.
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With the launch of SGLA, sweeps and social gaming platforms now have two trade groups representing their interests.
Last fall, several operators and industry stakeholders, including High 5, Blazesoft (Zula, Fortune Coins), and Fliff, launched the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA).
The two trade groups share similar goals: to advocate and educate about the industry while promoting player safety. It’s unknown why the founders of SGLA did not choose to join forces with SPGA.
Since its inception in September 2024, the SPGA has been vocal and advocating against various legislative efforts to ban sweepstakes casinos, including in New York.
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The formation of SGLA comes amid increased scrutiny and growing regulatory pressure towards the industry.
Lawmakers in several states have questioned whether sweepstakes and social gaming constitute illegal gambling. Those in states with iGaming in particular (and some with active talks towards legalization) have labeled sites like Chumba Casino as illegal operators.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board, known for aggressively protecting licensees, set the trend when it issued cease-and-desist letters to Chumba and other operators in early 2024. That resulted in almost all sweepstakes casinos exiting the state.
This year, the pressure has grown with bills to ban the platforms appearing in states such as Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
While a few of those bills died, including in Mississippi, Maryland, and Arkansas, others remain active, with the issue gaining more attention across the US.
