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Sweepstakes Casino Models Continue Expanding Across the US
Sweepstakes casinos are being increasingly restricted across the US, but they continue to grow in popularity and revenue anyway. Working out the exact number is difficult, as many are private companies and don’t report financials to regulators like licensed-market casinos. But various estimates put 2025 revenues in the US at around $4.5 billion. That is 16% up on 2024 numbers.
Some analysts are predicting a further slowdown in growth across 2026, as more legal challenges pile up – but the market is almost certainly still growing for now. Operators aren’t doing too badly globally either. Prominent sweepstakes operator VGW made $5.2 billion itself across its sweepstakes casino sites in 2025. So what exactly is this model? Why is it so popular? And, with increasing regulatory pressure, where does the business go from here?
The Business is Still Booming Despite Regulatory Pressure
Sweepstakes casinos use a dual currency system, where players buy one kind of virtual currency and get “given” sweepstakes coins for free with the purchase. Games can be played with both, but only winnings from sweepstakes can be transferred back into cash.
To ensure the point is made legally, players can usually get $1 or so of sweepstakes by simply signing in every day or even sometimes mailing in to their head offices.
This model allows them to offer online casino gaming without real money being gambled, and therefore, they’re not considered such under the law. Since 2019, they have exploded in popularity across the US, especially in states without otherwise legal online casinos. Today, there’s a lot of competition, and sweeps casinos try all sorts of offers, themes and advertising to distinguish themselves in the market.
For example, consider the platform Casino Guru, reviewing sweepstakes casinos. Players visit these sites because they want a way of differentiating between the large number of competitors. Detailed guides to game selections – which are changing rapidly – as well as the exact sweeps systems and any bonuses, are the kind of thing players look for to make an informed choice. Backed up by second place in the SBC awards this year, it’s seen as an industry stalwart.
There are a lot of operators, because, despite the slowdown due to increasing restrictions, the growth has been too much to ignore over six years.
Case in Point: VGW’s Rise
According to Australian government filings, Perth-based VGW made $770 million in revenue in 2020. In 2025, that was $5.2 billion. That’s a 575% growth in revenue in just five years. The company was making more revenue than Aristocrat Leisure, an Australian casino gambling provider that has been a giant globally for decades.
VGW’s sweepstakes casinos were mainly for US audiences, and when the pandemic hit, they exploded. Brands like Chumba and LuckyLand slots quickly became hugely popular in California, particularly. At one time, it had 90% of the US sweepstakes casino market – today it has less than half.
At Chumba’s peak, Swimmer Michael Phelps and TV host Ryan Seacrest were among the stars brought in to promote the brand. The company spent $150 million on sponsoring the Ferrari F1 team, which was dropped after one year.
Investors in VGW included many former Australian politicians and notable business figures, and some made as much as 50 times their investment after buying public shares for just cents in 2016.
Most of those shares were sold in late 2025 when VGW went private in a $3.2 billion deal. Founder Laurence Escalante stepped down as CEO just months later, after he was arrested on 17 drug, burglary and assault charges in Melbourne.
The company is now private, so its latest financials are unclear. The suggestion from a company insider is that VGW and its brands had huge success very quickly, and then suffered from not understanding the US market, as more established local competitors copied the model.
Legal Position is Contested – For Now
Another problem that has slowed the massive growth of the sector somewhat is the number of states that have decided to challenge or even outright ban the model.
They initially went under the radar, especially as many states were looking at legalizing sports betting and actual online casinos at the time. However, now they very much aren’t.
Washington, Michigan and Montana have completely banned the model. New York and Florida have severely limited cash prizes. Other states haven’t gone for a full ban, but have made it legally clear they don’t want sweepstakes casinos. In those states, like Nevada, Alabama, West Virginia and Kentucky, most operators have simply chosen to leave and avoid the hassle.
One state, New Jersey, is looking to bring them into the regulated market. How popular this will prove with both players and operators is as yet unclear.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) is the trade group representing most of the big existing gambling operators in the US. It also doesn’t like sweepstakes casinos and consistently lumps them in with offshore operators when talking about the market.
Nevertheless, despite all that, sweepstakes casinos are still massively popular with players and bring in lots of revenue for operators. It’s likely the model won’t go away completely without a federal law change, and that is unlikely. So expect to see them around in the sector for a while to come, even if growth eventually slows.
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