Daniel Wallach, a sports betting and gambling lawyer on X, formerly Twitter, has reported that there are now 49 “pending lawsuits” against sweepstakes casinos.
The new form of gambling has come under massive scrutiny by lawmakers across the US, as it goes against multiple frameworks set up in the country.
SWEEPSTAKES CASINO LITIGATION UPDATE:
We are coming up on a milestone.
There are now 49 pending lawsuits that have been filed against online sweepstakes casinos – almost all of which have been brought within the last 12 months.
The latest is a putative class action filed… pic.twitter.com/7Gq0avoTit
— Daniel Wallach (@WALLACHLEGAL) July 25, 2025
Wallach’s round-up hits all the points that are being launched against sweepstakes casinos. Stemming from a class action lawsuit from Illinois, it names WOW Vegas, a Gibraltar-based company that has partnerships with celebrities like Paris Hilton. The main points of the lawsuit are common problems found in other complaints.
Each state has its own gambling laws, most of which are being circumvented through the “social casinos” that these sweepstakes casinos present themselves as. New York and Connecticut have already booted them from the state, with California currently looking like it could be the next one.
Sweepstakes casino lawsuit claims its just gambling in disguise
A major pressure point is that these casinos show themselves as “free-play”, but will require the purchase of bundles of coins. Usually split into “Gold Coins” used for said free-play games, they usually come with “Sweep Coins”. These are often a one-to-one with a dollar and can be used for gambling. WOW Vegas, in particular, allows for cash prizes or merchandise when playing with its Sweep Coins.
The lawsuit points out that players simply go and buy more bundles when they run out of sweep coins, despite owning multiple “WOW Coins”, the analog for “Gold Coins” for WOW Vegas. It claims that this proves that the sweepstakes casinos are made for straight-up gambling, rather than the “social casino” they’re presented as.
Once it’s broken down to its core, the lawsuit states that “users who wager Sweeps Coins are engaging in gambling”. This is described as “staking something of value on an event determined predominantly by chance with the expectation of winning additional value in the form of redeemable prizes.”
While protections provided by gambling laws are being lost on these sweepstakes casinos, states are also concerned about the lack of taxation on winnings. Gambling revenue for states has exploded in recent years, becoming a huge earner in states where gambling is allowed.
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