Pragmatic Play Exit and Future of Social Casinos in the US

Pragmatic Play exit from US sweepstakes casinos is a momentous decision that may cause ripple effects across the industry. The writing was already on the wall following an LA civil enforcement act against Stake.us. The action named Pragmatic Play, one of the biggest game suppliers. Though Pragmatic Play is not legally active or officially recognised in the US.

On September 2, Pragmatic Play confirmed it would halt its services to Stake.us, and pull out of the US iGaming market. Though Pragmatic Play was not, up until that point, legally active in the regulated US iGaming market. It operated through a loophole, as a sweeps games provider, in that the games do not require real money to play.

These proceedings have also led to Evolution to announce an exit from sweepstakes casinos, and it could prompt further regulatory pressure on these casino-style operators in the US.

Who Are Pragmatic Play and Which Operators Are Affected

Pragmatic Play launched in 2015, and is one of the most recognised developers of online casino games. Before that, it was called Topgame Technology, a company that ran from 2007 until its rebrand in 2015. Pragmatic Play is a B2B games developer company, creating well known slots, live casino games, virtual sports, bingo, and other gaming products.

Headquartered and licensed in Gibraltar, Pragmatic Play is one of the most reputable brands in the iGaming industry. The studio has a vast portfolio of over 500 casino games, which puts it right up there with the biggest developers in the world. It supplied Stake.us with over a third of the sweepstakes casino’s game portfolio.

Slots gamers may recognise a few of Pragmatic Play’s most famous titles, such as:

• Big Bass Bonanza
• Sugar Rush
• Wolf Gold
• Gates of Olympus
• The Dog House

The list goes on, and there are plenty of Pragmatic Play Live games, with real dealers and tables. Pragmatic Play was involved with numerous sweepstakes casinos in the US, providing sweeps versions of their top titles. Besides Stake.us, the exit will also mean you can’t play Pragmatic Play games at sweepstakes casinos like:

• McLuck
• Pulsz
• High 5
• WOW Vegas
• CrownCoins

And there are loads more. As one of the most prominent sweepstakes games providers in the US, you can expect the games portfolio of these popular sweeps casinos to take a big hit.

How Sweepstakes Casinos Work

Sweepstakes casinos do not work in the same way as their real money online casino counterparts. Sure, you will find many of the same games, such as slots, table games, arcade games and jackpot titles. They may even have a few of the same software providers as online casinos based outside the US.

But these casinos, also called “social casinos”, and “sweeps casinos” do not require real money to play. You sign up at a social casino, and you receive virtual tokens to play the games. They typically use a dual currency structure, with “Gold Coins” and “Sweeps Coins” (or they may use different names for these currencies, depending on the site).

Dual Currency Model

The Gold Coins are used to play the games, and you typically get login bonuses, social media giveaways and other gaming promos to top up your Gold Coin balance. But you can also buy them directly on the site, purchasing GC for USD.

Sweeps Coins are the sweepstakes currencies that you can earn for completing missions, or as a virtual loyalty comp point-type reward for playing. With sweepstakes coins, you can enter the sweeps contests or games, and try to win more. When you earn enough, these are redeemable for cash prizes, gift cards, or other prizes with real monetary value.

Legal Aspect

While you can win and then exchange SC for real money, you are effectively never playing the casino games for real money. So they don’t fall into the same bracket as real money online casino games, which are strictly regulated in the US.

And so, a lot of operators can provide casino-style games in states where online casino gaming is strictly forbidden. But not all regulators and lawmakers are in favor of these platforms. California is already considering an outright ban, and other jurisdictions in the US have stated their concerns about social casinos.

Impact on Other Games Suppliers

Evolution Gaming, which was also partnered with multiple social casinos like Stake.us, also announced it will exit the market.With both Evolution and Pragmatic Play leaving, it could trigger a much larger movement of supplier exits. As these are two of the biggest software providers for sweepstakes casinos in the US.

But not all suppliers have gone down the social casino route like Evolution and Pragmatic Play. Play’n GO has historically avoided sweepstakes modeled casinos altogether. They have made over 400 titles, and are regulated in over 35 jurisdictions around the world. The CEO of Play’n GO stated that the company would only work inside regulated frameworks, and sweepstakes casinos are not.

Stances on the Legality of Social Casinos

It is quite a tough legal stance, as those in favor are suggesting these platforms do not require any real money purchases, and they can provide a similar experience to gamers without any of the risks. Gamers can play these casino style games without ever making a USD deposit, and just reel in the daily login bonuses or opt into any social media giveaways. Some even have mail in bonuses, whereby players can send a physical letter to the company to earn GC.

But then, if you were to run out of GC on your balance and don’t want to wait for the next daily login, you can top up your balance with real money purchases. However, critics argue that the model deliberately avoids casino regulations, and mimics the same marketing and incentivized play strategies that online casinos use. They can entice with larger payouts, perpetual sweepstakes prizes, and indirectly encourage gamers to spend after they burn through their freemium GC balance.

State Legislation and Proceedings

Bill 831 in California, which was introduced in February 2025, is already in progress, and would effectively ban sweepstakes casinos from operating in the state. The bill is progressing to the Senate floor vote, and the support for criminalizing sweepstakes in California is strong. But it is not the only state to clamp down on sweepstakes casinos.

• New York: Bills have been proposed to ban sweepstakes casinos, such as Assembly Bill 6745 and Senate Bill 5935. Operators like McLuck and Hello Millions have already exited the state.
• New Jersey: NJ has legalized online casinos and online sportsbooks, and mid-2025, the state was considering green lighting sweepstakes casinos. But they took a U-turn, and introduced Assembly Bill 5447, through which NJ intends to prohibit these platforms.
• Mississippi: State Senator Joey Fillingane introduced Senate Bill 2510 earlier this year, with the view to make online sweepstakes casinos illegal. Physical sweepstakes style games are already banned, but this would also move to ban online platforms.

Then, there are states like Florida, Connecticut, and Louisiana that have all made restrictions on sweepstakes casinos and have closed down numerous operators from working in their jurisdiction.

Future Implications for US Sweepstakes Casinos

The exits will shrink the game portfolios of sweepstakes casinos, which will limit the player experience and impact the customer base of these platforms. It may also have the knock on effect of sweepstakes casinos closing their operations or leaving specific US states. But it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of sweepstakes casinos entirely.

Because there is a huge revenue potential from these platforms, if the proper regulatory model was adopted. It would be a huge turning point for these sweepstakes casinos, but regulation would also see these platforms evolve. As for Pragmatic Play, it could well prompt the supplier to seek US-approval and to obtain US iGaming licenses.

Right now, only Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia have legal online casino gaming. So the landscape is not as large as what the sweepstakes have at the moment, and it is a pretty slow process for new states to legalize online casinos. The last states to do so were Rhode Island (2023), Connecticut (2021) and Michigan (2021).

So gamers should remain alert to any changes. This could be the start of a broader shift, in which the social casino model will either be driven underground, or will push for regulation. Pragmatic Play and Evolution may look towards legal entry into the US market. But there are many ways the proceedings could play out, and it will definitely impact the US online casino gaming industry as a whole.