At least three more online sweepstakes casinos have increased their minimum age requirement from 18 to 21, joining a small-but-growing wave of sweeps casinos aiming to align with real-money standards and boost credibility in the eyes of regulators.
Mega Bonanza, McLuck, and SportsMillions, part of a group of sweeps casinos owned by B-Two Operations, sent emails to customers this week announcing the change.
“As of July 17, only players aged 21 and over will be able to access our social gaming services,” the emails read, in part.
B-Two Operations, one of the most up-and-coming names in sweepstakes gaming, also owns Jackpota, Hello Millions, Play Fame, and SpinBlitz. The terms and conditions on Mega Bonanza, McLuck, SportsMillions, and all B-Two Operations sites haven’t yet been adjusted, so it isn’t immediately clear if this new age requirement is just for Mega Bonanza, McLuck, and SportsMillions, or for all B-Two Operations brands.
But one can logically assume it’s for all brands.
Timeline for Mega Bonanza, McLuck, SportsMillions change
Here’s some more info from the B-Two Operations sites regarding the change:
- If you are 18, 19, or 20 years old, starting June 25, you will no longer be able to purchase Gold Coin packages.
- That same age group can still play with any remaining Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins in their account until July 2.
- Mail-in requests for Sweeps Coins from that age group dated after June 25 will not be accepted.
- That age group will be able to redeem their Sweeps Coins for prizes until July 16.
- Then, on July 17, only players 21 and older will be able to access the platform.
Hello, domino effect?
B-Two Operations’ decision to bump up from 18-plus to 21-plus represents a growing trend in the social and sweepstakes gaming industry, even if it’s still the minority.
Although it wasn’t the first brand to shift to 21-plus, when VGW increased its minimum age requirement from 18 to 21 in February, it became the most notable brand — it owns Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker — in sweepstakes gaming to do so.
Then, in May, A1 Development LLC made the same change, increasing the minimum age requirement at Fortune Wheelz, NoLimitCoins, and Tao Fortune from 18 to 21.
The vast majority of the sweepstakes gaming industry is still 18-plus. In an analysis Sweepsy conducted when A1 Development LLC made its changes, only 27.3% of the 44 sweeps casinos we checked were 21-plus (including Stake.us and High 5 Casino).
With the addition of Mega Bonanza, McLuck, and SportsMillions, that figure becomes 34.1% — and it becomes 43.2% if all B-Two Operations sweeps casinos make the 21-plus shift.
Welcome to the 21-plus party
Perhaps it’s no coincidence that B-Two Operations and VGW both belong to the same sweeps advocacy group, the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance. The SGLA, which announced its presence to the world in May, has six founding members:
- VGW
- B-Two Operations
- Yellow Social Interactive (Pulsz Casino, Pulsz Bingo)
- ARB Interactive (Modo Casino)
- Playstudios (social gaming company about to launch sweeps products)
- Nuvei (prominent global payment processor)
Modo Casino is also 21-plus, making three of the four current SGLA sweeps gaming brands 21-and-over. Pulsz is still 18-plus.
VGW told Sweepsy when it changed its minimum age requirement in February that “we view ourselves as an RSG leader” and “our goal is to exceed industry standards.” If VGW is bringing that same mentality to the SGLA as a whole, perhaps we see the 21-and-over policy adopted by more SGLA members as the organization adds more operators.
Why operators are shifting to 21-plus
It feels like a smart business move to go 21-plus.
Sweepstakes casinos don’t live under traditional gambling laws. Instead, they’re governed by sweepstakes and standard legal purchase laws, and those laws mandate a minimum age of 18.
So the shift from 18 to 21 is purely voluntary.
But why the heck not right now?
The reality is that the 18-to-20 age group represents a sliver of the sweeps gaming population. In a Sweepsy survey of sweeps players over 21 in Texas back in February, just 7% were in their 20s.
So these age requirement shifts can be seen as strategic moves to align with the standards that govern regulated online gambling operators in the U.S., with sweeps operators showing regulators they’re happy to prioritize responsible gaming and willing to play by the same rules as regulated real-money operators in an effort to gain regulation down the line when the gambling industry’s spotlight of scrutiny shifts off sweeps and onto something else.
