A handful of well-known sweepstakes casinos are all leaving Tennessee in roughly the same timeline, suggesting a potential presence of cease-and-desist orders that haven’t yet been publicized.
High 5 Casino, Stake.us, RealPrize, and LoneStar Casino are exiting Tennessee in November and December, Sweepsy has learned through various channels and sources. Lucky Bits Vegas is closing operations in the state, as well.
Could this type of similarly timed exodus from some of the most recognizable names among sweepstakes casinos? Sure. Is that likely? No.
What’s more likely is, behind the scenes, either Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti or the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council has issued a wave of cease-and-desists, and these five operators are all responding accordingly.
‘Due to changes in the regulatory landscape’
A Stake.us customer support representative told Sweepsy that the site would add Tennessee to its list of restricted states on Dec. 19. The shutdown will apply to both Sweeps Coin and Gold Coin gameplay, for a full platform shutdown.
RealPrize and LoneStar, meanwhile, both owned by RealPlay Tech Inc., sent an email to players in Tennessee announcing the imminent change.
The email read, in part:
We’re writing to inform you about an important update to our Terms and Conditions that affects users in Tennessee, both existing and new accounts, due to changes in the regulatory landscape.
Starting November 24, 2025, RealPrize is phasing out Promotional Play (Sweeps Coins) in the state of Tennessee. Effective November 24, 2025, both existing registered accounts and newly registered accounts created by users in the state of Tennessee will not be able to participate in Promotional Play (Sweeps Coins) in any way.
While this news might be disappointing, we assure you this decision was not taken lightly and was made after considering various business factors.
While Stake.us is pulling every part of its platform in Tennessee, RealPrize and LoneStar players will still be able to access those sites in Tennessee via Gold Coin gameplay, or social casino gameplay.
Like the RealPlay Tech Inc. sites, High 5 Casino also alerted its Tennessee players via email. Here is what that email said, in part:
We regret to inform you that, due to recent regulatory changes, High 5 Casino Sweepstakes will be discontinuing service in Tennessee.
This transition will occur in two phases:
November 17, 2025: New players located in Tennessee will no longer be able to register. Existing players will be unable to make purchases while in Tennessee, but they may continue to make purchases when located outside the state.
November 24, 2025: Access to High 5 Casino will no longer be available for Tennessee residents.
While this change affects Sweeps Play in the state of Tennessee, your account remains open and you can continue to play where Sweeps Play is allowed.
In addition, High 5 Casino Classic app remains available for all Tennessee residents, which can be accessed through the menu of our Sweepstakes app.
Again, like the RealPlay Tech Inc. sites, High 5 will keep its social gaming platform live in Tennessee.
Why some are leaving Gold Coin gameplay live
Throughout a 2025 that has been hard on the sweeps industry, we’ve seen operators handle state exits in one of two ways:
- Shutting everything down.
- Only shutting Sweeps Coin gameplay down.
For operators following the latter approach, the reasoning is straightforward: The new state laws and cease-and-desist orders restricting market access this year target sweepstakes casino models that operate on a dual-currency economy, not social casinos, which use a single-currency economy (Gold Coins). Gold Coins can’t be redeemed for cash, so they aren’t seen as a form of currency for what some state lawmakers, Attorneys General, and state regulatory agencies consider illegal online gambling — unlike Sweeps Coins, which can be redeemed for cash.
So, Gold Coin gameplay is safe. It’s social casino gaming.
Sweeps Coin gameplay is the topic of debate. It’s sweeps casino gaming.
Tennessee Sports Wagering Council? Or Attorney General?
The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council has been active in 2025 with its cease-and-desists, with Legendz, Thrillzz, Sportzino, KicKr, and ReBet all shutting down the sportsbook arms of their sweeps platforms so far this year.
The TSWC announced the voluntary departures of Legendz, Sportzino, KicKr, and ReBet. Sweepsy learned of the Thrillzz exit, and it’s not clear if that was a fully autonomous move or in response to an unannounced TSWC cease-and-desist.
But because these five sweeps casinos now exiting Tennessee are casino-style gaming platforms, that suggests that any cease-and-desists that spurred these moves didn’t come from the TSWC, which governs sports betting in the state.
And that suggests potential action from the Attorney General.
On LinkedIn, F. Steven DiMasi, the Senior Vice President of Global Government Affairs and Business Development of global gaming vendor Light & Wonder, a vocal opponent of sweeps gaming, posted this update one week ago, following the news of cease-and-desists being sent to sweeps operators in Minnesota:
“Another state I suspect will be issuing C&D letters very soon.”
Perhaps he was referring to Tennessee.
