The online sweepstakes gaming industry has reached an “inflection point,” as prominent gaming attorney Josh Kirschner said recently in an interview with Sweepsy.
A juncture “where what is acceptable today might not be acceptable tomorrow,” Kirschner said.
In other words: The way sweepstakes casinos have always worked — with a dual-currency model of non-redeemable Gold Coins and redeemable Sweeps Coins — might not necessarily be the best path forward. Or, at least, it’s no longer the only viable path forward, as dual-currency gameplay has come under attack from lawmakers and regulators over the past two years, forcing some operators to make pivots.
And there have been plenty of pivots. A variety of them, too.
Over the past 10-12 months or so, or, really, since Assembly Bill 831 was passed in California to shake the sweeps industry to its core, Sweepsy has kept its eyes on which alternate gaming models and strategies sweeps operators are rolling out.
As of today there are at least nine categories for these pivots and alternate models.
Here’s a breakdown of those nine.
Single-currency models
The fastest response to bans on dual-currency was simple: OK … let’s do single-currency then.
ClubWPT Gold was the first to launch this new strategy in September 2025, when it rebranded itself as a poker education platform. It stopped offering two currencies and instead introduced a single redeemable currency called Chips. It then began offering poker training tools, with Chips bundled alongside those products.
So players get the redeemable chips as part of buying educational resources.
There’s the workaround.
The more popular single-currency model emerged a few months later, however, with Card Crush, which launched in December 2025.
Card Crush initially appears to be an RPG card game, with Mystery Boxes, fantasy-themed cards, and treasure chests similar to games like Pokémon or World of Warcraft. Players build decks, compete in five-round head-to-head matches, and climb leaderboards to earn Loyalty Club Points and stronger cards. But they can also earn a currency called Mystery Coins.
And Mystery Boxes also include cards and additional Mystery Coins.
These Mystery Coins can then be used for casino-style games and are redeemable for cash.
Since Card Crush debuted, other operators have launched similar sites, including Clash 5 and Zumba Cards.
Subscription model
The subscription-based approach is among the most recent models to emerge. Sweepsy has identified only one example: Thrillaroo, a sister platform of Funzpoints.
Thrillaroo offers two experiences. Chill Mode comes with unlimited free Chill Points that function similarly to Gold Coins, with no redemption option. Thrill Mode, on the other hand, uses purchasable Thrill Tokens that hold cash value and can be withdrawn.
Players must subscribe to access the platform, with memberships including a “Win Win Guarantee.” At the close of each subscription cycle, users who experience net losses in Thrill Mode receive a refund for the difference, while those who come out ahead retain their winnings.
Advance deposit wagering
Platforms like HorsePlay and Lonestar.bet use real-money gameplay tied to advance deposit wagering. Rather than generating outcomes through random chance, casino-style games are driven by live or historical horse racing data, similar to historical horse racing machines used at racetracks in jurisdictions such as Kentucky.
Another prominent gaming attorney, Charles Farrell of Dentons US LLP, told Sweepsy this model may be the most viable long-term because it is tied to a major legal development involving Churchill Downs and the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
A court decision last year affirmed that interstate horse race wagering is governed by the Interstate Horseracing Act, restricting states from adding licensing requirements beyond the federal framework. That decision theoretically allows operators to build casino-style experiences around horse racing outcomes while operating under horse racing regulations, rather than traditional online casino licensing regimes.
Online skill games
After shutting down Kickr earlier this year, Kickr Games Play Ltd. recently returned with GetGud.win, a platform that uses a Coins-and-Gems currency structure but focuses exclusively on skill-based competitions rather than casino games.
So it’s an online skill games site.
Players compete in contests and tournaments where performance, strategy, and decision-making determine outcomes, not chance. The lineup includes games like Basketball Hustle, 21 Hustle, and Skill Slots, where players optimize moves to maximize scores. Unlike slots or table games driven by randomness, GetGud emphasizes strategy, planning, and player ability over chance.
This allows it to evade the casino-style gaming designations in the current crop of bills banning sweepstakes casinos — those bills do not ban Sweeps Coin gameplay on skill games.
Live bingo
Some operators are moving into live online bingo, with platforms like Ruby Sweeps’ Ruby Bingo Live offering scheduled bingo events where players compete for actual cash prizes rather than digital currency rewards.
This shift may be appealing because online bingo can fall under different regulatory frameworks than traditional casino gaming, particularly when structured as peer-to-peer or charitable-style play instead of games where the operator acts as the house.
Loot boxes
Modo.us recently launched a new feature called Modo Boxes, introducing a mystery box-style shopping experience separate from its casino-style gaming platform.
The Modo Boxes section of the site uses a dedicated currency called Box Tickets, which are required to open boxes and have no cash value or connection to the site’s casino-style games.
Users can preview potential rewards before purchasing, including physical products, digital items, gift cards, downloadable content, and Gold Coins. Each box provides a randomized outcome, but users are guaranteed to receive something. Modo.us states that box value will meet or exceed the purchase price based on its valuation system.
Depending on the prize, users can receive shipments, access digital rewards, sell items back for cash, or exchange them for more Box Tickets. Unlike typical sweepstakes casino mystery boxes, Modo Boxes focus on tangible and digital merchandise rather than virtual rewards.
It’s a gamified loot box platform, so to speak.
Expansion
Some operators have chosen to expand their existing sweepstakes casino ecosystems, bolstering their library rather than changing it significantly.
VGW, for instance, has continued growing its brand lineup, adding LuckyLand Casino as its fourth platform and preparing to introduce United Slots later this year.
Blazesoft, the operator behind brands such as Zula Casino and Yay Casino, expanded its portfolio with the launch of WinBonanza in April. Meanwhile, MW Services Limited, which operates WOW Vegas and Rolla Casino, recently entered the market with CoinsBack Casino, adding another dual-currency sweepstakes brand to its lineup.
These moves also reflect the notion that Gold Coin gameplay is also a money generator.
In several states where Sweeps Coin gameplay is now banned, VGW, for example, has blocked Sweeps Coin functionality but kept Gold Coin gameplay open. Its sites continue operating as Gold Coin-only platforms in states such as California, Tennessee, New York, New Jersey, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia.
Shifting to different industry
Some operators have pivoted to different sectors entirely.
ProphetX is the most dramatic example of that, as the former sweepstakes sportsbook is now a licensed and operating prediction markets platform offering sports event contracts. It has abandoned sweeps for predictions.
Fliff and VGW, meanwhile, added non-sweeps and non-social gaming properties to their portfolios while still maintaining their assets in the sweeps space.
VGW launched Monopoly Match, a Match 3 game, last November and has scaled its launch in the United States since. And Fliff launched Superstars, a real-money DFS section of its platform, in January.
(MyPrize.us announced a partnership with prediction markets platform Crypto.com last November, but that has not yet materialized, if it will materialize at all.)
Physical products
We’re also seeing some operators dip into the world of selling actual physical products as a package with bonus Sweeps Coins, as opposed to digital products like Gold Coins.
AceBet.cc, for example, is operating in California and New York because players purchase physical card packs — instead of digital GC bundles — that can be mailed to them. As part of those purchases, they get Sweeps Coins that they can then use for casino-style games and redeem for real money. So the purchases are now tied to physical products to get around online sweeps bans.
