In 2024, among contacts to Florida’s problem gambling helpline where the gambler listed the type of gambling they were struggling with, 29% dealt with online casino gaming. That’s according to documentation sent to Sweepsy by the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, the state’s problem gambling helpline (888-ADMIT-IT).
Regulated real-money online casinos are not legal in Florida.
There are two types of sites offering any types of casino games there: offshore betting sites and sweepstakes casino sites. So that 29% of callers — totaling 270 individuals — were very likely struggling with either of those two options.
“We had 1,355 online gambling help contacts last year. Of those 1,355, only 929 revealed what type of online gambling (they were struggling with),” FCCG Executive Director Jennifer Kruse told Sweepsy. “So it is a significant amount because it’s probably more.”
The fact that sweeps players may run into problem gaming issues isn’t necessarily the issue here for Kruse.
It’s that she wishes more was being done to educate sweeps players on responsible gaming resources.
Kruse: Put problem gambling helplines on sweeps sites
Kruse called sweepstakes gaming a “slippery slope.”
“Because people don’t even understand what they’re doing,” she said. “And that’s really the biggest risk — the lack of education about the bets that they’re placing.
“Online casino gaming with real money is not legal in Florida. So these people are all doing something — they’re doing something. Not only that, but when you really think about it, they’re doing something and they’re finding us not on those sites, right? Those operators aren’t required to have any type of consumer protection. So they’re struggling due to their gambling, and then they’re going and they’re trying to find help on their own.”
A potential improvement for responsible gaming on sweeps casino sites, in Kruse’s eyes, would be to require operators to list some sort of problem gambling or responsible gaming helpline phone number on the homepage.
That’s a requirement faced by regulated real-money operators in US states.
Most often, you’ll find the helpline located somewhere in the site’s footer menu at the bottom of the page. Just head to BetMGM or DraftKings, scroll all the way down, and you’ll see.
Sweeps operators, meanwhile, do not face regulation, so they do not have that requirement.
Of 19 sweeps casinos Sweepsy checked for this analysis, zero listed a responsible gaming helpline on their homepage or footer menu. One — Stake.us — did include an email address for Gaming Addicts Anonymous.
It should be noted that all 19 did, however, include links to safe play sections on their site or documentation that include information on problem gaming resource groups. It should also be noted that VGW recently switched the minimum age requirement for its three sites (Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker) from 18 to 21.
SPGA eyes ‘consumer control’ evolution with code of conduct
The Social and Promotional Games Association, the recently formed advocacy group for the sweeps industry, stresses that its member operators do already push for responsible gaming. The SPGA code of conduct currently contains four key pillars, which focus on age verification (18 or older), location verification, identity verification, and anti-money laundering.
Sweepsy asked the SPGA if it would consider requiring its member operators to list helplines directly on their sites.
A spokesperson didn’t answer that specific question, but they did call attention to the code of conduct and potential additions to it in the future.
“SPGA members provide consumers with robust ways to control their play. Expanding and refining consumer control will be a central focus as the SPGA continues to evolve its Member Code of Conduct,” the spokesperson said.
Florida’s role in the sweepstakes gaming landscape
Florida is seen as a state to watch in relation to the sweeps industry as legislators, attorneys general, and gaming commissions around the country formulate opinions about sweepstakes sites in 2025.
For one thing, Florida is one of two states (the other is New York) that limits sweepstakes prize redemption to a maximum of $5,000, which is seen as one of the more forward-thinking policies to promote safe gaming in an industry that doesn’t face any regulation.
Florida was also historically quite tough on the internet sweepstakes cafes that some argue follow the same framework as modern sweeps casinos. A 1998 ruling against one such cafe outlined why the court deemed the cafe was offering illegal gambling.
“The opinion found that even if a consumer product, such as a phone card, is attached to the transaction, the inclusion of a sweepstakes based on chance makes the operation illegal under Florida law,” Holland & Knight attorneys James Meggesto and Samir Patel wrote in a legal analysis of a Florida lawsuit against VGW that was dismissed last week.
“Both the attorney general’s opinion and the plaintiff’s claims in Knapp emphasize the core legal principles that if a game involves an element of chance and monetary consideration, it likely falls under Florida’s prohibition of unlicensed gambling operations.”
Fortunately for VGW, the lawsuit was thrown out before it got that far.
We’ll see if Florida stands pat with its sweepstakes policies, or if takes action. In recent weeks, states have either seen lawmakers propose bills to regulate sweeps sites (New Jersey) or ban them (Maryland, Mississippi, Connecticut), or they’ve also seen their attorney general (West Virginia) serve subpoenas to them.