Pulsz Casino added Connecticut, Louisiana, and Maryland to its list of excluded states for its social and sweepstakes platforms in its latest terms and conditions update on Tuesday.
Owned by Yellow Social Interactive, Pulsz is one of the more notable brands in sweepstakes and social gaming, outside the VGW sites Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker. It also runs Pulsz Bingo, which shares the same terms and conditions as Pulsz Casino.
Interestingly, these are full departures from these states — not just shutting down their sweeps casinos. That means that residents can no longer access social (Gold Coins) or sweeps (Sweeps Coins) gaming on Pulsz Casino or Pulsz Bingo. Many operators leaving states this year have only done so with only their sweeps platform, leaving their social gaming option still live and playable — like VGW did in New York, for instance.
Reasons Pulsz left CT, LA, and MD
Connecticut, meanwhile, did pass a sweeps ban bill and it’s currently awaiting a signature from Gov. Ned Lamont, who is expected to sign. The Connecticut bill bans any sweeps contest that “allows or facilitates participation in any real or simulated online casino gaming or sports wagering, unless such person is licensed under chapter.”
Although bingo doesn’t specifically fall under that category, Pulsz is likely playing it safe and shelving its entire platform in these states rather than picking apart legal language to try to carve out a share in a small online bingo market.
Pulsz’s moves in Louisiana and Maryland are also likely forward-looking decisions with an eye on long-term potential being worth short-term revenue loss.
Although the Louisiana Legislature passed its own sweeps ban bill, Gov. Jeff Landy is reportedly expected to veto the bill — giving sweeps operators another chance to lobby against the bill when it’s reconsidered. And that won’t happen until 2026, as Louisiana’s legislative end of session is June 12, which leaves little to no time for both chambers to override Landry’s veto.
Still, there is clearly a climate against sweeps operators right now in Louisiana among decision-makers, and Pulsz is reacting to that.
Same thing in Maryland, where a sweeps ban bill failed to pass this legislative session, but the state’s gaming regulator issued cease-and-desist letters to a number of sweeps operators this spring — including VGW, Stake.us, McLuck, and Golden Hearts Casino, per Dustin Gouker’s The Closing Line.
So, instead of tempting fate in Maryland, Pulsz — and plenty of other sweepstakes gaming sites — has opted to voluntarily shut its sweeps platform down in Maryland.
Pulsz also left New York back in March. The company was not among the 26 brands targeted by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ cease-and-desist letters, which were announced last Friday.
Looks like Pulsz’s social platform is still available in Mississippi
Interestingly, Mississippi was not added to Pulsz’s list of excluded states in the latest terms and conditions update. It is still listed separately, with language saying “if you are based in Mississippi, certain promotions shall be limited for you.”
When Sweepsy contacted a Pulsz customer support agent in March, that agent said the “limited” promotions meant:
- Beginning March 3, sweepstakes codes generated on the site would no longer be eligible for mail-in entry.
- As of March 31, players would no longer be able to use any remaining Sweeps Coins to enter sweepstakes promotions, and mail-in entries would no longer be accepted.
- All Sweeps Coins in Mississippi accounts would expire after April 15.
So, in other words: You can’t play sweeps games in Mississippi, but it sounds like you can still access the social casino.
Louisiana was also previously in the same category as Mississippi for Pulsz — with just sweeps promotions limited to residents. But now, the full range of social and sweeps gaming options have been pulled in Louisiana.
Focus turns to Ohio and New Jersey
Looking ahead, the sweepstakes gaming industry’s eyes will be on two states:
Ohio and New Jersey.
Those two states don’t end their legislative sessions until Dec. 31, 2025, leaving ample time for consideration of their currently active sweeps ban bills.
In Ohio, House Bill 298’s main purpose is to establish real-money online casinos and an online lottery. However, it also includes language that would kick online sweeps casinos out of the state as well. It currently sits in the House Finance Committee.
There is another bill, Senate Bill 197, which also legalizes iGaming but makes no changes to laws regarding online sweeps casinos. That’s also currently sitting in its committee — the Senate Select Committee on Gaming.
Time will tell which bill has more weight thrown behind it. The sweeps industry, obviously, hopes it’s SB197. However, you never know if efforts will be consolidated and perhaps a sweeps amendment gets tacked onto SB197.
New Jersey, meanwhile, has two active bills that would ban sweeps sites: Assembly Bill 5447 and its companion bill, Senate Bill 4282. Both haven’t seen action since May, but, again, the deadline isn’t until the end of the year.
Any movement in New Jersey will be irrelevant for some sweeps operators, as a handful have already voluntarily pulled out of New Jersey — and all states with regulated real-money iGaming. Stake.us, for instance, has done that. That group does not, however, include Pulsz.
