California tribes are gearing up to take on sweepstakes casinos that operate in the state without licenses or tribal permission. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

A growing problem

Tribes in California are embroiled in a fight against cardrooms in the state over the exclusivity of player-banker games like blackjack and baccarat, going after sweepstakes casinos.

believes it is up to tribes to tackle these social casinos that are growing in popularity

Victor Rocha, the conference chairperson of the Indian Gaming Association, spoke on Wednesday during a weekly webinar about the issue. He believes it is up to tribes to tackle these social casinos that are growing in popularity and effectively exploit legal loopholes to offer unregulated gambling in California.

Sweepstakes casinos offer free-to-play casino-style games. Real money withdrawals are not possible in the traditional sense, but players can still use their money to buy non-withdrawable virtual coins.

A tribal issue

While Rocha clarified he doesn’t want to completely block these platforms, he believes the operators should go through the tribes to offer their products, saying: “Any new entry of gaming in California begins and ends with tribes.”

Rocha plans to hold more webinars on the matter, and guests will include American Gaming Association representatives and a lobbyist from the Sports Betting Alliance. He has been vocal on X in recent days about the topic:

California Nations Indian Gaming Association (CNIGA) Chairperson James Siva remarked that once unregulated gambling platforms become popular in a state, they become much harder to take down. He said CNIGA is getting ready to send letters to popular app stores to alert them about the presence of unlicensed apps.

Taking action

National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) Executive Director Jason Giles suggested getting tribes from around the country on board to send cease-and-desist letters to sweepstakes casino operators. A similar move has recently gained traction, with state gaming regulators sending such letters to offshore gambling site Bovada.

A report released by gaming consulting group Eilers & Krejcik in June estimates the US online sweepstakes sector is worth more than $2.5bn.

Social casinos have received plenty of scrutiny from many circles in recent years. Numerous people have sued popular social casinos and the providers of app stores like Apple and Google for allegedly profiting from unlicensed gambling.