Pennsylvania has become the latest state to begin ordering sweepstakes casinos to take their business elsewhere. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) revealed in a Gaming Oversight Committee hearing on Monday that it has issued 18 cease-and-desist letters to sweepstakes casinos operating in the state. Most of these are offshore companies, but some are based in the US, and some even conduct business in Pennsylvania.
However, none of them hold interactive gaming licenses from the PGCB. The so-called “sweeps” sites are play-money social casinos with a sweepstakes-based prize layer built on top. That makes them not a gambling product under federal law. However, an increasing number of state legislators and regulators are attempting to close what they see as a loophole.
