Stake.us Pulls Out of Multiple States
Stake.us has pulled out of Montana, Louisiana and Arizona, taking the number of states the market leading social casino has restricted to 17.
Louisiana recently declared sweepstakes casinos illegal under existing state laws, while Montana passed anti sweepstakes legislation in May. That bill comes into effect in October, but the leading sweeps casinos aren’t hanging taking it to the wire, and Stake.us has pulled out of the state with immediate effect. It will end its operations in Arizona on August 12th.
Arizona has carried out its own campaign against sweepstakes casinos, with a series of high-profile cease-and-desist letters and public service broadcasts and PR campaigns to warn about the dangers of sweeps casinos. It seems one of those cease-and-desist letters landed on Stake.us, and now one of the best social casinos has decided to restrict its services in Arizona.
High 5 Casino also pulled out of Arizona earlier this year, but a number of high profile sweeps casinos remain in the state and the regulators might escalate the enforcement efforts before too long.
Avoiding a Fight isn’t Working
Stake.us adopts a cautious approach when it comes to butting heads with state regulators and gaming authorities, and has now pulled its services from 17 states. With more states taking a stand against sweepstakes casinos, Stake.us is a useful one to keep an eye on when it comes to the overall mood in each territory.
It has withdrawn from the following states:
- Washington
- New York
- Nevada
- Idaho
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- Vermont
- New Jersey
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Connecticut
- Maryland
- Louisiana
- Montana
- Arizona (August 12)
A lot of states are taking a stand against sweepstakes casinos and Stake.us is a clear indicator that more and more territories are making it hard for sweepstakes casinos to survive and thrive. This is going to be a critical year for the sector, and the casinos will have to work with the regulators or withdraw from an ever increasing number of states.
Nick Hall
Senior Editor
Nick's passion for fast paced action has seen him test Bugattis for professional car reviews for the world's biggest car magazine, to covering the high octane world of online casinos, gambling regulation and emerging Web3 trends.
