Top Social Casinos Form Action Group

Leading social and sweepstakes casinos have joined forces to launch the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), which aims to fight the corner of the industry that is increasingly under fire from state regulators.

Virtual Gaming Worlds, which owns Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker, is a founding partner. They have joined forces with PLAYSTUDIOS, which makes apps for casinos like MGM Resorts; Yellow Social Interactive, which owns Pulsz and Pulsz Bingo; Modo.us owner ARB Interactive; and B-Two Operations, which is behind McLuck, Hello Millions, SpinBlitz, Mega Bonanza, PlayFame, Jackpota and Sports Millions.

The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) is already out there, but its role has been limited to speaking out against new legislation. Several big names were also missing from their membership, and now they have formed the SGLA that could have a greater impact.

The new Social Gaming Leadership Alliance has appointed former South Carolina State Rep and US Congressman Jeff Duncan as Executive Director.

Numerous States Turn Against Sweeps Casinos

More than 10 US States have recently tabled anti-sweepstakes casino legislation, and the sector needs to organize and fight its corner. The industry also needs to take an active part in the legislative process and ensure that social casinos can continue to thrive.

“The SGLA’s partners are uniquely positioned to work with lawmakers, stakeholders, and players to support innovation in digital games and ensure millions of Americans have the freedom to enjoy the games they love in a safe environment,” said Duncan. “I look forward to working with state and industry leadership to do just that.”

Laurence Escalante, founder and Chief Executive Officer of VGW, added: “As a pioneer and market leader, we recognize the rising interest in our sector and our responsibility to both ensure the facts about our games, operations, and standards are understood and advocate for what we believe the appropriate industry frameworks should look like.”

Social Gaming Leadership Alliance: Aims and Principles

The alliance has laid out its mission statement. If it can realize these lofty ambitions, it could preserve the industry’s future:

• • Driving industry integrity
  • Protecting players
  • Advocating social gaming excellence

The SLGA is already looking to rebrand the movement and has coined the term online social gaming, pointing out that ‘sweepstakes casinos’ is not the correct term to describe its member casinos.

“Sweepstakes casinos or sweeps casinos is incorrect and inaccurate terminology. This mischaracterization fails to recognize that sweepstakes promotions are a common marketing strategy used across many US industries.”

This is a critical time for the online social gaming sector. Montana passed its anti-sweepstakes bill into law earlier this month, while Connecticut, New Jersey, Nevada, Louisiana, and New York are working on their own legislation.