Sweepstakes casino operators who want to dip into Play’n GO’s portfolio of online casino games had better start looking elsewhere for products to fill their unlicensed sites. That’s because last week, Play’n GO CEO and Co-Founder Johan Törnqvist joined a rising chorus of voices coming out against sweepstakes sites.
In a press release posted on the Play’n GO website late last week Törnqvist, and a host of other company executives, made it very clear that Play’n GO content is meant exclusively for use by regulated operators. “Sweepstakes casinos do not operate inside a regulated framework and that’s not something we support. Our commitment to regulated markets is absolute. We will never supply our games to sweepstakes casinos,” he said.
Shawn Fluharty, Head of Government Affairs for Play’n GO pointed out the impact of sweepstakes operators on regulated operators and players alike adding, “Sweepstakes casinos threaten the regulated market model that many of us in the industry have worked so hard to achieve, which protects players first and foremost, and delivers much-needed revenue to jurisdictions.”
Sweepstakes casinos, which are essentially social casinos that have grown very similar to licensed online casinos (without the actual licenses) represent a growing threat to operators who play by the rules. While several states have come close to banning them entirely, those efforts have generally failed. As it stands, however, Montana is extremely close to passing a bill banning sweepstakes operators from their jurisdictions. The likelihood of the bill passing is high enough that several sweepstakes operators, including Chumba Casino, have pulled out of the Montana market.
Whatever happens to sweepstakes operators in Montana, and everywhere else, will happen without Play’n GO games.