CA/NY Players Now Have More Sweepstakes Casino Alternatives

New sweepstakes alternatives are continuing to emerge for players in California and New York, with operators finding more and more creative ways to offer casino-style games.

It’s after California’s AB 831 was signed into law in October last year, while New York’s S5935A was signed in December, both laws targeting traditional dual-currency casinos – i.e. those that use Gold Coins (GC) and Sweeps Coins (SC) or straight equivalents.

For example, VegasBuilder has recently launched with a virtual city-building system (plus casino), Candy Coins is using Battle Passes for competitive gameplay (plus casino), and Crown Coins Casino seems to have reopened in both states after previously pulling out.

These are some of the latest additions in a space that has already seen a wave of card collection platforms emerge in CA and NY. Card Crush, ZumbaCards, and Albumza are all incorporating card-based battle or collection concepts, rather than relying on the familiar GC/SC setup, and players are flocking to these games.

But now the market is expanding further, with even more operators experimenting with ways to tweak the standard GC/SC system and navigate the new restrictions.

VegasBuilder Brings a Virtual City to the Sweepstakes Market

One of the newest additions is VegasBuilder, which has taken the idea of a sweepstakes casino and added a virtual city-building element. This comes from Nickle Tech LLC, the operator of Coinz.us.

However, what sets VegasBuilder apart is how it uses SC for its hundreds of slots and live dealer games (offered by the likes of 3 Oaks, AvatarUX, and Playson) alongside Builder Spins (BS), which are used in the separate Builder Mode.

Players can purchase these Builder Spins, while free BS are also available through things like daily logins and leveling up – they’re then used to obtain the Virtual Items needed to build and play in the virtual Vegas.

The whole world-building concept reminds us of BigPirate and Dorados, but those sites use GC and SC plus extra currencies like Rum or Elixir, whereas VegasBuilder removes GC and replaces them with BS. This is one way it might sidestep the dual-currency ban.

In other words, BS aren’t simply another currency for playing casino-style games. They have a separate purpose within the wider platform, and that’s a notable difference from the traditional GC/SC model.

We’re not going to make any definitive claims about legality here, but VegasBuilder clearly feels confident enough in its model to offer the platform in California and New York. In fact, it’s available in every state apart from Connecticut, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Washington.

Candy Coins Uses Battle Passes for Competitive Play

Candy Coins is another recent addition, coming from Inimitable Solutions Limited, the operator behind Sweet Sweeps. But whereas Sweet Sweeps uses GC and SC in the standard way, this new platform uses Candy Coins (CC) like SC, while introducing Battle Passes (BP).

These Battle Passes are then used in the Battle Arena, putting players into random PvP battles against two other players, with all three players competing in a slot-style game. Players earn points based on the combinations they hit, with the results determining the winner.

It’s a similar idea to Card Crush, although the two platforms go about it differently. Card Crush offers collectible cards as the tools to battle with, while Candy Coins offers Battle Passes as a way to enter the battle event.

Then, Candy Coins themselves are used for the casino side of the platform, which currently includes more than 1,000 slots, table games, and live dealer titles.

Another major plus is that it’s currently available in 48 states, Nevada and Washington being the exceptions.

Crown Coins Invites CA and NY Players Back

The other major development is Crown Coins, which appears to have returned to both California and New York.

This platform did withdraw from these two states following the new restrictions, but reports now suggest it’s back with a change to how purchased SC and winnings are handled: the two are apparently kept separate.

Purchased SC can be used to play but aren’t redeemable, while SC winnings are tracked separately and can be redeemed.

So, although the familiar Crown Coins experience remains, the platform isn’t simply returning with the exact same setup it had before. Of course, players still have access to hundreds of casino-style games from providers including Slotmill, Playson and M2Play, alongside Crown Coins originals.

Crown Coins has been expanding into other areas too. For example, Crown Rips recently launched as a trading card feature that lets players open digital packs of Pokémon and sports cards. You can then choose to sell, store, or ship the cards in real life, and this section of the site is open to players in CA and NY too.

More Changes Could Be Coming

The sweepstakes bans have clearly forced operators to rethink how they approach California and New York, two huge markets that many brands didn’t want to give up.

For players in these two places, the post-ban market is starting to look different from the traditional sweepstakes casino model, and if these latest developments are anything to go by, operators aren’t finished experimenting yet.

We’ll continue to report on new sweepstakes casinos or alternative gaming sites that pop up for players in these jurisdictions.