VGW Leaving Tennessee Along with Other Sweepstakes Casinos

VGW just announced it will be removing Sweeps Coins play from its platforms (Chumba, Global Poker, LuckyLand Slots) in Tennessee.

VGW customers in the Volunteer State received the following message yesterday, giving them only a few days left with SC play.

It seems Gold Coin play will remain an option in Tennessee, meaning players will still be able to play games with GC purely for fun. However, they will no longer be able to play with SC for cash redemptions at VGW sites.

Tennessee now joins the states of Idaho, New York, Louisiana, New Jersey, Mississippi, and West Virginia where VGW allows free play only. For some players, removing SC play removes the entire reason they play at Chumba, Global Poker, or LuckyLand Slots. Other players will be happy to see that they can at least continue to game in some form.

VGW is Far From the Only Sweepstakes Casino Leaving Tennessee

Several other sweepstakes casinos have recently announced exits from the Tennessee market too; High 5, Lucky Bits Vegas, Chanced, Punt, and Mega Bonanza have all withdrawn completely, meaning players can no longer even access free play in the state.

VGW, as a market leader, has a large enough customer base to maintain free play, whereas smaller operators could struggle to make this financially worthwhile. That being said, RealPrize and LoneStar are two more brands choosing the same route as VGW – withdrawing from SC play but allowing GC play in Tennessee. Brands are safe in doing this because there is no question over the legality of GC play, while SC play still exists in a gray area.

Either way, it’s becoming quite the trend for sweepstakes casinos to withdraw their offerings from Tennessee.

We’ve also seen sweepstakes sites with a sportsbook component pull that feature out of Tennessee this year – that includes Legendz, ReBet, Kickr, and Sportzino. And the reason for these withdrawals is pretty clear: the Tennessee Sports Wagering Council (TSWC) made press releases available proudly confirming these exits as a direct result of its own actions.

Tennessee is one of the many US states that permits online sports betting, and its regulator, the TSWC, has been strict with any platforms that don’t have a license for offering a sportsbook service there. It’s chased sweepstakes sportsbook operators out of the state with cease and desist letters and the threat of fines.

Sweepstakes casinos and sportsbooks both exist in a gray area because they don’t permit wagering with actual money, choosing to use virtual tokens like Sweeps Coins instead. However, it’s becoming common for state gaming regulators to classify this format as illegal and request they leave. Upon the receipt of cease and desist letters, sweepstakes operators tend to comply.

So What’s the Reason for Sweepstakes Brands Leaving Tennessee?

So we know exactly why the sweepstakes sportsbooks are leaving the Volunteer State, but it’s still unclear what exactly is driving the Tennessee sweepstakes casino exodus. Of course, we can speculate.

One of the easiest conclusions would be to assume that the TSWC has now turned its sight on sweepstakes casinos too.

However, under Tennessee Code § 4‑49‑105, this regulator’s authority is explicitly limited to enforcing laws “relating to the regulation and control of wagering on sporting events in this state”. This suggests the Council does not have direct regulatory power over sweepstakes casinos – that’s unlike most other state gaming regulators across the US who oversee all types of gaming and wagering activities.

Maybe the action taken against sportsbooks could have simply spooked these casino brands who are now choosing to play it safe. Or maybe there’s some kind of other concrete regulatory threat that hasn’t been made public yet.

For example, perhaps these brands have heard from the Tennessee Attorney General, who has broad powers to investigate alleged violations of state law and take action if warranted. This kind of thing happened in West Virginia and New York this year, with multiple sweepstakes brands leaving these two states after receiving subpoenas and cease and desists from Attorneys General there.

Whatever the reason, it’s likely it will eventually come to light. It’s also likely we’ll see more exits from Tennessee, so stay tuned to SweepsKings for further updates. We’ll be following this whole story very closely.