Unlicensed, free-to-play sweeps and social casinos have become a multi-billion-dollar industry while largely avoiding industry and regulatory scrutiny. A conference of gaming leaders made it clear this won’t last for long.
The future of sweeps and social casinos was at the epicenter of last week’s 2024 winter meeting of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS). The conference started as a way for lawmakers to learn about gaming policy but has expanded to become a must-attend event for regulators, corporate officials, and virtually anyone else associated with gaming.
Here’s every highlight from the latest NCLGS conference:
Sweeps front and center
The first panel of the conference’s first day addressed the issue that gaming stakeholders are making a top priority for next year’s state legislative sessions.
Panelists detailed the legal status and scope of the sweeps and social casino market, including a bounded copy of a Washington Post feature about the games that was handed out to conference attendees.
Light & Wonder's Howard Glaser advocates for lawmakers that legalize iGaming to prohibit unlicensed sweeps and social casinos from being eligible for licensure; this was a similar stance sportsbooks took toward sports betting legalization
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) December 13, 2024
Not surprisingly, the regulated industry is arguing that these games should be banned. Some executives, including Light & Wonder’s Howard Glaser, have argued that the unlicensed proprietors of these games should be prohibited from licensure in the regulated market should these games be regulated.
The return of most state legislative sessions next month will bring the regulated industry to statehouses across the country to explain and potentially take action on these games. Significant action won’t come quickly, but its clear the industry is firmly in the crosshairs for current license holders.
Model online casino gaming legislation
NCLGS representatives discussed the organization’s model iGaming legislation, a framework for state lawmakers to approve iGaming. It sets out tax rates, problem gaming protections and a host of other aspects for online casino gaming legislation as the industry looks to push for real money casino legalization in the 43 states that haven’t approved these games.
The model is a starting point, but NCLGS speakers acknowledged it will be difficult to pass as written. Gaming attorney William Gantz said during a panel that legislative complexities and political realities will lead lawmakers to set about their own path to online casino legislation, a legalization journey that may or may not include the key elements of the NCLGS proposal.
Getting any form of legalization may be difficult to begin with. Though speakers were bullish some states would seriously consider legalization in 2025, they acknowledged the political difficulties that prevented any state passing such legislation in 2024 remain.
Stakeholders bullish on new administration
Speakers echoed the positive sentiments from leading gaming operators that the second Trump Administration will create a business friendly environment positioned to boost the industry.
That environment includes the industry’s preferred hands-off approach to federal regulation. It also appears less likely than ever a Democrat-sponsored bill that would dramatically increase federal oversight for sportsbooks will have a chance in the Republican-controlled legislature and White House.
AGA President Bill Miller on what GOP control means for federal gaming regulations: "Probably less pressure. There probably isn’t going to be a federal department of gaming under Elon (Musk) and Vivek (Ramaswamy)."
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) December 13, 2024
Trump’s first term saw a re-interpretation of a 1960’s sports betting law that could have effectively prohibited all forms of online gaming. That decision was defeated in court, preserving the industry. Now luminaries including David Rebuck, New Jersey’s former top gaming regulator, are more hopeful Trump, a former casino owner, will leave the industry alone.
Prospects for expanded Florida online gaming
Reports that Florida could consider online casino gaming tantalized an industry looking for a big iGaming win in 2025 after the shutout in 2024.
Florida’s Seminole Tribe withdrew online slot and table game authorization early in the legislative process that approved the gaming compact that permitted them to offer mobile sports betting. Now, GLI’s Gabriel Benedik believes the tribe may bring up iGaming in Florida’s 2025 session.
It's a bit buried in today's newsletter, but this could be the biggest development over the next year... Online casino is on the agenda in 2025, and according to Hard Rock's Jim Allen, it might already be able to offer online HHR games ?
— Steve Ruddock (@SteveRuddock) December 16, 2024
H/t to @ButlerBets and @RealRogerGros https://t.co/ji2XEqmy7C pic.twitter.com/6VdyY0yFrZ
If the compact adds iGaming to the existing structure, it could mean the Seminoles would potentially be able to partner with other top operators for iGaming in addition to offering their in-house Hard Rock platform. In that scenario, it would remain financially challenging for any competitor to make a deal on the tribe’s terms; no company has agreed to a sports betting deal, though there is the legal avenue for doing so.
But, as the conference stressed again, online casino gaming is not sports betting. Online slots are far more lucrative than sportsbooks. Even an expansion on the Seminole’s terms could mean a new iGaming market in the nation’s third-most populated state.
Southern strategies for gaming expansion
The conference’s trip to New Orleans led NCLGS speakers to direct their attention to other Southern states considering new gaming forms.
The politically and culturally conservative South has been the slowest region to adopt sports betting. The region could begin to catch up with the rest of the country beginning next year.
Alabama is set to again consider sportsbook legalization, potentially alongside a state lottery and commercial casinos. Doing so remains difficult in Alabama, but lawmakers are set to at least consider the issue again in 2025.
Neighboring Mississippi has casinos, a lottery and retail sportsbooks. Statewide mobile could be coming next year, though it remains unclear if a potential 2025 bill has more momentum than failed efforts in recent sessions.
Prospects seem bleak in South Carolina. Though a bill has already been introduced, there seems virtually no political appetite for any gaming expansion in the Palmetto State.
This month’s NCLGS host city could be a dark horse contender for iCasino legislation. Multiple attendees at the conference were at the statehouse in Batton Rouge earlier in the week to testify about online casino gaming. It remains a political challenge, but after the successful launch of the state’s brick-and-mortar casino industry and mobile sportsbooks, online slots and table games could be the next expansion.
