The Early Line: VGW Raises Age For Sweepstakes Sites To 21
Move impacts Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker brands
TCL offers a roundup of recent US gambling news with analysis called The Early Line every Monday.
Chumba Casino and related brands raise minimum age to 21 | Sweepstakes casinos and sportsbooks in the US generally allow anyone over 18 to take part in their games. But the largest and oldest company in the industry, VGW, has told users that they must be 21 or older to play at its Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker brands. More from Sweepsy here, and Reddit here.
The Social and Promotional Gaming Association — of which VGW is not a member — offered the following statement when TCL asked about the move: “We are consistently working with members to evolve the Code of Conduct, and various issues are part of that conversation. It is worth noting that a wide range of real-money games set the minimum age at 18, including lotteries, fantasy sports, horse racing, and even casinos in select states.”
Reading the line: It’s an interesting move by VGW in what seems to be designed to 1. blunt some amount of regulatory pushback that has sought to classify sweepstakes casinos as gambling, 2. differentiate itself from the rest of the sweepstakes industry or possibly 3. force the rest of the industry to follow suit. The daily fantasy sports industry has long eschewed raising its age to 21, specifically because they have tried to avoid the “gambling” designation. Raising the age can make something feel more akin to gambling in the eyes of some; on the flipside, the move could lessen one of the reasons regulators and policymakers are looking to intervene. It’s not clear if anyone will follow in VGW’s footsteps, but they are the ones who created the sweepstakes model that everyone copied in the first place.
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Medical journal tackles health concerns of sports betting | A new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine tackles some of the concerns around gambling addiction and sports betting. The conclusion: “The results of this time series study suggest that access to sportsbooks, sports wagers, and potential help-seeking for gambling addiction increased substantially and highlight the need to address the health implications of sportsbooks, including recognition and treatment of gambling problems and their broader societal implications.”
Some of the top-line data: “There were 23% more searches nationally for gambling addiction help-seeking after Murphy v National Collegiate Athletic Association. Massachusetts (47%), New Jersey (34%), New York (37%) and Pennsylvania (50%) each had more searches than expected after the opening of any sportsbooks in their state.”
The study is gaining a fair amount of coverage by mainstream media outlets today.
Reading the line: The data is perhaps not surprising, but should be given more weight than other recent studies since it was published in a medical journal. The big takeaway for policymakers and regulators should be finding ways to help, rather than going back to ineffectual prohibitions (there are currently myriad ways to gamble on sports in every state, either through offshore or quasi- or unregulated options). Investing in responsible and problem gambling programs commensurate with the amount of gambling a state has — in sports betting and beyond — would be prudent. (Trying to do the opposite in Maryland [paywall] seems self-defeating). It’s also arguably another data point for the sports betting industry to reevaluate its advertising practices before more draconian measures are forced upon it. You could spin this as (slightly) glass half full: that people are interrogating if they or loved ones have a gambling addiction and finding help is better than ignoring a potential problem.
NJ releases January gaming numbers (NJDGE) | Gaming numbers were a mixed bag for New Jersey year over year, with overall revenue down, although that was entirely due to a decrease in sports betting revenue.
Casino Win for the nine casino hotels was $210.1 million for January 2025, reflecting an increase of 2.6% when compared to $204.7 million reported for January 2024.
Internet Gaming Win for the casinos and their partners was $221.6 million for January 2025, reflecting growth of 20.9% when compared to $183.3 million reported for January 2024.
Sports Wagering Gross Revenue for the casinos, racetracks, and their partners was $122.2 million for January 2025, reflecting a decrease of 28.4% when compared to $170.8 million reported for January 2024.
More than half of that decline came from FanDuel online sports betting, which was $27 million off its pace from last January. Most of the rest of the difference appears to be from PointsBet (now Fanatics), which had been overindexing in handle, likely due to play from “whales.”
ESPN Bet is still seventh in the state in revenue for sports betting.
Reading the Line: After a bad Q4 for sportsbooks everywhere, things look like they are back to normal in NJ too, with a hold that approaches 11%. The YoY decline seems less of a concern as last year seems to be an outlier result. Online casino continued its steady growth even as retail casino revenue increased slightly as well. More on this and the other big states with sports betting and online casino metrics in my next Friday newsletter, The Cashout (last edition here).
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Gambling news today
F1 Team Partners With Sports Betting Company (Press release): “Atlassian Williams Racing today announces a major multi-year partnership with Super Group Limited, the parent company of leading online sports betting and gaming business Betway and casino brand Jackpot City, as the team prepares to unveil its race livery for the 2025 Formula 1 season. Both brands will appear on the FW47 driven by Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz this year, with the eye-catching livery due to be revealed to the world tomorrow at F1’s unprecedented season launch at London’s The O2.”
Legal sports betting odds in Minnesota murky as ever as bill hits Senate snag (Pioneer Press): “The effort to legalize sports betting in Minnesota is off to a weak start this legislative session, with a proposal backed by competing gaming industry groups already facing resistance from Democratic-Farmer-Labor and Republican lawmakers. This year’s push to legalize the practice had a big setback Thursday in its first committee stop in the state Senate, where Sen. Matt Klein, DFL-Mendota Heights, is carrying a bill that’s the product of a compromise between the tribal gambling association, horse tracks and charitable gaming groups.”
Gambling expansion in Alabama looking less likely (1819 News): “During Friday's broadcast of Alabama Public Television's "Capitol Journal," State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Range) downplayed the prospects of a gambling bill making it through the Alabama Senate this session. Albritton, whose district includes the Poarch Band of Creek Indians reservation, said despite the appearance of a detente between the disparate groups involved in Alabama's decades-long gambling saga, there was not enough support among his Senate colleagues.”
This is parody but had to share it: From The Onion, FTC.Gov Redirects Users To Latvian Sports Gambling Site.
Gambling newsletters roundup
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