Spin Cycle: Sweeps Up, Dealers Down Highlight Week In Gambling

Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly Friday roundup of all things impactful, intriguing, impressive, or idiotic in the gambling industry. Pull up a chair, grab a stack of chips and a glass of your beverage of choice, and take a spin with us through this week’s news cycle …

Sweeps in retreat? Maybe not …

For the most part, the news in 2025 regarding online casinos that use the sweepstakes-prizing model has flowed in one direction. It’s been legislation to ban sweeps, it’s been cease-and-desists, and it’s been operators exiting various states.

But that momentum showed signs of reversing this week, thanks to a pair of developments.

On its Q2 earnings call last week, social gaming company PLAYSTUDIOS indicated it is planning to enter the sweepstakes casino space before the end of 2025. “We expect to be live across the full footprint of qualified U.S. states later this year,” CEO Andrew Pascal said on the call.

A few days after that, B-Two Operations — which runs several social/sweeps brands, most notably McLuck — lifted its operating restrictions in two states, Alabama and Georgia. This has been a rarity of late, for a major sweeps operator to re-enter two states it had previously exited because of pending lawsuits in those states.

… but C&Ds aren’t slowing down …

Michigan, long the most aggressive state in trying to put the kibosh on unregulated operators — be they sweepstakes sites, offshores, or both — announced 15 new cease-and-desist orders Thursday.

The list:

• 7 Bit Casino
• Avia Games Inc.
• Grande Vegas Casino
• High Country Casino
• i Net Bet
• Liberty Slots Casino
• Lincoln Casino
• Lucky Hippo Casino
• Miami Club Casino
• PrimaPlay Casino
• Slot Madness
• Slots Plus Casino
• Sun Palace Casino
• Vegas Casino Online
• Vegas2Web Casino

“These unlawful operators try to present themselves as legitimate entertainment options, but they offer zero player protections, no accountability, and a real risk to consumers,” Michigan Gaming Control Board Executive Director Henry Williams said via press release. “Our message is simple: If you want to offer gambling in Michigan, follow the law or we will stop you. We will continue to work aggressively to keep illegal gambling out of our state.”

Deal me out

Here’s a sign of the changing times for ya: At Golden Gate, the oldest active casino in downtown Las Vegas, there will soon be no more human dealers at table games.

The property is owned by Derek Stevens, who also owns Circa in downtown Vegas, where for nearly a year, the second floor of the casino has had no live dealers, instead filled only with slot machines and electronic table games. Stevens has been pleased with the results and feedback on the second floor at Circa, so now the approach is coming to Golden Gate.

The good news for the dealers at Golden Gate: Stevens told the Las Vegas Review-Journal they’ve all been offered positions at Circa or at another Stevens property, The D.

Strange times we’re living in, with land-based casinos phasing out live dealers … and online casinos looking to expand their live-dealer offerings.

House Rules: Insights from around our network

‘TOGA PARTY: The continuing sweepstakes conundrum: ban or regulate? [by John Brennan]

REVENUE KEEPS RISING: Total online casino revenue for June up 31% over 2024 [by Chris Altruda]

INSIDE PITCH: Ex-MLB player warns of future microbet scandals [by Brant James]

SLUDGE MATCH: Gaming regulators and sludge — stopping the nonsense [by Richard Schuetz]

TAX ON TOP OF TAX: Yes, Illinois can tax a tax — but it’s bad policy and bettors will pay [by Jill R. Dorson]

BON APP-ETIT: The three crucial areas in which online casino apps must deliver [by Eric Raskin]

TIMES SQUARE A-CHANGIN’?: Times Square casino hearing pits unions against each other [by Chris Altruda]

COLD AS ICE: What effect will immigration crackdowns have on US horse racing industry? [by John Brennan]

WAITING GAME: Maryland will not enforce laws against Kalshi until Fourth Circuit’s injunction decision [by Daniel O’Boyle]

CALI CLASH: Cardrooms vs. tribes: First court date nets arguments about validity, preemption, but no action [by Jill R. Dorson]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, Jeff Edelstein and I welcome fellow gambling journalist David Hill, host of the new American Gambler Book Club podcast. We cover his process for finding gambling books to discuss, his personal gambling proclivities, and whether he finds some of the professionals he writes about to be shady. Here’s a taste:

Jeff and I also discuss whether the WNBA-sex-toy-crypto-gambling scheme was genius or offensive (or both), the low-hanging fruit that is banning microbets, why a college quarterback who writes “sports gambling” to describe his Venmo transactions is almost certainly not gambling on sports, and much more. Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

TALKING TAXES: Titus holds town hall to discuss fight to reverse gambling tax rules [8NewsNow]

ILL GOTTEN: Illinois casino revenue rises 23.3% year-over-year in July [CDC Gaming Reports]

RISE OF THE MACHINES: Zoox’s Las Vegas robotaxi service moved closer to reality with federal exemption [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

ALL WET: Customers frustrated after dozens of cars flooded at Potawatomi Hotel and Casino parking garage [TMJ-4 Milwaukee]

RAISING THE STAKES: Prosecutors add allegations against poker-playing Supreme Court lawyer Goldstein [Reuters]

DRY IN THE DESERT: An empty Strip and fewer tips: Is Las Vegas in trouble? [Time]

CHIP CLIP: NJ man alleged to have stolen chips off a roulette table at Parx — how police say he did it [Bucks County Courier Times]

BULLY FOR BALLY’S: Bally’s posts broad revenue increases in Q2 [CDC Gaming Reports]

BAD INVESTMENT: Former Goldman, JPMorgan exec gambled away investor funds for his online casino company [CNBC]

INTEGRITY MONITOR: Top New York regulator vows ‘stringent’ standards will be applied in casino race [iGaming Business]

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with some odds and ends and our favorite social media posts of the week.

• All this weekend, from Friday through Sunday, Lilac Club Casino in Rochester, New Hampshire, is hosting a “Beat the Champ” poker tournament, with 17-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth on hand to meet fans, greet fans, and possibly beat fans in a Saturday tournament with an estimated $100,000 prize pool as well as a Sunday cash game. A word of warning: Hellmuth is known as “The Poker Brat” for a reason. You may take his chips, but he won’t let you take them quietly.

• We’ll give the final word this week to our friend Richard Schuetz, who had a very Schuetz-ian reaction to Missouri’s decision Friday to award one of its stand-alone mobile betting licenses to Circa Sportsbook: