High 5 Games says it is shutting down its sweepstakes casino offering, High 5 Casino, as of March 14 in six states which offer legal online casino gaming.
In an update to its terms and conditions dated Feb. 18, High 5 Casino stated that it is no longer accepting new sweeps players or purchases from existing players in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. Existing players will be able to continue to play and redeem sweeps coins until March 14, at which point all sweepstakes gaming accounts will be closed.
High 5 Casino classic play will continue to be available in all of those states. Those six jurisdictions, along with Michigan and the poker-only Nevada, are the states in which online casino is legal.
High 5 Casino already lists Michigan and Nevada, along with Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana and Washington as the “excluded sweeps territories” in which it does not offer its sweeps vertical. In Washington, High 5 Gaming’s social casino platforms were ruled illegal and the company was ordered to pay $25 million in damages.
High 5 Casino sweeps play is also unavailable in Canada, including the regulated Ontario gaming market. It stopped accepting sweeps play north of the border on of Feb. 3 and accounts will be closed on Feb. 28.
Connecticut has opened investigation
SBC Americas reached out to High 5 Gaming and all six newly-prohibited states seeking more information on the company’s decision to take its sweeps play offline.
In an email, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Kaitlyn Krasselt told SBC Americas that the DCP has opened an investigation into High 5 Casino but could not provide additional details at this time.
Asked if the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board had been in contact with High 5 Gaming over the products it offers in that state, the PGCB’s Office of Enforcement Counsel Director Cyrus Pitre, said he would not confirm or deny.
Sweepstakes: legal or not legal?
High 5 Games has a variety of deals with major online casino operators, including DraftKings and BetMGM, but the legality of the sweepstakes games offered by its casino entity and other providers continues under intense scrutiny.
States including Connecticut, Maryland and Mississippi have debated proposals to ban sweepstakes casinos so far this legislative session and the Mississippi Senate became the first state legislative bid to approve a full prohibition on the vertical last week, sending the legislation to the House of Representatives by an overwhelming majority.
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, lawmakers filed a bill last month that would clarify sweepstakes casinos’ legal standing and bring them under regulation, as has been done with online casino and sports betting.
High 5 Gaming is a member of the Social and Promotional Gaming Association (SPGA), a group formed last year to “highlight the well-established legality and legitimacy of social sweepstakes games, providing regulators, policymakers and consumers with a comprehensive understanding of these offerings.”
