Nearly two thirds of sweeps casino players say their top motivation to play is winning money, according to a survey commissioned by the American Gaming Association.
A survey by Interpret of 750 paying and non-paying sweepstakes casino players found that 65% of respondents are most motivated to play by the chance of winning money. That is compared to 82% of iGamers from another survey of 750 customers.
Meanwhile, free-to-play casino customers rank having fun as the top motivator at 73%, a third survey of 750 F2P players found. Winning real money or rewards motivated 65% of sweeps respondents to start playing compared to 67% of iGaming customers.
Last August, the AGA sent a memo to gaming regulators throughout the US titled “Regulatory Vigilance Critical to Ensure ‘Sweepstakes’ Don’t Threaten Consumers and Undermine Gaming Regulation.” Multiple states have acted through either legislation or cease-and-desists to ban sweepstakes casinos.
Sweeps casino players call it gambling
Nine out of every 10 sweeps casino players think the games are likely gambling with 59% calling it “definitely” gambling and 31% saying the games are “probably” gambling.
Sweeps players were asked whether sweeps casinos are platforms where customers “wager virtual coins” or “wager real money.” Most respondents, 69%, said “wager real money” is the more accurate description.
Of the 701 players that said they spend real money on sweepstakes platforms, 42% said inclusion of the sweeps coins that allow players to play for real money is extremely important. Another 34% said it is very important.
Does shutting down platforms curb play?
There are 53% fewer sweeps casino players in the seven states where fewer than half of sweepstakes platforms are allowed compared to the states that allow most platforms to operate.
Those seven states include a few that have served many sweepstakes operators with cease-and-desists:
- Connecticut
- Idaho
- Michigan
- Montana
- Nevada
- New York
- Washington
Sweeps ads nearly as common as iGaming ads
According to data from Sensor Tower through May 31, online casino ad impressions are nearly split down the middle between regulated online casino platforms and sweepstakes platforms.
Just over half of those impressions, 50.9%, were on ads for regulated online casinos. Sweeps operators made up the remaining 49.1%.
FanDuel leads the way with 35.1% of spending and 2.445 billion impressions. The second spot belongs to sweeps operator Chumba Casino with 1.988 billion impressions through spending the third-most at 16%.
McLuck (20% of spending, 985 million impressions), DraftKings (8.7%, 628 million) and BetMGM (9.2%, 625 million) round out the top five.
States without legal iGaming targeted
A heat map of ads show sweepstakes operators advertising the most in the largest US states that do not have legal online casinos.
California, Florida and Texas are the most popular states for sweeps ads. Regulated online casinos, meanwhile, keep much of their advertising to states where customers can access their platforms.
