• The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance is now calling online sweepstakes Social Plus
• The sweepstakes market continues to seek a legal footing across the US

The primary lobbying group promoting online social games with sweepstakes promotions has a new, more concise term for its products.

A screengrab shows the Chumba Casino homepage. Chumba Casino is a member of the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance, which recently rebranded online social gaming sweepstakes operations to Social Plus. (Image: Casino.org)

The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) has rolled out a new way to describe the controversial online games it seeks to mainstream. The group now calls sweepstakes casinos “Social Plus.”

Let’s face it, ‘online social games with sweepstakes promotions’ is a mouthful. Social Plus gives us a bite-sized term that can positively describe online social games with sweepstakes promotions in an understandable and easy-to-share way. Social games and entertainment are the core of what we do. But the ‘plus’ is more than just the opportunity to win prizes; it’s the higher standard of consumer protection and player safety that SGLA partners hold themselves to,” explained Sean Ostrow, the managing director of the SGLA.

Social Plus refers to social gaming websites and apps that are free to play but additionally offer purchases for a secondary digital currency that can be played to win cash prizes. Often called “sweeps coins,” the digital coins can be redeemed for money.

Rebrand Comes as Losses Mount 

The SGLA has been on a losing streak. Google recently removed online social sweepstakes, ahem, Social Plus, as a permissible form of social casino gaming advertising. Google’s updated advertising policy says social casino games are only “online simulated gambling-style games where there is no opportunity to win something of value.”

In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill banning all forms of online sweepstakes promotions that allow a person to improve their odds of winning by making a purchase.

California joined Connecticut, Montana, Nevada, and New Jersey in passing legislation outlawing sweepstakes casinos. Gaming regulators and attorneys general in many other states have ordered Social Plus companies to cease operating within their jurisdictions.

Smear Campaign? 

Critics of Social Plus argue that the websites are illegal gambling enterprises designed as sweepstakes promotions.

The SGLA contends that the commercial and tribal gaming industries, which are highly regulated and taxed, something social sweepstakes are not, have embarked on a smear campaign against Social Plus. The SGLA says the regulated industries have “spread misinformation and outright falsehoods” about how social casinos work.

SGLA partners have always put consumer protections first, and we remain committed to advocating for state regulatory and taxation frameworks that will benefit players, communities, and the industry,” Ostrow said.

The SGLA says its members agree to only allow players aged 21 and up through identity verification technologies. Members must also implement responsible gameplay tools and use “best-in-class” data and financial security safeguards.

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