Baba Casino Reopens in Six States Following New California Law

With California’s AB 831 passing and heading to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk, it appears that some sweepstakes casinos are pivoting and reopening in other states to make up for that lost revenue. 

The latest example is Baba Casino. It has removed Ohio, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas from its list of excluded states. 

Spree Casino recently reopened in Georgia and Alabama, following a similar move.

Current Excluded States List

Baba Casino is one of the few sweepstakes casinos that is only authorized for players 21 and older. 

Now, with Ohio, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas off the menu, the current excluded states list includes Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, Washington, Nebraska, Hawaii, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, Vermont, Connecticut, Montana, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Louisiana. 

Sweepstakes Casino Industry In Uncertain Times

In addition to California passing AB 831, here are some bullet points of other major sweepstakes casino-related events that have happened:

• Montana, Connecticut, and New Jersey have passed anti-sweepstakes legislation, which has been signed into law by their respective governors. 
• New York and California have passed laws, but they have yet to be signed by their governors. 
• The Los Angeles City Attorney filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Sweepsteaks Ltd. (the operator of Stake.us) and several software/game providers. 

As a result of all this, some sweepstakes casinos, such as Vivaro.us, SweepSlots, and DingDingDing, have left the United States market altogether. Meanwhile, numerous other platforms have begun pulling out of states, primarily California and Arizona. Arizona doesn’t have any laws on the books, but the Arizona Department of Gaming has issued numerous cease-and-desist notices. 

The Decision Behind Re-Entering These Six States

Here is a quick summary of why Baba Casino may have decided to reopen in these states specifically: 

• Ohio: An anti-sweepstakes casino bill has been proposed, but it would legalize online casinos, which Governor Mike DeWine isn’t thrilled about. That said, there are several class-action lawsuits. 
• Georgia: A lawsuit against Virtual Gaming Worlds, filed in May 2024, was dismissed. 
• Iowa: Not much has happened in this state that would result in a platform leaving. The only possible reasoning could be that Brenna Bird, the attorney general, stood alongside 50 fellow attorney generals, calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue illegal offshore sites. 
• Kentucky: Multiple class-action lawsuits, and there have been laws banning “gray machines.” This may have previously caused sweepstakes casinos to be cautious about operating in these areas. 
• Tennessee: There’s one notable lawsuit, but a federal court ruled it must be heard in the state. There is some uncertainty here, but it remains fairly safe. 
• Arkansas: A bill was previously proposed to ban sweepstakes casinos, but it failed to pass.