The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) announced Friday that it is rebranding sweepstakes casinos games to “Social Plus.”
The decision comes as state gaming regulators have grown increasingly skeptical or opposed to sweepstakes casino platforms, many of which were championed by the SGLA.
Key Takeaways
- “Social Plus” does not represent a new classification or type of online game.
- The SGLA said that Social Plus casinos have consumers’ best interests in mind.
- “Bad actors” are said to have poisoned the reputation of sweepstakes casinos.
According to SGLA Managing Director Sean Ostrow, the term “Social Plus” represents a new category of “freemium” games offered by SGLA partners.
While terminology is new, the games are not. They will continue to utilize the dual-currency system that allows customers to win coins and real-world prizes, which the SGLA maintains distinguishes it from traditional online casinos and illegal casino operators.
Ostrow also highlighted “misinformation” and “outright falsehoods” spread by competitors in and around the gambling industry. He said that SGLA partners required their customers to be at least 21 years old and offer comprehensive consumer protection and responsible social gaming standards.
“‘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,” Ostrow wrote in the announcement. “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.”
The SGLA’s hope is that “Social Plus” better captures the environment and experience of social players amid the increase in regulatory scrutiny.
SGLA blames “bad actors” for skepticism
The SGLA is discussing with industry stakeholders their mission and is open to accepting new partners.
Current partners include the organizations that founded the SGLA, which include ARB Interactive, B-Two Operations, Nuvei, PlayStudios, VGW and Yellow Social Interactive.
New partners would need to uphold the “high standards” set by the SGLA related to consumer protection, safe operating procedures, and responsible social gaming, which includes data monitoring and financial safeguards.
Whether or not the SGLA is able to find new partners, it will be dealing with a mounting pile of orders from local gaming regulators.
Just last Thursday, the SGLA urged the Minnesota Attorney General’s office to reconsider its “mischaracterization” of Social Plus games, which they claim are safe and free-to-play. The organization claimed that “bad actors” had ruined the social gaming industry’s reputation, and that action should not be taken against operators universally.
A couple of days before the SGLA published that letter, 15 lawsuits were filed against social casino operators in Utah.
Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) also signed a bill that banned social casinos from operating anywhere within state lines.
Google prohibits social casino advertising
State regulators aren’t the only group that is turning up the heat on various online gambling platforms.
Google recently updated its advertising standards and closed a loophole that had allowed social casinos to get away with promoting their platforms.
With Google’s policy showing that games offering “real-world rewards” now have to deal with a strict Online Gambling advertising policy, social casinos are ineligible to purchase advertisement slots.
