A gaming company is offering a peer-to-peer role-playing game in two massive markets that have banned sweepstakes casino operators.
Key Takeaways
- An RPG card game from B-Two Operations offers “Mystery Coins” that can be used at online casinos.
- The digital card collection game is only offered in California and New York.
- Those states banned sweepstakes companies from operating dual-currency games this year.
B-Two Operations, which owns popular sweepstakes platforms McLuck, SpinBlitz, Hello Millions, and others, is running cardcrush.com in California and New York, two states that passed legislation this year outlawing dual-currency gaming sites.
The card game mimics World of Warcraft, calling it a sweepstakes coin version of the popular online RPG game, according to Sweepsy. Through the card collection, B-Two Operations’ game allows users to obtain “Mystery Coins” that can be used at an online casino and redeemed for cash prizes, circumventing laws in the Golden State and Empire State.
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Sending to sweepstakes
Card Crush promotes itself as a digital card collection game that allows users to “build your perfect deck, and take on other players in daily battles.”
As the user upgrades cards and climbs tiers through “Mystery Boxes,” mystery coins are created. Those coins, according to Card Crush, can be used for casino-style games and live table games, “all while your card collection keeps leveling up in the background.”
Online slots and dealer casino games are promoted on the initial website. However, at signup, customers in only New York and California are allowed to create an account.
California’s sweepstakes ban takes effect Thursday, while New York’s prohibition and ability to take legal action against operators who violate the law took effect when signed by the governor earlier this month.
Card Crush gets around these bans by offering one currency, the “Mystery Coins.” The collectible cards themselves can’t be redeemed for anything. Traditional sweepstakes sites use free-to-play coins that can be transferred into redeemable tokens for cash prizes.
Groundbreaking?
California doesn’t offer legal sports betting or online casinos, as gaming is controlled by tribes through compacts. New York offers legal sports betting and in-person casinos, but the state’s pro-iGaming lawmakers have not been able to push mobile casinos through the legislature.
In New York and California, the sweepstakes laws prohibit games that include (but are not limited to) slots, video poker, table games, lottery games, bingo, sports betting, or any sweepstakes games that mimic or simulate similar gambling. RPG card games, like Pokémon, are not specifically mentioned.
This type of game could start a trend in other states that have taken action. Connecticut and Montana have also legally banned sweepstakes operators. On Monday, Tennessee’s Attorney General joined other states in a crackdown on online sweepstakes casinos by pushing them out of the market.
