No More Slingo on Sweeps Casinos

Slingo has quietly dropped off the menu at sweepstakes casinos this month. The beloved hybrid game format, which enjoyed popularity across numerous sweepstakes casinos, has been removed from every single sweepstakes casino following a decision by its parent company.

London-headquartered Gaming Realms, which acquired the Slingo brand in 2015, has opted to remove these games from sweepstakes casinos. Regulated real-money casinos still have the games, and this could be a sign that the game providers themselves are becoming wary of the negative press surrounding the best sweepstakes casinos. 

The withdrawal impacts numerous prominent sweepstakes casinos, including Mega Bonanza, McLuck, Hello Millions, PlayFame, Fortune Coins, High 5, and Chumba. Previously, patrons could enjoy fan favorites such as Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania Slingo and Deal or No Deal Slingo using either Gold Coins or Sweeps Coins, pursuing winning lines or coveted full-house combinations. But no more. 

Why are Sweeps Casinos Potentially Toxic?

Legislators in multiple American states have targeted sweepstakes casinos, with proposals to restrict these operations advancing through state governing bodies in Montana, Louisiana, New York, and other states. 

None of these efforts have actually come to anything yet, though, and recent bills to ban sweeps casinos have failed spectacularly in Arkansas and Maryland. That hasn’t stopped legislators in other states from continuing with their own anti-sweepstakes legislation, and numerous sweeps casinos have pulled out of states that are hostile to the model entirely. 

While sweeps casinos don’t have gaming licenses, a lot of gaming operators do. Gaming Realms holds gaming supplier licenses in Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Ontario. Subsidiary companies and partners also hold licenses from the UK Gambling Commission and operate in Italy, Romania, and other countries.

A Solid PR Move?

It may be that Gaming Realms simply does not need the negative press or the potential issues with its own licenses and partners and has made a strategic decision to pull out of the sweepstakes casino market and focus solely on real-money casinos.

Another brand will almost certainly step into the breech with a Slingo-derivative before long, so watch this space.