6 States Have Been Removed From Baba Casino’s Excluded List
Expertise: Sports betting, iGaming industry
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As of Wednesday, Sept. 17, six states have been removed and will seemingly resume operations there: Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Ohio, and Iowa. The excluded states list has decreased from 23 to 17 teams.
The New List and Examining the Change
With Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Ohio, and Iowa being removed, here are the states that remain on the list: Vermont, Connecticut, Montana, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, New Jersey, Hawaii, Mississippi, New York, North Dakota, Idaho, Michigan, Nevada, Washington, Nebraska
Again, these moves came after AB 831 passed, and it seems as though this was done to make up for the lost revenue from California. According to independent firm Eiler & Krejcik, California makes up 17.3% of the sweepstakes casino market. Soon, that’ll be gone.
Since AB 831 passed, numerous sweepstakes casinos have left the state or the sweepstakes market in the United States as a whole. For example, High 5 is leaving California, and Vivaro.us is shutting down as of Oct. 1.
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Similar Trend and Why Those Six States
Baba Casino isn’t the only sweepstakes casino to do this – reopening in other states. For example, Spree Casino has removed Georgia and Alabama from its excluded markets list. So, with Baba Casino reopening in those six states, what makes them “safe” to return to?
● Ohio: While there are lawsuits in the state, these are class-action lawsuits and not ones directly from the state. However, there has been talk about a bill to ban sweepstakes casinos in Ohio.
● Georgia: There was a lawsuit brought against Virtual Gaming Worlds in May 2024, but the case was thrown out.
● Kentucky: While there are some class-action lawsuits, there are no laws on the books against sweepstakes casinos directly; only “grey machines” and “skill games”.
● Arkansas: A bill to ban sweepstakes casinos was considered, but didn’t get all too far.
● Tennessee: There’s a pending lawsuit in Tennessee that will be something to monitor.
● Iowa: There’s no real indication as to why a sweepstakes casino would leave Iowa other than attorney general Brenna Bird joining a group of 50 attorney generals urging the Justice Department to crack down on offshore sites.
Ultimately, there’s one prevailing theme: While none of these states are “perfect”, there’s no law on the books like California’s, and the aim is seemingly to make up for the revenue lost with California’s shutdown.
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