Fliff Launches Superstars DFS as California Cuts Off Sweepstakes Betting
Fliff has launched Superstars, a peer-to-peer daily fantasy sports product, on the same day California banned sweepstakes-style sports betting.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:Fliff rolled out Superstars on Jan. 1, 2026 – the day Assembly Bill 831 took effect and effectively shut off sweepstakes sports betting in California. The new product is a real-money, pool-based daily fantasy sports (DFS) offering that pits players against one another in head-to-head and pooled contests similar to formats seen at Underdog, PrizePicks and Sleeper.
At launch, Superstars is available in 11 states: California, Utah, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Minnesota, Kentucky, West Virginia, South Carolina and Rhode Island. While that footprint could be read as an expansion, the timing suggests a defensive pivot: Fliff appears to be positioning Superstars as an avenue to retain revenue and player attention in the wake of AB 831, which removed the legal footing for sweepstakes-style sportsbooks in the state that has been the sector’s largest market.
“You can’t understate how large California was for sweepstakes operators,” said Sam Walters, senior analyst at Echelon Gaming. “Fliff’s Superstars looks like a pragmatic response — it leverages an existing customer base and tries to convert sweepstakes users into DFS players without relying on the dual-currency mechanics regulators have targeted.”
The DFS market Fliff is entering is crowded and well-established. Major incumbents benefit from years of product refinement, deep liquidity in prize pools and ingrained user habits. That presents a high bar for any newcomer hoping to take a meaningful share.
Still, Fliff is likely betting on customer overlap: many sweepstakes players already participate in DFS, and those who prefer Fliff’s UX or have loyalty to its brand may follow. Whether that is enough to win sustained share against national DFS platforms that have built scale over the years remains uncertain.
Related: California’s Assembly Bill 831 Targets Online Sweepstakes Operators
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Industry Reactions and Strategic Shifts
Operators across the sweepstakes ecosystem have taken varied approaches since AB 831 moved from threat to reality. Some firms reopened or expanded into jurisdictions where they had previously been offline to recoup revenue. Others scaled back or exited markets entirely.
A number of operators kept “Gold Coin” or equivalent play available in states that now prohibit sweepstakes currency redemptions. Firms such as Modo introduced loyalty-focused systems that let players earn non-redemptive points and later exchange them for in-platform packages. Some smaller operators chose to wind down operations amid the legal uncertainty.
There has also been product innovation. MyPrize announced a move toward prediction markets through a strategic partnership, while VGW has doubled down on brand consolidation and platform efficiency, launching new verticals and migrating sites onto a single technology stack. ClubWPT shifted its model toward poker education with a single redeemable currency, and Card Crush debuted a hybrid RPG-card approach that ties micro-economies to gameplay.
“We’re seeing a diversification of responses – from legal workarounds and loyalty mechanics to wholesale product reinvention”, said an industry executive who asked not to be named. “Fliff’s choice to introduce Superstars is straightforward compared to some of the more experimental pivots. It’s less risky: DFS is regulated in a different way and doesn’t rely on the sweepstakes construct lawmakers targeted.”
For players in California, the practical impact is immediate: sweepstakes sportsbook-style contests that used redeemable sweeps currency are no longer available as they were. Operators are racing to present alternatives that keep people engaged while complying with the new state law.
Regulatory and Market Outlook
AB 831 has forced a rapid industry reset. Expect continued legal scrutiny, particularly in states with large populations and vibrant informal sweepstakes ecosystems. Companies that can demonstrate regulatory compliance and scalable liquidity will be better positioned to navigate the near term.
For Fliff, Superstars represents both a defensive maneuver and a bet on product migration. If the company can convert a meaningful portion of its user base into paying DFS customers, Superstars could become a durable revenue stream. If not, the broader industry’s experimentation – from loyalty ecosystems to prediction markets – will determine which approaches survive in a post-AB 831 landscape.
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