Speaking on a panel alongside Jason Rosenberg, CEO of American iGaming Solutions, and Jon Kaplowitz, CEO and co-founder of Clubs Poker, Attard emphasised that sweepstakes gaming has been around for years but is now entering a period of rapid expansion.

She believes that increased competition, particularly from European entrants, will further drive the sector’s growth.

Industry experts estimate that at least 50 to 60 casino sweepstakes operators are currently active, with an additional handful in the sports sweepstakes sector.

“Regulation will be inevitable because there’s no way back,” Attard stated, adding that she expects more elements to be incorporated into social casinos as the industry matures.

A shift in industry perception

Rosenberg highlighted a shift in attitudes toward the sector, recalling how difficult it once was to find service providers willing to engage with social casino operators.

“When we first started, it was really hard to have conversations with payment processors and content providers who wanted to get into this space,” he said. “Now, we’ve seen an explosion of progress.”

He also predicted that tribal gaming operators will begin to invest in the sweepstake space. “Those are conversations that are already happening,” he confirmed.

Regulatory uncertainty

Kaplowitz, meanwhile, stressed the importance of educating US lawmakers on the nuances of the industry to avoid potential regulatory roadblocks.

Several US states have recently taken steps to ban the sweepstakes model, citing concerns over consumer protections and lost tax revenue.

“I think the industry will survive in some form, but the next six to 12 months will be crucial,” he said.

“We need to put our collective efforts together to re-educate the power brokers here in America, because we need regulatory and legal clarity,” he added.

He suggested that operators will likely strengthen responsible gambling measures, as well as Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols, to mitigate regulatory concerns.

Kaplowitz also pointed to the need for innovations in the space, predicting that future social casinos may integrate features that make them appear more like mainstream digital entertainment platforms.

“If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, regulators will call it a duck,” he said.

He added that lawmakers will most likely not invest the time “to learn the nuances of the game,” so the industry needs to ensure social casinos don’t just mimic real-money gambling, but evolve with unique mechanics that set them apart.