Chavdar Vasilev is a journalist covering the casino and sports betting market sectors for CasinoBeats. He joined CasinoBeats in May 2025 and reports on industry-shaping stories across the US and beyond, including legislative debates, market...
Read Full BioThe increased pressure on sweepstakes casinos in California is beginning to reshape the industry’s content libraries. Titles from two heavyweight suppliers, Evolution and Pragmatic Play, have disappeared for California users of Stake.us and other platforms shortly after the Los Angeles City Attorney filed a civil lawsuit against the operator and several suppliers.
Evolution Faces Legal Heat Alongside Stake.us
Last week, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto filed a civil enforcement action against Stake.us. She alleges the site operates as an illegal gambling business under state law. The lawsuit also names Evolution and several of its subsidiaries. They include NetEnt, Red Tiger, Big Time Gaming, and Nolimit City, as co-defendants.
The complaint seeks treble damages and an injunction to halt advertising and availability of sweepstakes casinos in California.
Shortly after, users began reporting that games from the Evolution subsidiaries are no longer available. While they are still listed in the library, those playing from California get a message, “Gameplay is restricted from the region you are trying to play from,” when they click on them.
Evolution’s removal from Stake.us for California users underscores the pressure on suppliers who face both regulatory and reputational risks when tied to sweepstakes models in contested states.
The timing also follows recent leaked recordings in a separate legal case. There, executives were heard discussing the company’s presence in restricted markets, further fueling scrutiny of the supplier’s operations.
The suit is part of a broader wave of legal action. In parallel, a separate national class action targets VGW, technology suppliers, and influencer Brian Christopher. That case and Soto’s complaint signal a widening legal front targeting multiple players in the ecosystem.
Notably, games by Hacksaw Gaming, another defendant in Soto’s lawsuit, are still available for California players.
Pragmatic Play: a Sweeps Heavyweight Begins to Pull Back
Pragmatic Play, one of the most popular suppliers across sweepstakes platforms, has also pulled its titles from Stake.us. Indications are, however, that the supplier has exited California altogether.
Multiple platforms have limited access to Pragmatic Play games, which often appear among the most popular or trending titles. When users attempt to access titles on sites like Stake.us and WOW Vegas, they receive an error message.
Meanwhile, platforms like Zula Casino and Pulsz Casino have removed Pragmatic Play altogether from their lobby in California.
The removal of Pragmatic Play’s games in California could mark a significant shift, given the supplier’s role as a core provider in the sweepstakes sector.
Losing access to Pragmatic’s games in California, the largest US state, highlights the mounting risks operators and suppliers are facing as regulatory, legislative, and legal challenges intensify.
The bigger picture
By targeting content and technology suppliers, as well as operators, California’s enforcement strategy aims to disrupt the supply chain that keeps sweepstakes casinos competitive. Without Pragmatic Play and Evolution titles in the state, operators risk retaining many players who log in to play those games.
If more suppliers follow, sweepstakes casinos could face a shrinking game library in a key market. That’s even before the legislature votes on AB 831, which would formally outlaw the model statewide.
