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Baba Casino Returns to Six States; Sportzino Ordered to Exit Tennessee

While much attention has focused on sweepstakes casinos exiting markets, Baba Casino has announced that they are returning to six states where they previously ceased operations. Meanwhile, Sportzino's sports product is making them leave Tennessee.

Steve Lapinski
Steve Lapinski

Last updated: 2025-09-22

Chad Nagel

6 minutes read

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While many sweepstakes casino operators are closing to markets, Baba Casino is boldly entering six states they previously left.

While many sweepstakes operators are heading for the exits in certain markets, Baba Casino is boldly returning to six states where they previously ceased operations.

Baba Casino Bucks Trend and Returns to Six States

For much of the past few weeks, the news has been depressing to fans of sweepstakes casino fans, especially folks that live in the State of California. However, it's not all bad news, especially with the latest news from sweepstakes casino operator Baba Casino.

In a stunning reversal, Baba Casino has returned access to players from six states that they previously prohibited: Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee.

Baba Casino was previously one of the more restrictive sweeps casinos when it came to banned states. Previously, Baba Casino had twenty-three US states excluded from their platform. With this change, that number drops by over a quarter to just seventeen.

Why did Baba Casino choose to re-enter these markets? We can't know for sure, but here's some thoughts on the matter:

  • In Arkansas, the proposed sweepstakes ban got gummed up in the process and hasn't been moved along, plus a few lawsuits haven't resulted in any sanctions for sweeps casino operators.
  • In Georgia, VGW ended up on the winning side of a few lawsuits, plus some operators, such as McLuck Casino, had already returned to the state.
  • In Iowa, there are some bigger fish that would likely find themselves in the crosshairs first, should something happen, including operators like WOW Vegas.
  • In Kentucky, there still hasn't been any notable effort by regulatory bodies to combat sweepstakes casino operators, even though there have been some suits brought in the state.
  • In Ohio, the only real activity putting pressure on sweepstakes casinos is a pending lawsuit against Crown Coins Casino.
  • In Tennessee, the action seems to be strongest in opposition to sports betting operators instead of sweepstakes casinos, as Tennessee already has a regulated sports wagering market.

Another interesting angle is that these six states, when combined, are roughly the size of one California. Is Baba Casino proactively making an expansion play to offset a possible exit in California should AB 831 become law in the coming days, as is expected by many?

Sweeps Operator Sportzino Forced to Exit Tennessee

Even though Baba Casino is heading back into the Tennessee market, there is a notable exit from the same market by another sweepstakes platform.

Sportzino, operated by respected social casino company Blazesoft, has exited Tennessee. One of the least restrictive sweepstakes platforms in terms of excluded states, Sportzino is now restricted in six US jurisdictions: Idaho, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Tennessee and Washington.

Why has Sportzino exited Tennessee?

The Tennessee Sports Wagering Council (SWC) has issued an order for Sportzino to cease operations in the state. Unlike the other Blazesoft properties and most other sweepstakes casinos, Sportzino offers a sportsbook product in their platform, which provides unwelcome competition for the Volunteer State's legal, licensed sportsbook operators.

This isn't the first time the SWC has gotten an operator to leave the state. Legendz, another sweepstakes casino with a sportsbook, and Bovada, an offshore sports betting site and online casino, both left the state in the past year.

Previously, the SWC issued fines for several offshore sportsbooks; Bet Any Sports, Bookmaker, Jazz Sports, Bet Online and Every Game were each fined $50,000 by the regulatory body.

Steve Lapinski
Steve LapinskiCasino Editor

Steve Lapinski specializes in just about everything related to slot machines and casino games, both online and in land-based casinos in the USA. With over 25 years experience in the online gaming industry and nearly 40 years as a recreational gambler, the breadth of his knowledge on these topics is matched by few. Steve is passionate about casinos, and he takes great pride in sharing his knowledge of the subject with his readers.

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