On July 10, 2026, the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) promoted Managing Director Sean J. Ostrow to executive director. Ostrow now handles day-to-day operations, though the SPGA’s strategy does not appear to have changed.
Former Congressman Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, who served as the group’s executive director, remains on the group’s board of directors.
As states have sought to pass online sweepstakes casino bans, the SPGA has emerged as the key lobbying group for the sweepstakes industry. In the past two years, the SPGA has won debates in Arkansas, Maryland, and Mississippi, even as several other states have passed bans.
The lobbying group represents a united front among major sweepstakes site operators, but it began as two separate industry groups: The SPGA and the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA).
The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) launches
On September 11, 2024, the SPGA launched as an alliance of a dozen mid-tier operators in the industry: Blazesoft (McLuck, Hello Millions), High 5 Entertainment, Kickr Games, Woopla Gaming, Octacom, and Gold Coin Group.
Fliff, the prominent sweepstakes sports betting site, was also a founding member. The group pushed player safeguards and created consumer-protection compliance committees to standardize more player-friendly policies across the group.
The SPGA originally formed to show lawmakers and regulators that the industry could self-police.
The defeat of Arkansas House Bill 1861
It had some early victories. In the first half of 2025, state legislators filed several bills to ban online sweepstakes sites with dual-currency systems. One was Arkansas House Bill 1861, a proposed ban on dual-currency platforms.
The bill died on March 31, 2025, when Arkansas Senate President Bart Hester said the bill had “no chance” of passing.
The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) forms
In May 2025, the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) began operations with onetime Congressman Jeff Duncan of South Carolina as its leader. The SGLA was a response to the flurry of legislative action.
Industry giant Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), which operates Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots, was the prime mover of the group. Other top operators also joined: Yellow Social Interactive (YSI), PLAYSTUDIOS, and ARB Interactive (which owns Publishers Clearing House and Modo Casino).
The new group quickly moved to counter a proposed ban in Louisiana.
Louisiana legislative victory in June 2025
In June 2025, the SGLA convinced Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry that a fast-tracked bill under debate was too flawed to sign and the proposed blanket ban on sweepstakes games would harm the business community.
When Landry took the stance that the bill had not been properly debated, it lost momentum in the Louisiana House. Similar bills stalled in Mississippi and Florida.
Gov. Landry eventually signed a 2026 Louisiana sweepstakes ban, but the 2025 victory bought the industry some time to organize.
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Two groups merge into the SPGA
On September 16, 2025, the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA) and the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) merged into a single group. Both groups thought a united front would save resources and be more effective.
Jeff Duncan’s role added legitimacy to the group, while helping fashion a new strategy focused on shaping the public debate rather than simply playing defense. The SPGA now argued that the dual-currency industry used promotional methods used by Fortune 500 companies for generations.
The group fought for “sensible legislation”, while using the term “Social Plus” to describe the industry’s business model.
2026 legislative victories and defeats
The sweepstakes lobbying group has had its share of victories and defeats. It was instrumental in defeating Maryland Senate Bill 885 on March 13, 2026. Meanwhile, states such as New York, Maine, Indiana, and Louisiana passed bans on sweepstakes casinos.
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