(Matt Hansen also contributed to this report.)
Leading sweeps-based online-poker site Global Poker will be withdrawing its services from Nevada, PokerOrg has learned. In a lengthy text message sent to its Nevada-based customers, Global Poker detailed its exit from the Silver State over the coming months.
While all Nevadan customers, existing or new, will remain able to deposit on Global Poker at the present time, that will change early in 2025. The three phases of Global Poker’s exit are as follows:
Jan. 15, 2025 – Nevada players will no longer be able to purchase new Gold Coin packages, which also include the ‘bonus’ Sweeps Coins. Players will still be able to wager with their existing balances.
Feb. 15, 2025 – Nevada players will be barred from any wagering involving their existing balances and will be requested to cash out their existing Sweeps Coin balances, which are redeemable for prizes (including cash).
Apr. 15, 2025 – Players will no longer be able to make redemption requests nor will they have access to Global Poker. Any remaining balances might be forfeited, though the messages from Global Poker do not address that specific point.
Nevada will become the sixth US state where Global Poker will be unavailable, joining Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Washington, and Connecticut, which Global Poker departed earlier in 2024. Those five states are listed as excluded territories in Global Poker’s Terms and Conditions, as is Canada’s Ontario province. Nevada is not yet listed, but likely will be as of January 15.
Other VGW sites likely to be pulled as well
Global Poker is one of three sweeps-based offerings operated by Australia-based Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW), which is the largest global operator in the sweeps-based market niche. The texts seem by PokerOrg reference Global Poker only, but it is likely that VGW’s other offerings, Luckyland Slots and Chumba Casino, will be pulled as well. In each of the barred states to date, all three VGW sites have been withdrawn at once, and Global Poker also includes other casino-style games.
The multi-phase withdrawal from Nevada implies, but does not confirm, that Global Poker’s exit may be part of a compromise reached with state-level authorities such as the Nevada Gaming Control Board or the state’s Attorney General’s office. Nevada has pursued other alleged illegal online-poker operators in the past, such as when it arrested Las Vegas resident and long-time poker pro Bryan Micon over the operations of the crypto-based Seals with Clubs (SWC) platform.
VGW is also under legal attack in several other states, both from state regulators (such as in Delaware) and via a wave of consumer-launched class actions alleging that the sites’ various offerings constitute illegal online gambling. VGW has defended the legality of Global Poker and its other sweeps-based sites that employ a dual-currency model, but litigation against the company shows no signs of going away.Â
The sweeps niche continues to face an uncertain future, though as long as populous states such as California continue with no formal framework governing online gambling, VGW and other major sweeps site may find continuing opportunities to market their services.