Blazesoft, Sweepstakes operator sued in New York

The world of online sweepstakes casinos just got a jolt as Blazesoft, the company behind Sportzino, Zula, and Fortune Coins, finds itself at the center of a high-stakes class action lawsuit in New York.

The complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York, accuses Blazesoft of running what amounts to an illegal gambling operation dressed up as a ‘free-to-play’ sweepstakes platform.

At the heart of the legal drama is Blazesoft’s dual-currency system.

Here’s how it works: players buy ‘Gold Coins’, which can’t be redeemed for cash, but with every purchase, they receive a nearly identical amount of ‘Sweeps Coins’, the real prize, since these can be wagered on games of chance and cashed out for real money.

The lawsuit calls this a ‘thin veil’, arguing that the 1:1 ratio between dollars spent and Sweeps Coins received reveals the true nature of the transaction: players are essentially buying the right to gamble online, sidestepping state gambling regulations.

Plaintiff Autumn Boatner, a New York resident, claims she lost real money on these platforms, and the proposed class includes anyone in New York who’s wagered with Blazesoft’s brands.

The suit doesn’t just allege illegal gambling it also accuses Blazesoft of targeting vulnerable groups, including young people and those susceptible to gambling addiction, all while failing to provide basic consumer protections or addiction resources.

The complaint even questions the legitimacy of Blazesoft’s business structure, pointing out that its brands are ‘based’ in Delaware but have no real presence there, and that the company itself is headquartered in Ontario, Canada.

Whether this case signals a broader crackdown on the sweepstakes casino industry remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the legal gray area these platforms have operated in is suddenly looking a lot less gray.