Sweepstakes casinos have grown exponentially over the last five years, with Google Trends showing an increase of over 9,000% for "sweepstakes casino" searches from 2020 to 2026. But while sweepstakes platforms are seemingly everywhere, Americans hardly ever get to know the people running the show. For the most part, sweepstakes casino owners, CEOs, and developers prefer to remain in obscurity.
Rui Gomes, the owner of the U.S.'s newest sweepstakes casino, SweepCoins.com, has decided to break the mold by agreeing to meet us for a video call and answering a few questions. With a background that includes successful ventures in the AI niche, Gomes is a digital marketing maverick and self-described "do-it-all" with big ambitions for the U.S. sweepstakes market.
Before getting into the specifics, can you start by telling us a little bit more about Sweep Coins?
Sure! So, SweepCoins.com is a classic sweepstakes site where you can play just for entertainment or for real prizes, but we do some things differently. Our big thing is transparency and support, especially [for] VIPs Members Club. We're also strong on live dealer games, I think most U.S. sweepstakes have fewer live games than us.
As a businessman, why did you feel like now was the best time to launch a U.S. sweepstakes casino?
I think business, marketing, all of these things are ultimately about recognizing good opportunities and knowing how to take them. It's not like I was planning on owning a sweepstakes casino five years ago and just waiting for the right moment to launch… What happened is that I heard about sweepstakes at some point, decided to do some research, and realized it was a massive business opportunity, particularly in the United States. From that moment on, it was all about doing what had to be done.
I guess that's the "knowing how to take them" part of the equation; how challenging was it to launch your first U.S. sweepstakes casino?
Super easy, no problem at all! (laughs) But no, it was and still is a challenge, from payments and development to affiliates, design, marketing, player experience, CRM, our exclusive members club.. We operate a full-scale system with countless moving pieces. To be honest, I wouldn't like it any other way. Right now everything's in tune, the launching has been great, and the team is scaling and getting better. But we never want to get to a point where we say, "OK, now the casino is making money, so we can relax." The idea is to improve, improve, improve.
Now that Sweep Coins is up and running, what's the advice you would give to someone who wants to start their own U.S. sweepstakes casino?
If it's just one [piece of] advice, it's really hard… I would have to say: start by reaching out to successful people in the field to gather the information you need, surround yourself with a team, small at first, of people you can trust, and never think, "This is too much for me". Just take it step by step, day by day.
Now a tough one: compliance. You've certainly heard that Newsom signed a bill banning sweepstakes in California. What are the implications of running a business that, let's face it, can eventually be banned across all U.S. states?
We have, obviously, taken this into account. Like I said before, Sweep Coins comes from recognizing this great opportunity at what was, I believe, the ideal timing. But our plan for SweepCoins.com is to explore new features and grow a loyal user base, going past just sweepstakes. We want to make sure that, if sweepstakes disappear from night to day, our U.S. players will still be able to log in to redeem their prizes, play social games just for fun, and reach out to support.
OK, final question: so far, what's the most interesting thing you've learned about the online sweepstakes casino industry?
I think that the toughest but hands-down most interesting side of running a sweepstakes casino is establishing trust. U.S. players are skeptical of sweepstakes casinos because they've seen many of their favorite sites disappear, often at a financial cost. At SweepCoins.com, we want to be a lasting brand, not a fad. We're in for the long game.
Rui, thank you so much for taking some time to meet us today. I think this might be one of the first interviews of a sweepstakes casino owner ever!
We love interviews, getting the word out, doing everything transparently. It's still a business, but we want our platform to be a more humane type of sweepstakes, where people can play without worrying about redemptions, hidden fees, poor support, and that kind of thing.