Card Crush: Single-Currency Game Seeks Way Around California, New York Sweeps Bans

An online game operator appears to be testing the waters with a new style of game in New York and California, which have passed anti-sweepstakes legislation in 2025.

Sweepsy published a detailed article on “Card Crush.” According to Sweepsy, the company behind Card Crush is Vision NL Limited. Little publicly available information is available about Vision NL Limited. (Editor’s note: an earlier version of this story cited a sweepstakes operator as the owners of Card Crush.)

Card Crush seeks to skirt these bans by ostensibly operating via a single-currency system. Most legislation banning sweepstakes includes language specifically banning so-called “dual-currency” products.

The official Card Crush rules state it is only available in California and New York. It’s only available to those 21 and over.

Card Crush and Mystery Coins

Card Crush appears to revolve around one currency, Mystery Coins. The short of it is that players buy virtual card packs to play an online deck-building game. The card packs (“Mystery Boxes”) include Mystery Coins. Players can then use Mystery Coins to play online casino games, and they can trade Mystery Coins for real money.

The card battle games are peer-to-peer. So, Card Crush has essentially married two seemingly disparate industries — online deck-building games and online casino. It has linked the two through Mystery Coins.

“Your cards come to life once you unlock powerful cards through Mystery Boxes, level them up and jump into battles to earn Loyalty Club points and rewards,” the game description reads. “Once you’ve stacked your Mystery Coins, switch over to casino-style games and live tables for even more ways to play, all while your card collection keeps leveling up in the background.”

The official description advertises the online casino games as a “break from building your deck.”

Mystery Boxes reportedly cost $7.99 apiece. Players can also buy individual cards for prices ranging from $1 to $100, depending on the card’s in-game utility and rarity.

Will Card Crush Hold Up Against Bans?

California’s ban on sweepstakes operators details the following criteria defining such games:

• Available on the internet or accessible on a mobile phone, computer terminal, or similar device
• Utilizes a dual-currency system of payment
• Simulates casino-style gambling
• Awards cash or cash equivalents

Card Crush does not try to hide the fact that it includes casino-style gaming. Quite the opposite, in fact. It specifically uses those same words to describe the product.

“Inside each Mystery Box, you’ll also discover Mystery Coins, which you can use to play Casino-Style Games and Live Table Games for the chance to win real prizes,” the description says.

The “Online Slots” section provides hundreds of options for the player. There is also a “Live Table Games” section that includes roulette and blackjack.

The question that ultimately determines the product’s legality may revolve around the cards themselves for the deck-building game. Do they constitute a form of currency?

While the cards aren’t labeled “coins,” players purchase them and then receive corresponding Mystery Coins. That mechanic would seem not much different from the use of a dual-currency system in which both products are labeled coins.

Online poker platform ClubWPT Gold has attempted a similar pivot. Instead of buying “Gold Coins,” players now buy “Hand Analysis Credits.” Essentially, the site has positioned itself as a poker training product.

However, it has sent mixed signals on what that means in regards to the recently passed bans. It announced that it expects to continue operating in California. But when New York passed its ban, ClubWPT Gold exited the state immediately.

Image credit: Markus Grossalber/Flickr (license)