Clubs Poker
1 known investors
Clubs Poker is an online social poker platform offering a range of poker game variants for both experienced players and newcomers. It operates as a free-to-play destination serving poker players across the USA.
Also known as Clubspoker.com
Investors Β· 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Clubs Poker is a US online social poker and casino network operating on a sweepstakes model, marketed under the tagline "Play for fun. Win for real." Users play with Gold Coins for entertainment or with Sweeps Coins, which can be redeemed for prizes after being wagered at least once. The platform is browser-accessible and offers Texas Hold'em, Omaha, HORSE, Stud, 2-7 Single Draw and All-in or Fold, alongside table features such as rabbit hunting, bomb pots, run it twice, straddles and a bad beat jackpot. Casino-style games are also offered.
Tournament programming includes Sit&Go, Spin&Go, bounty and progressive knockout events, mystery bounty, satellites, rebuy and reentry formats, mixed games and freerolls. Recurring scheduled events listed on the site include nightly Sweeps Coin tournaments with guaranteed prize pools and Saturday Hustler Casino Live freerolls in both Gold Coin and Sweeps Coin currencies. Promotions span a welcome first-purchase bonus, a referral program, daily free coins, daily freerolls and progressive bad beat jackpots.
The company was founded in 2023, is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and reported 49 employees. It stated a goal of becoming the largest online poker network in North America, and as of December 2025 operated in 39 US states following its withdrawal from California and several other states.
Founding story
The company was founded in 2023 by Jon Kaplowitz, co-founder and CEO, a media and technology executive with more than 20 years of experience in incubating businesses, deal execution and operating companies domestically and internationally, and Jeff Kaplan, co-founder and COO, whose 15-plus-year career spans gaming, Web3, media and entertainment and management consulting and includes work on the Barstool Sportsbook and Casino, the NBC Sports Predictor app and the Freeport fractional art investing platform. Company materials describe Clubs Poker as created to offer an alternative in a US market where online poker options are limited.
Business model
Clubs Poker operates a dual-currency sweepstakes model. Players use Gold Coins, a virtual currency that can be obtained free or purchased and cannot be redeemed for prizes, or Sweeps Coins, which cannot be purchased but are distributed through promotions and an alternative method of entry such as a postal request code, and which become redeemable for prizes after being played at least once. Play is positioned as free forever with no purchase necessary, while revenue arises from optional Gold Coin purchases such as a first-purchase offer that grants a 100% bonus on a minimum $20 spend.
Monetization is based on optional purchases of Gold Coins, including a one-time welcome offer giving up to a 100% bonus with a minimum $20 spend that grants 100,000 Gold Coins and 20 Sweeps Coins. Sweeps Coins themselves cannot be purchased and are distributed via promotions or an alternative method of entry; they are redeemable for prizes once played. Core access remains free with no purchase necessary.
Traction
The company reported 49 employees and describes a growing player community. Its schedule includes hundreds of tournaments with recurring daily and hourly events and guaranteed Sweeps Coin and Gold Coin prize pools. Availability is advertised in 38 states on its website, with 39 states of operation reported in December 2025.
Latest developments
In December 2025 Clubs Poker confirmed it would end access for California players on December 29, 2025, requiring pending redemptions to be submitted by that date and geo-blocking California thereafter, in response to California's AB 831 ban on dual-currency sweepstakes effective January 1, 2026. It was the second sweepstakes poker operator to confirm a California exit, after Stake US. The company continued running recurring tournament series, including its No Fee Daily Mix series covered in poker trade media.
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Clubs Poker competes in the US sweepstakes poker segment against operators including Stake US, Global Poker and ClubWPT Gold, and describes its ambition as becoming the largest online poker network in North America and the premier online poker destination in the United States. Trade coverage groups it among the small number of sweepstakes poker operators tracked for state-by-state regulatory responses.
Clubs Poker positions itself on breadth of poker content relative to other sweepstakes platforms, offering more than a dozen poker formats and variations plus table features such as rabbit hunting, bomb pots, run it twice, straddles and bad beat jackpots that are less commonly bundled together, alongside a large recurring tournament schedule and casino-style games. Company materials also cite social features and technology intended to drive player retention and lifetime value.
Technology
The product is delivered as a browser-based online poker and casino platform supporting multi-variant cash games, a large recurring tournament schedule and in-game features such as rabbit hunting, run it twice, bomb pots and progressive bad beat jackpots, together with dual-currency (Gold Coin and Sweeps Coin) account mechanics, mobile verification and geolocation-based state restrictions. Reported funding was earmarked in part for AI-based matchmaking and engagement features.
Go-to-market
Acquisition and retention run through direct-to-consumer online channels: a browser-based product, social media presence on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, sign-up and first-purchase offers, a referral program with coin rewards, daily login coin grants and daily freerolls. Branded tournament series tied to Hustler Casino Live and affiliate poker media coverage also feature in its distribution. Reported funding was partly allocated to marketing to broaden its player community.
Adult recreational and experienced poker players in the United States, spanning newcomers to the game and higher-stakes enthusiasts, reached through a free-to-play sweepstakes format.
Geography
Clubs Poker serves players in the United States only. Its website advertises availability in 38 states; December 2025 coverage reported operation in 39 states following the confirmed California exit and earlier withdrawals from Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Washington and West Virginia. The company is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
History
The company was founded in 2023 and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It participated in a16z's Speedrun accelerator as part of cohort 004. A December 2024 funding news item reported a $4.5 million raise directed at product development, AI-based matchmaking, new tournament formats and marketing. In 2025 the company adjusted its state footprint, withdrawing from Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Washington and West Virginia, and in December 2025 confirmed it would exit California on December 29, 2025, ahead of AB 831, a state law banning dual-currency sweepstakes effective January 1, 2026.
Risks & controversies
The business depends on the legal status of dual-currency sweepstakes gaming in individual US states. California enacted AB 831 on October 11, 2025, banning all forms of dual-currency sweepstakes effective January 1, 2026, making it the fifth US state to prohibit online sweepstakes and prompting Clubs Poker to exit the state on December 29, 2025 and forfeit access to the most populous US market. The company had already withdrawn from ten other states, indicating continuing exposure to state-level regulatory change.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 3
launches, deals, and filingsClubs Poker notified California players that access would end on December 29, 2025, with pending prize redemptions due by that date and California-registered accounts deactivated and geo-blocked thereafter. The exit follows California AB 831, signed October 11, 2025, which bans dual-currency sweepstakes effective January 1, 2026. Clubs Poker was the second sweepstakes poker operator, after Stake US, to confirm departure from the state.
After confirming its California exit, Clubs Poker operates in 39 US states, having earlier withdrawn from Connecticut, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Washington and West Virginia.
A funding news item reported that Clubs Poker secured $4,500,000, with proceeds earmarked for new gameplay features including AI-based matchmaking, new tournament formats, and marketing to grow its player community.
$4.5M source β
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
βΈResearch sources Β· 8
primary sources listed
- Clubs Pokerclubspoker.com Β· web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Clubs Poker do?
- US sweepstakes online poker and casino network offering free-to-play poker variants and tournaments with redeemable prizes.
- Who are Clubs Poker's investors?
- Clubs Poker's investors include Courtside Ventures.