The Indiana House became the first legislative chamber in the US this year to act on a proposed sweepstakes casino ban.
The House voted 87-11 to advance Rep Ethan Manning’s HB 1052 this week. It would prohibit sweepstakes casinos from operating in Indiana. Senator Ron Alting will sponsor the legislation on its journey in the upper chamber.
Manning’s bill defines sweepstakes games as online contests using multi-currency systems that allow users to exchange online coins for cash prizes after playing casino-style games. During consideration in the House Public Policy Committee, lawmakers substituted “multi-currency” in place of “dual currency” in the bill’s language.
Regulators can impose civil penalties of up to $100,000 on operators conducting the games. In another committee change, lawmakers downgraded the penalties from criminal to civil.
Indiana Gaming Commission General Counsel Natalie Huffman told a committee last month sweepstakes operators were not violating existing laws and regulations. Huffman said explicit rules are needed so the regulator can send cease-and-desist letters.
An amendment to regulate sweepstakes operators failed in committee last month, as did an amendment to legalise iCasinos. Manning has been a champion of iCasino legalisation in Indiana, but he told the Indiana Capital Chronicle last month that such expansion is unlikely this year.
US sweepstakes casino bans
Six states banned sweepstakes casinos in 2025, including California, New Jersey and New York. Louisiana lawmakers also passed a ban, but Governor Jeff Landry vetoed it, explaining regulators had the ability to enforce existing gambling laws. The Louisiana Gaming Control Board then sent more than 40 cease-and-desist letters to unlicensed operators, including sweepstakes sites.
Multiple other state regulators have sent cease-and-desist letters to sweepstakes operators.
The wave of action against the sweepstakes industry continues this year.
“This issue has brought lawmakers together that it represents illegal gambling and revenue theft in many states,” West Virginia Delegate Shawn Fluharty, who is also president of the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States and head of government affairs at operator Play’n GO, said at the NCLGS Winter Conference in Puerto Rico in December.
Proposed sweepstakes bans in Maryland and Mississippi passed one chamber of their legislatures last year but ultimately fell short. Both states have active proposals this year.
Lawmakers in several other states have also introduced legislation, including:
- Florida
- Maine
- Tennessee
- Virginia
This year, Louisiana lawmakers are looking to tie sweepstakes casinos to potential racketeering charges.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/gaming/gaming-regulation/house-indiana-sweepstakes-casino-ban-2026/
