The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency have proposed two new bills aimed at banning sweepstakes casinos and being tougher on illegal online gambling.
SB 112 and HB295 are the new bills and they are a carryover of the 2025 bill BH1140 which failed to advance past the committee stage – that too had the aim of being tougher on sweepstakes casinos.
What are the actions of the Bill?
As part of the proposals, there would be a new criminal ban on ‘interactive games played online or on mobile’, something it defines as: “Utilizes multiple currency systems of payment allowing the player to exchange the currency for any prize or award or cash or cash equivalents.”
This is key as the main business model of sweepstake casinos is to use ‘dual-currency.’ It’s where you can buy ‘sweeps coins’ after the purchase of ‘gold coins’, which can be claimed for free via bonuses and/or completing specific challenges. After playing through, players can redeem the ‘sweeps coins’ for cash prizes and gift cards.
However, the proposed bills hope to: “Prohibit the Commission from issuing a license to certain persons or allowing the person to commence or continue operations if the person or an affiliate of the person knowingly accepts revenue that is directly or indirectly derived from certain jurisdictions.”
This means license applications would be denied and even revoked if operators, or affiliates, gain money from the unique model.
Consequences of non compliance
Those that are found guilty of breaking the proposed law could face ‘imprisonment not exceeding three years or a fine not less than $10,000 and not exceeding $100,000 or both’.
It does face opposition from the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), which has been seeking ways to bring legislators to the negotiating table.
They had hoped to be a regulated industry that would eventually pay state taxes. That, however, failed to yield any positive outcomes in 2025.
As such, operators rebranded their games to ‘Social Plus’ late last year to try and bring legislators onside. They claim operators and platforms are fully-equipped with a range of consumer protections.
Other states that have taken action against sweepstakes casinos
Last year, six states including New Jersey, New York and California passed bills to ban such operations. Plus, legislators in Virginia have proposed bills to ban sweepstakes casinos and to legalize online gaming in the state instead.
Other states including Florida, Iowa, Maine and Indiana are also discussing the issue and whether law enforcement can be allowed to target sweepstakes casinos – including the use of cease-and-desist orders.
The Bill in Maryland, which is due to begin its hearing on January 14 with their respective committees, is likely to progress further than last year’s similar bill.
This goes to show that there’s a conscious effort by legislators across America that sweepstakes casinos need to be banned. Whether they’re successful with that across more states remains to be seen.
