Indiana lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a sweepstakes-style casino ban bill Thursday, practically assuring the prohibition will pass into law.
- Lawmakers passed a bill banning dual-currency sweepstakes casinos, virtually ensuring it becomes law.
- The legislation allows the Indiana Gaming Commission to impose $100,000 fines on operators or individuals and takes effect July 1.
- Indiana joins a growing national movement to outlaw sweeps-style casinos as states intensify enforcement and legislative crackdowns.
The bill, which would prohibit dual-currency styled online casino games, passed the House 69-21 and the Senate 46-4 with bipartisan support. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun could veto the bill, but Indiana law allows overrides with simple majorities in both chambers.
Thursday’s overwhelming vote all but guarantees the legislation will pass into law.
Indiana sweeps bill information
Once passed into law, the Indiana Gaming Commission can impose $100,000 fines against any individual or operator that uses or conducts an online sweeps-style casino game. The bill’s language is targeted to prohibit the hundreds of unregulated sites currently accepting players, but even the potential to enforce civil financial penalties against customers will effectively deter major U.S.-focused operators.
The bill is set to take effect July 1.
Lawmakers worked to target sweeps casinos that use multiple currencies such as gold and sweeps coins, the latter of which can be exchanged for prizes or cash equivalents. Regulators, and now lawmakers, have determined these games circumvent online gambling prohibitions and pushed for legislation to force them out of the state.
The bill applies to sites that replicate lottery as well as casino-style games such as slots, video poker, bingo, and sports wagering. Legislators added provisions late in the legislative process to clarify the bill’s enforcement powers do not apply to peer-to-peer skill-based games such as poker.
Casual mobile free-to-play puzzle and strategy games such as Candy Crush and Clash of Clans were also not included as an illegal gambling form in the legislation, allowing them to continue operating in Indiana.
Legislators did not take up separate proposals to license and regulate sweeps casinos and real-money online casino games. Hoosier State legislators have considered iGaming legalization in prior legislative sessions but made no serious effort to pass these games this year.
Indiana remains one of the nation’s more progressive gaming states. In the 1990s it was one of the first states to legalize modern riverboat casinos and in 2019 it was among the earliest to regulate mobile sports wagering.
U.S. sweeps casino bans accelerate
Indiana is set to join at least a dozen other jurisdictions where sweeps casinos have ceased operations.
Indiana will likely become the seventh state to ban sweeps-style casinos by law, joining California, Connecticut, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, and New York. Another handful of states interpret existing law to prohibit these games, which has had a similar effect cajoling sweeps casinos’ exits.
States as of this month where most major sweeps casino companies don't operate (more will follow):
— Ryan Butler (@ButlerBets) February 24, 2026
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Idaho
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
New Jersey
New York
Tennessee
Washington
West Virginia
Maine, which earlier this year became the eighth state to legalize real-money iGaming, as well as Maryland and Tennessee are among states that have already discussed sweeps ban bills in their respective 2026 legislative session. More could follow.
This is in addition to dozens of cease-and-desist letters sent out by gaming regulators across the country. Though many sweeps operators have continued accepting customers up and until a state has codified a ban or fine structure, Indiana’s vote Thursday is the latest indicator that political momentum has intensified against these games.
