A conference committee in Indiana has been successful in reconciling differences between House and Senate versions of HB 1052, the omnibus bill that could ban sweepstakes casinos.
We reported on the bill passing the Senate with amendments last week, and mentioned how the House had, at first, rejected the changes.
Conference Committee Resolves HB 1052 and Next Steps
For that reason, a joint conference committee with members from both chambers met yesterday and quickly agreed to a final version of HB 1052. This means it can now move on for one final approval from both chambers, before heading to the Governor, who may sign it, veto it, or allow it to become law without signature.
Time is of the essence as the Indiana legislature’s target adjournment is February 27, the point at which lawmakers try to pass any remaining bills. Then the hard deadline falls on March 14 – this extra period allows for any last-minute disputes.
If HB 1052 is signed into Indiana gambling law, its wording states it would become effective on July 1 2026, and analysts are giving it a good chance of doing just that. Seeing as it already passed the House 87-11 and the Senate 37-8 previously, it’s likely that similar votes will be repeated.
Indiana Sweepstakes Ban and Industry Impact
Introduced in December last year by Representative Ethan Manning, the bill suggests changes to Indiana law when it comes to horse racing, the sale of tobacco and alcohol, sports betting, and sweepstakes casinos.
And it’s that last point that’s drawing the most attention, with the Hoosier State being a jurisdiction where most sweepstakes sites operate currently. A ban would affect hundreds of operators, including big brands like WOW Vegas, Stake.us, and McLuck.
These operators would potentially face fines of $100,000 if they didn’t leave the state, although HB 1052 is unusually lenient on operators’ supply chains (affiliate partners, payment processors etc.).
We’ll be monitoring the bill’s progress closely over the coming days, as this could mark the first anti-sweeps bill of 2026, while plenty of other states are progressing their own similar proposals.
Author: Mike F.
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