Louisiana’s HB 53 Clears House Vote 86-11 & Moves to Senate

Louisiana’s HB 53 proposal, which would fold certain gambling activities – including some sweepstakes devices – into racketeering statutes, is now officially picking up steam.

It passed the House yesterday with an 86-11 floor vote and will now move to the Senate for examination in committee.

Those who’ve been following the sweeps bans in the US might say, “Wait a minute – haven’t most online sweepstakes casinos already left Louisiana?” And you’d be right.

Last year, Governor Jeff Landry made it a point to crack down on sweepstakes platforms with the help of the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB), sending out a wave of cease-and-desist letters that triggered a mass exodus from the Pelican State.

This followed a plain anti-sweeps bill (SB 181) that was passed by the legislature but ultimately vetoed by Landry – he argued the state already had sufficient laws to target illegal operations, and the warning – with the C&Ds – became something of a self-fulfilling prophecy, pushing many operators to leave the state.

Those on the receiving end of letters included big names like Stake.us, Chumba, and Pulsz, and by SweepsKings’ reckoning, almost all sweepstakes casinos have now left Louisiana to avoid legal trouble.

So what’s the point of HB 53? Well, it’s certainly not a straight sweepstakes casino ban. It’s designed to bring various gambling offenses under the umbrella of racketeering (organized crime) laws, which allow for much harsher penalties than one-off offences.

HB 53 wants to move the following crimes under racketeering law:

Also “Gambling by electronic sweepstakes device” is mostly aimed at physical machines in businesses or clubs, not online platforms.

At the same time, “gambling by computer” could theoretically cover online sweeps still offering services in the state (they do exist), but it would rely on sweepstakes sites being proved to be gambling – something that’s notoriously hard to do.

Overall, HB 53 would strengthen the state’s ability to go after illegal physical gambling, and while some parts could apply to online sweepstakes or other internet-based gambling, that would still depend on interpretations yet to be tested in court.

Regardless, it’s another clear illustration of Louisiana’s continuing hardline stance on unregulated gambling, showing that operators – online or offline – should tread carefully, and that warnings and enforcement alone can influence behavior, as demonstrated in the state last year.