Why Did Louisiana Just Propose Another Anti-Sweeps Law?

Louisiana is becoming something of a curious case, introducing yet another sweepstakes-banning bill in the form of House Bill 883.

This new proposal was recently prefiled by State Representative Laurie Schlegel and has been provisionally referred to the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.

Louisiana and the Sweepstakes Vertical

I say ‘curious’ because we already saw an anti-sweeps proposal passed last year (Senate Bill 181) in Louisiana, but Governor Jeff Landry chose to veto it, pointing out that the state already had the correct laws in place to deal with any threat from gray area sweeps casinos.

Landry also argued that SB 181 was “overly broad and could be interpreted in an adverse manner which may harm or impede our current enforcement actions”.

Then, as if prompted by this statement, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) issued a wave of cease and desist letters to multiple online casinos within a week. Next, Attorney General Liz Murrill released a legal opinion stating that sweepstakes casinos constituted illegal gambling under Louisiana law.

Eventually this was enough to kickstart an exodus of sweeps operators from the Pelican State, and pretty much every major sweepstakes brand subsequently withdrew.

This is why it seems a little strange that the sweepstakes-banning HB 883 has been pre-filed, especially when you consider Louisiana already has an anti-sweeps ban on the books this session in the form of HB 53.

We reported on that bill last month. It aims to add the operation of an “electronic sweepstakes device” – interpreted as capturing online sweepstakes casinos – to the list of offences available for racketeering prosecution in Louisiana.

This would allow much harsher penalties in cases involving organized or repeated violations – racketeering is treated as a far more serious offence than a standalone gambling charge.

So Why Has HB 883 Been Pre-filed?

Perhaps it’s not about whether sweeps are illegal – that’s already established. Perhaps it’s about how aggressively and how permanently the state wants that position locked in.

Governor Landry has already made it clear that he believes existing law is sufficient, but certain legislators may argue that interpretation isn’t durable enough, and that they want explicit statutory hooks on which to hang operators.

Legislatures don’t just regulate current behavior – they have the power to future-proof against re-entry and escalate penalties to ensure deterrents are firmly in place. So HB 883 looks to amend current Louisiana gambling law on “gambling by computer” to add in a definition to capture sweepstakes-type casinos:

This would make any remaining sweepstakes casinos illegal beyond a shadow of a doubt, lining Louisiana up with states like California and New York that definitively outlawed sweeps last year. It would also create the possibility for penalties of up to $100,000 in fines and up to five years imprisonment with or without hard labor in Louisiana.

For players and operators alike, the message is clear: Louisiana is determined to maintain strict control over sweepstakes-style gaming, and certain lawmakers like Schlegel appear intent on future-proofing the state’s laws against any resurgence of these platforms – perhaps in a more targeted way than by adding sweepstakes operation as a racketeering offense, as HB 53 does.

Whether HB 883 will succeed remains to be seen, but the strong support for SB 181 from last year is unlikely to have vanished. And with the legislature opening up for its 2026 Regular Session at noon on March 9, we’ll soon be able to see either way.