Proposals to ban sweepstakes casinos in Arkansas and Maryland have officially died, joining Mississippi’s failed bill last week.
So far in 2025, 11 such bills have been filed in US states, and so far none have passed into law, but three have died.
Arkansas’ HB1861
House Bill 1861 in Arkansas was filed by Republican Representative Matt Duffield in March, with issues around sweepstakes casinos and their legality being labelled an “emergency”. The bill would have deemed the operation of sweeps casinos a Class D felony, but, notably, also included provisions to legalize iGaming across the Natural State.
It wasn’t long before another Senator (Bart Hester) announced the bill stood little chance of passing due to the iGaming portion and opposition from Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Attorney General Tim Griffin. And it seems this prediction became reality when Duffield withdrew the House bill; the counterpart proposal in the Senate was also removed.
Like the failed Mississippi bill, HB1861’s demise was largely because of efforts to legalize online gambling combined with anti-sweepstakes measures in the same proposal. Arkansas’ legislative session only has around one week left to run now, and the House Judiciary Committee has recommended that the proposal be examined further before next year’s session.
Maryland’s SB0860
Maryland’s bill made more progress. Having been originally filed in February by Republican Senator Paul Corderman, it passed a third reading in the Senate and was moved on for discussion in the House. It defined an “online sweepstakes game” and suggested penalties of up to 3 years in jail plus fines of up to $100,000 for illegal operators.
However, the bill did not make it through the legislative process in time. The legislative session in the Old Line State is now over, having ended on Monday (7th), and the bill failed to complete its journey through both chambers before closing time.
Wins for the Sweepstakes Casino Industry
Sweepstakes casinos operating in Arkansas and Maryland will certainly welcome this news, as did the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA), the trade association representing the sweeps industry. It released a statement including the following:
“These three legislative failures in quick succession reflect a growing consensus: lawmakers aren’t buying the hype. These proposals are too broad, unsupported by evidence, and out of step with the public.”
The statement claimed that some lawmakers raised concerns about how these bills would impact other companies and their use of sweepstakes in loyalty programs and travel rewards, too. It also touched on the economic impact of such bills:
“These bills also sought to dismantle an entire ecosystem of legitimate businesses, including game developers, payment processors, software vendors, banks, and more – threatening thousands of jobs and undermining innovation across the economy.”
Eight other bills (in Louisiana, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Nevada, Florida, Montana, and Illinois) are still being debated and voted on. However, with more state legislative sessions scheduled to end soon, we could see more developments with similar outcomes. There’s also the possibility of some of these bills indeed advancing into law, but no state has taken the leap yet.
Stay up to date with all the relevant news here at SweepsKings.
Author: Joseph Allen
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