US sweepstakes casino crackdown: New York, California, Connecticut, Montana and New Jersey ban the model
Updated August 2026.
Five US states — New York, California, Connecticut, Montana, and New Jersey — enacted bans on dual-currency sweepstakes casinos during 2025, and Louisiana’s legislature passed a similar bill before Governor Jeff Landry vetoed it in June 2025. The largest operators, including Pulsz, LuckyLand Slots, and Stake.us, have geofenced the banned states. Indiana and Maine have since enacted bans of their own — see our coverage of the Indiana and Maine bans taking effect.
This article is for informational purposes only. Sweepstakes regulation is rapidly evolving; consult current state guidance before playing.
Which US states have banned sweepstakes casinos
Montana moved first in spring 2025, and by the end of 2025 five states had enacted prohibitions. Louisiana is the one state where a passed ban did not become law.
| State | Instrument | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Montana | Prohibition language live since spring 2025 | Earliest mover |
| Connecticut | SB 1235, enacted 2025 | Regulators issued cease-and-desist letters to major operators |
| California | Legislation passed 2025 | Sweeps Coin redemption explicitly classified as unlawful gambling |
| New York | Signed into law late 2025 | Takes effect in 2026; bans both dual-currency and prize-bearing formats |
| New Jersey | Enacted late 2025 | Sits alongside New Jersey’s existing regulated iCasino market |
| Louisiana | Ban passed, vetoed June 2025 | Veto not overridden; sweepstakes operators remain active |
Why regulators say the sweepstakes model is gambling
State regulators and attorneys general have concluded that the sweepstakes model meets the legal definition of gambling once cash redemption is available. Sweepstakes casinos let players use one virtual currency (Gold Coins) for entertainment-only play, and a second currency (Sweeps Coins) that can be redeemed for cash prizes. Because the cash currency is technically “free” — bundled with Gold Coin purchases or available via mail-in requests — operators have argued the model sits outside state gambling law.
That argument is increasingly rejected. The legal pivot is that the consideration-prize-chance triangle is functionally complete once cash redemption is available, regardless of how Sweeps Coins are nominally acquired.
How Pulsz, LuckyLand Slots, and Stake.us have responded
The major sweepstakes platforms have geofenced the banned states rather than contest the bans. Pulsz (Yellow Social Interactive) and LuckyLand Slots (VGW Group) — the two largest sweepstakes platforms — have geofenced the affected states. Stake.us, the sweepstakes-format sibling of Stake.com, has similarly withdrawn from banned jurisdictions and reportedly shifted resources toward its Latin America regulated push. Smaller operators have either restructured to a pure entertainment Gold Coin model with no cash redemption, or exited US operations.
Industry trade groups including the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) have framed the bans as overreach, arguing the bans remove an entry-level entertainment product without addressing the offshore gambling sites that the bans nominally protect against.
What players in banned states should do
Players in New York, California, Connecticut, Montana, or New Jersey should stop redeeming and check their state’s rules before playing anywhere.
- Check your state. In New York, California, Connecticut, Montana, and New Jersey, sweepstakes redemption is now illegal even if a site still loads. Withdrawals can be frozen.
- Be cautious of VPN workarounds. Using a VPN to access a sweepstakes site from a banned state typically breaches the platform’s terms and can result in winnings being voided.
- Regulated iCasino is the legal alternative. Seven states — New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware — operate regulated online casino markets, with licensed casino apps from operators such as BetMGM, DraftKings, and Caesars Palace Online offering real-money play under explicit state regulation. For a broader view of where online casino play is legal, see our guide to online casino legality by country.
Which states could ban sweepstakes casinos next
Indiana and Maine have already followed the 2025 wave with bans of their own, covered in our follow-up report. Beyond those, bills have been introduced in Maryland, Illinois, and Mississippi, and the legislative trend lines suggest more states will follow in 2026 and 2027. The sweepstakes industry’s long-term survival likely hinges on either a federal definition that legitimises the model, or a structural pivot toward pure-entertainment formats that drop the cash-redemption mechanic entirely.