Councilmember Wendell Felder has introduced the Internet Gaming and Consumer Protection Act 2026 to create a legal licensing system for online casinos and, at the same time,...
Online sweepstakes casinos to be banned in Maine and Indiana
Two U.S. states, Maine and Indiana, are moving forward to ban online sweepstakes casinos as legislation progresses through political chambers.
To begin with, Indiana’s state Senate has approved House Bill 1052, which includes a ban on online sweepstakes casinos and would enforce a civil penalty for violations.
On February 2, 2026, the bill passed Indiana’s House of Representatives with an 87-11 vote before passing the Senate with a 37-8 vote on February 18, 2026. The Senate passed the bill with amendments and sent it back to the House; however, the House disagreed with the changes and filed a motion to dissent and sent it to a reconciliatory conference committee.
If the bill is approved and ratified by Mike Braun, the Governor of Indiana, the ban would come into effect on July 1, 2026.
Maine’s legislation to ban sweepstakes casinos comes as the state is in the process of launching regulated online casinos, with Legislative Document 2007 being passed by the Maine Joint Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs on February 18, 2026, by an 8-2 vote. The vote was cast with three absentees, so the bill will move to the next stage after those votes are added.
The two states would join Connecticut, Idaho, Montana, New Jersey, Washington, New York, and California in the list of states where sweepstakes casinos are banned.
Janet Mills, the Governor of Maine, signed a bill banning online sweepstakes casinos in the state on April 6, 2026, after lawmakers had approved and sent it to her desk on...
