Chavdar Vasilev is a journalist covering the casino and sports betting market sectors for CasinoBeats. He joined CasinoBeats in May 2025 and reports on industry-shaping stories across the US and beyond, including legislative debates, market...
Read Full BioIndiana lawmakers have introduced a new bill that classifies online sweepstakes casinos as a form of illegal gambling, empowering regulators to issue six-figure penalties against operators. The move marks the latest development in a rapidly growing national crackdown on dual-currency gaming platforms.
Co-sponsors Rep. Ethan Manning, Rep. Peggy Mayfield, and Rep. Justin Moed filed House Bill 1052 on December 5. The measure has been assigned to the House Committee on Public Policy.
Although HB 1052 is a broad administrative bill—covering horse racing oversight, alcohol enforcement, tobacco licensing, and several criminal-code updates—it also contains a small but significant section establishing a new regulatory framework for online sweepstakes casinos.
By embedding the sweepstakes provisions in a wide-ranging regulatory bill, lawmakers positioned the changes alongside routine agency updates. That potentially eases their path through committee review.
The bill proposes a statutory definition of a “sweepstakes game.” It also authorizes the Indiana Gaming Commission to issue a civil penalty of $100,000 per violation.
The measure takes effect July 1, 2026.
Bill Creates Definition of Sweepstakes Games
HB 1052 introduces a new definition under state gaming law that directly targets social-casino–style sweepstakes operations. The bill defines a sweepstakes game as any online promotion that:
“utilizes a dual-currency system of payment allowing a player to exchange currency for a cash prize, cash award, or cash equivalents, or a chance to win a cash prize, cash award, or cash equivalents; and simulates casino-style gaming, including slot machines, video poker, table games, lottery games, bingo, and sports wagering.”
The same definition is added to the Indiana criminal code, linking sweepstakes platforms to the state’s gambling-crime framework. That signals a potential prosecutorial use in future cases.
$100,000 Penalties Per Violation
The bill authorizes the commission to impose one of the most significant civil penalties in any state for sweepstakes-casino operations. It empowers regulators to issue a $100,000 fine against any operator or individual who uses the internet to conduct a sweepstakes game in Indiana or in a transaction involving an Indiana player.
Indiana’s framework echoes Nevada’s recent approach. There, Senate Bill 256 empowered regulators to target and prosecute out-of-state operators without Nevada licenses. The measure prompted nearly every major sweepstakes casino to withdraw from the state within weeks of its passage.
Third State to Introduce a Ban Bill for the 2026 Session
Indiana’s proposal lands shortly after lawmakers in Maine and Florida introduced similar state-level actions against dual-currency sweepstakes casinos.
Maine’s LD 2007, introduced just days before HB 1052, creates a dedicated statutory chapter for “online sweepstakes games” and situates the segment within the state’s criminal gambling framework.
In Florida, lawmakers filed HB 189 and HB 591, two broad measures that expand the definitions of illegal gambling and directly target sweepstakes-style casino platforms.
New York Becomes Sixth State This Year to Enact Ban
On the same day that the Indiana bill was introduced, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed SB 5935-A, which imposes an immediate statewide prohibition on online sweepstakes casinos. That made New York the sixth state this year to pass a ban on the segment.
The past year marked the most concentrated regulatory pressure the sweepstakes-casino sector has faced to date. In addition to the prohibitions, multiple states targeted the platforms via enforcement actions.
With three states now pre-filing prohibition bills, scrutiny of sweepstakes casinos—long operating in a gray legal area—is likely to intensify further in 2026.
