New York State is the latest to table legislation to ban Sweepstakes casinos entirely.

State senator Joseph Addabbo introduced Senate Bill S5935, which will prohibit Sweepstakes casinos and help pave the way for legalized igaming that will bring tangible benefits to the state.

The bill is an amendment to the existing Racing, Part-mutuel Wagering, and Breeding Law that specifically targets the dual-currency system employed by Sweepstakes casinos. That system of promotions and bonuses, rather than straightforward gambling, helped this new breed of online casinos slide under the radar of real money gambling laws for so long. By offering a free-to-play model and offering Sweeps coins as a bonus that can be played with and redeemed for cash or prizes later, Sweeps casinos fell under sweepstakes laws that were designed for lotteries and raffles.

Now, New York State, along with several others, is taking a stand against the whole sweeps model. Addabbo’s legislation clearly targets the sweeps model and any financial institution, payment processor, gaming content supplier, or even media affiliate that promotes or assists sweeps casinos within NY State. Every violation carries a potential $100,000 fine in the proposed bill.

Sweepstakes Casinos to Exit New York State?

The bill now sits with the Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee, which Addabbo chairs. There will be a series of debates and amendments, and the bill will need a state assembly counterpart to pass into law. That now looks increasingly likely, and if it does, then all Sweepstakes casinos would have to withdraw the sweeps model and revert to free play or simply block all New York State residents from the site.

Florida, Kentucky, California, and Maryland have similar bills in process, while sweepstakes casinos are already banned in Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi and Georgia.

Michigan, West Virginia, and Connecticut have taken state-level action against Sweeps casinos, and high-profile casinos like StakeUS and High 5 have pulled out of states pre-emptively rather than face the regulators. 

Class action lawsuits against Chumba Casino’s parent company, VGW Holdings, are still ongoing in New York State. McLuck Casino, High 5, Wow Vegas and CrownCoins were recently named alongside Apple and Google in a lawsuit in neighboring New Jersey using RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations) laws designed to fight organised crime.

New York State is the latest in a long line of states to oppose the best sweepstakes casinos, and 2025 is set to be a critical year for the whole business model. We’ll keep you up to date with the news as it happens.