Seven US States Have Banned Sweepstakes Casinos and the Wave Is Spreading

WOW Vegas pulled the Sweeps Coin side of its platform out of Illinois on 1 May. Three days later, Ruby Sweeps closed its Indiana operation entirely. Both moves followed a sustained Illinois Gaming Board enforcement campaign and a separate Indiana state law that takes effect on 1 July. Seven US states now have full bans on sweepstakes casinos either active or signed into law. Four more bills are sitting on state governors’ desks. The dual-currency sweepstakes model that has powered platforms like WOW Vegas, Pulsz, Chumba, and RealPrize for the last five years is being dismantled state by state.

For US bingo players specifically, the impact is sharper than the legislative headlines suggest. Sweepstakes platforms have been the de facto home for real-money-equivalent bingo in many states where regulated iGaming does not exist. Pulsz Bingo, RealPrize bingo rooms, and the bingo offerings on platforms like WOW Vegas filled a gap the regulated US market never did. That gap is now narrowing.

What’s already happened in May

The Illinois Gaming Board‘s enforcement campaign is where the practical impact is sharpest right now. In February, the IGB issued cease-and-desist letters to more than 60 sweepstakes operators, coordinated with the state Attorney General’s office. The letters demanded operators block Illinois residents from accessing their platforms or pull the dual-currency model.

Compliance has been thin. As of mid-May, somewhere around three percent of the operators that received those letters had actually complied. Smiles Casino moved first. WOW Vegas and its sister brand Rolla Casino — both run by MW Services Limited — followed on 1 May, restricting Illinois residents to Gold Coin play only. Spin Saga, Rolling Riches, and Carnival Citi also scaled back. The dozens of other recipients, including Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, Pulsz, and High 5 Casino, have so far stayed in market.

Indiana is on a different track entirely. Earlier this year the state passed HB 1052, which becomes operational on 1 July. Ruby Sweeps got ahead of the deadline and exited on 4 May. Milky Star Slots, a smaller operator, shut down entirely. Pulsz adopted a partial pullback in early May that’s worth examining separately — covered below.

Seven states have already enacted bans

The legislative pattern reaches back to mid-2025. Montana fired the opening shot with SB 555 in May, then Connecticut, then New Jersey through the summer. New York’s AB 6745 followed in December. California — the largest single market to ban so far — brought AB 831 into force at the start of 2026. Indiana and Maine round out the seven, both signed and both taking effect this July.

The legal mechanism varies. Some bills explicitly target the dual-currency model. Others broaden the definition of illegal internet gambling to capture sweepstakes platforms within existing criminal statutes. The practical effect on players is the same — Sweeps Coin gameplay ends, prize redemption closes, and Gold Coin play (which has no cash value) either continues or gets pulled depending on the operator’s policy.

Four more bills sit with state governors

Oklahoma’s SB 1589 cleared the state legislature on 4 May after a unanimous Senate vote and a 65-21 House vote. The bill defines online casino games to include any internet-accessible game where users risk something of value to simulate a slot machine, lottery, or bingo. Penalties run to a Class C felony for operators. Governor Kevin Stitt has five days to decide. Under Oklahoma rules, taking no action means the bill becomes law anyway — and if it does, the ban takes effect 1 November.

Tennessee approved its own sweeps ban on 23 April. That bill awaits Governor Bill Lee’s signature. Iowa took a different approach. SF 2289 passed both chambers on 28 April, granting the state gaming commission cease-and-desist authority over sweepstakes operators rather than imposing criminal penalties. The Iowa bill is yet to be signed by Governor Kim Reynolds. Louisiana lawmakers sent Governor Jeff Landry a bill on 27 April that adds operating an electronic sweepstakes platform to the state racketeering statute — the so-called nuclear option that makes prosecution materially easier under RICO frameworks.

Beyond the four bills awaiting signatures, active legislation is moving in Minnesota, Maryland, and Florida. The industry’s main trade body has been losing more legislative battles than it wins.

Why the wave has accelerated

Two industry forces are pushing hard on the regulated side. The American Gaming Association and major casino suppliers including Light & Wonder have argued consistently that sweepstakes platforms operate outside the regulated framework that licensed casinos pay into. The economic argument is unambiguous. Sweepstakes operators sit outside the state gambling tax base. Problem-gambling levies that licensed operators contribute to don’t apply to them either. Nor does the broader testing-and-reserve regime — reserve requirements, RNG certification, and the responsible-gambling standards that licensed operators face all sit outside the sweepstakes model.

State revenue is the other driver. Oklahoma Senator Todd Gollihare, speaking on his own bill, was direct about it — unlicensed and offshore platforms cost the state millions in lost tax revenue. Replace them with regulated taxed alternatives and the state benefits twice over, both on the tax base and on consumer protection.

The pushback comes from the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), the industry trade body that rebranded sweepstakes platforms as “Social Plus” sites in 2025. Its argument centres on the position that sweepstakes promotions are protected commercial activity, that the platforms are merely entertainment, and that the dual-currency model is no different in legal kind from a McDonald’s Monopoly game or a Coca-Cola contest. Lawmakers across both parties have repeatedly rejected the framing. The dual-currency mechanic and the redemption-for-cash-equivalent prize structure look like gambling, irrespective of the marketing position.

What this means for US bingo players specifically

The practical position for a US bingo player now depends entirely on the state. Anyone in one of the seven enacted-ban states or the four governor’s-desk states should plan on sweepstakes bingo becoming inaccessible in coming months. Balances on platforms that are exiting can be redeemed before cut-off, but the windows are tight and operator communications often arrive last-minute. Players sitting on substantial Sweeps Coin balances in any state with pending legislation should plan to redeem rather than accumulate.

For players whose state has banned or is about to ban sweeps, two alternatives remain worth knowing about. Offshore Curaçao-licensed operators like Bingo Village, Bingo Billy, and Amigo Bingo continue to accept US residents from most states — real-money bingo with lower wagering than the typical US or UK regulated market, but with weaker player protections and slower withdrawals. Our guide to online bingo in the US covers what’s accessible by state and the realistic withdrawal expectations. For no-deposit specifically, the US no-deposit bingo bonuses page covers what’s currently available and the cashable-versus-promotional split.

Players in legal iGaming states (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and a handful of others) have the second option: regulated bingo offerings tied to licensed casino operators. The selection is narrower than the sweepstakes platforms used to offer, but the player protections are materially stronger. Our US bingo operator list covers what’s currently active.

The Pulsz Indiana move tells you everything

Pulsz, one of the biggest sweepstakes platforms in the US market, added Indiana to its restricted-promotions list in early May. That puts Indiana in the same bracket as Mississippi and New Jersey on the Pulsz platform — Gold Coin play still permitted, Sweeps Coin play and prize redemption blocked.

This is the staged-retreat playbook more operators will likely adopt. Rather than full exit, platforms pull the Sweeps Coin mechanic from at-risk states while leaving the Gold Coin entertainment side accessible. From the operator’s perspective, the move buys time. The platform is still technically operating in the state, the user base remains warm, and if the regulatory pressure eases or the ban gets challenged in court, restoring Sweeps Coin is straightforward.

From the player’s perspective, the staged retreat is the same thing as a ban for any practical purpose. Pulsz Bingo without Sweeps Coin redemption is not a real-money bingo product. It’s a free-play platform with no prize pathway. Anyone who joined Pulsz for the bingo rooms specifically should check the operator’s current restricted-territories list before depositing further.

The ban wave has changed what US bingo coverage now has to address. Our US-facing pages will update state-by-state as bills move through governors’ desks and enforcement actions land. For any US bingo player on a sweepstakes platform, the practical advice is straightforward: check your state’s current status, check the operator’s restricted-territories list before depositing, and don’t sit on a Sweeps Coin balance you’d rather not lose if the operator pulls out.