Maryland’s Sweepstakes Ban Died When the Session Ended — What Operators Should Take From That

Maryland’s 2026 legislative session ended on April 13 without a sweepstakes casino ban. Two bills that looked like serious threats to the industry — both of which passed the House of Delegates with overwhelming support — died in the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee before a vote could be taken. For sweepstakes casino operators that have spent the past two years nervously watching Annapolis, the outcome is a temporary reprieve. But the pattern here is worth understanding, because it is not as clean a win as it might look.

The two bills were House Bill 295 and House Bill 1226. HB 295 came from the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency itself, asking legislators to prohibit the operation of platforms that simulate casino games using dual-currency systems. HB 1226, titled the Maryland Illegal Online Gambling Enforcement Act, took a broader and more direct approach — explicitly folding sweepstakes gaming into the state’s definition of illegal online gambling, and giving the attorney general new enforcement tools including cease-and-desist authority, injunctions, and both civil and criminal penalties.

How the Bills Moved and Why They Stalled

Both bills cleared the House with ease. HB 1226 passed 134-2. HB 295 passed 105-24. Those are not close votes. The House sent a clear message that a majority of Maryland legislators want to act on sweepstakes casinos. The problem was the Senate. Neither bill received a floor vote in the upper chamber before the session ended. Both were assigned to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee and did not emerge.

The irony is that this outcome is the mirror image of what happened in 2025. That year, a Senate bill banning sweepstakes casinos passed the Senate unanimously but stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee. In 2026, the dynamic flipped: the House passed two bills and the Senate blocked them. Maryland has now produced two consecutive sessions in which one chamber passes a sweepstakes ban and the other chamber refuses to act on it.

What This Means for Operators in Maryland

The practical legal reality in Maryland has not changed. Sweepstakes casinos remain technically legal in the state — they operate in a gray area, as they do in most states, by using promotional sweepstakes mechanics rather than traditional real-money wagering. But the de facto market situation is already quite restrictive. Multiple notable operators — including Funzpoints, McLuck, Hello Millions, Jackpota, Spree, and Mega Bonanza — have exited Maryland or shut down Sweeps Coin gameplay in the state without being legally compelled to do so.

The reason is simple: the regulatory and legal risk has been visible enough that running the Maryland market feels more trouble than it is worth for operators without deep pockets. That dynamic is unlikely to change just because the 2026 session ended without legislation. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, which drafted HB 295, still has existing enforcement mechanisms it can deploy. And the legislature will be back in 2027 with the same arguments and probably the same bills.

How Maryland Compares to Other States

Maryland’s outcome stands in contrast to states that have moved decisively in one direction or the other. Indiana approved legislation banning sweepstakes casinos in 2026, becoming one of the clearest examples of a state drawing a hard line. Louisiana attempted a similar ban in its recent session but the bill did not advance. Maine has also explored restrictions without completing the legislative process.

The inconsistency across state lines is exactly the kind of regulatory fragmentation that creates operational headaches for sweepstakes casino companies. A business model that is legal in one state, banned in an adjacent one, and technically legal but practically unworkable in a third state is a very difficult environment to scale in. Each legislative session is another round of uncertainty.

The Bigger Industry Takeaway

The fact that two bills with near-unanimous House support could not clear the Maryland Senate is meaningful, but operators should not read this as a signal that legislative appetite for a ban is fading. The opposite is more likely true. The vote margins in the House — 134-2 and 105-24 — suggest that if the Senate eventually gets its act together, a ban in Maryland is a real possibility. The pattern of one chamber passing and one chamber blocking will not hold indefinitely. At some point, both chambers will be aligned, and the operators still active in Maryland will have very little warning when that happens.