Sweepstakes Casinos Exit Indiana and Maine En Masse as Tennessee Ban Bites and Louisiana’s August 1 Deadline Looms

The sweepstakes casino industry lost two more states in July, as operators pulled out of Indiana and Maine en masse ahead of hard legal deadlines, while Tennessee saw its own wave of departures and Louisiana operators now face an August 1 cutoff that carries the toughest penalties yet, including potential racketeering charges.

Indiana’s House Bill 1052 took effect July 1, giving companies 110 days from Governor Mike Braun’s March 12 signature to shut down redeemable sweepstakes play or exit entirely. There was no licensing pathway and no transition period, just a hard line: keep offering dual-currency, cash-redeemable games in Indiana and face civil penalties of up to $100,000 per violation.

Who Left Indiana

The exodus reached nearly every major brand in the space. VGW withdrew Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, LuckyLand Casino, Global Poker, and United Slots from the state entirely. Sweepstakes Ltd. pulled Stake.us, while B-Two Operations exited with McLuck, Hello Millions, Jackpota, Mega Bonanza, PlayFame, and SpinBlitz. MW Services Ltd. discontinued WOW Vegas, Rolla, and MetaWin for Indiana players, and Blazesoft ended sweepstakes play across Fortune Wins, Zula Casino, Sportzino, Yay Casino, American Luck, Luck Party, and Win Bonanza. Yellow Social withdrew Pulsz Casino and Pulsz Bingo, and additional platforms including Fliff, Golden Hearts, Ruby Sweeps, Baba Casino, ACE Casino, Cider Casino, Lucky Bunny Casino, and Lavish Luck were also reported gone before the deadline.

HB 1052 defines any internet-based dual- or multi-currency system simulating casino or lottery products, with winnings exchangeable for cash equivalents, as a prohibited sweepstakes game. The Indiana Gaming Commission now has authority to fine companies regardless of where they’re incorporated, provided they’re serving Indiana residents. Sweepstakes poker products, including Global Poker’s poker offering and ClubWPT Gold, were explicitly carved out of the ban.

Maine Follows Two Weeks Later

Maine’s LD 2007, signed by Governor Janet Mills on April 6, took a different legal route into effect around mid-July. Rather than a straightforward dual-currency ban, the law classifies Sweeps Coins as “indirect consideration,” pulling sweepstakes operators directly into Maine’s existing gambling statutes. Penalties range from $10,000 to $100,000 per violation, with proceeds directed to the state’s Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund, and any licensed operator found in violation faces mandatory license revocation. Operators including Jackpota and Mega Bonanza were among the first confirmed departures from Maine, with Blazesoft, ARB, Woopla, and Yellow Social also pulling out ahead of enforcement.

Tennessee’s Quieter Exit Wave

Tennessee’s ban arrived with less fanfare but similar effect. Senate Bill 2136, signed by Governor Bill Lee in May, prohibits online platforms from offering virtual or dual-currency systems where players acquire digital currency through purchases, bonuses, or promotions and later redeem it for cash or prizes. The bill effectively ended Sweeps Coin gameplay in the state as soon as Lee’s signature made it law, giving operators far less runway than the multi-month windows seen in Indiana and Maine.

Louisiana’s August 1 Deadline Raises the Stakes

Louisiana is shaping up to be the harshest test yet for the industry. Governor Jeff Landry signed a pair of bills, House Bill 883 and House Bill 53, that go further than a simple prohibition. HB 883 defines dual-currency gaming as illegal gambling by computer, while HB 53 classifies gambling by computer as a predicate offense under the state’s racketeering statute. Both take effect August 1, meaning operators still active in Louisiana after that date could face fines up to $100,000 alongside potential racketeering charges carrying prison terms as long as 50 years and $1 million in fines.

That combination makes Louisiana’s approach the most aggressive of any state to date, and it’s expected to trigger another round of operator withdrawals in the final days of July as companies race to avoid exposure before the deadline lands.

What It Means for the Industry

With Indiana, Maine, Tennessee, and soon Louisiana off the map, the sweepstakes casino sector is contending with a rapidly shrinking legal footprint in the U.S., following earlier bans in California, New York, New Jersey, Montana, Connecticut, and Washington. Operators are increasingly forced into fast, state-by-state exit decisions, often within weeks of a governor’s signature, and the compliance burden of geofencing dozens of states with different rules continues to climb. Players in affected states are typically given a short redemption window for existing balances before accounts go inactive, though redemption is generally cut off entirely once the ban takes hold.

For players in states where sweepstakes casinos remain legal, reviewing which sweepstakes casino promo codes are still active is worth doing regularly, since the list of operating platforms and their offers keeps shifting alongside this legislative pressure.