On Friday, New Jersey officially joined the list of jurisdictions where state law explicitly bans online sweepstakes casinos.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed five bills into law Friday. One was Assembly Bill 5447, which outlaws sweeps casinos.
“Lawmakers in New Jersey have completely ignored their own constituents and enacted a ban that voters oppose,” Jeff Duncan, executive director of the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance, said in a press release. “This law is a textbook example of government overreach that strips away entertainment choices from adults who should be free to make decisions about their own entertainment.”
The state legislature passed AB5447 on June 30. There was never really any doubt that Murphy would sign the bill into law, and Friday’s action cemented what the sweepstakes gaming industry had already come to accept.
Now that it has the governor’s signature, the bill immediately becomes law. There is no wait until 2026.
So sweeps casinos are, as of Friday, illegal in New Jersey.
Reminder of what the bill says
Specifically, AB5447 amended the definition of “prize or prize equivalent” in the gambling sense to include: “a virtual facsimile thereof, that can be exchanged, sold, or redeemed, either directly or indirectly through means such as a third-party marketplace, external service, or cash-out function.”
It’s referring to Sweeps Coins. In sweeps casinos, players can use Gold Coins, which have no redeemable value, or Sweeps Coins, which can be redeemed for cash.
Lawmakers in New Jersey, and other states targeting sweeps casinos in 2025, have reasoned that this dual-currency model, where Sweeps Coins can be redeemed for real-world money, effectively constitutes online gambling as it’s being used for casino-style games.
Sweeps proponents counter by pointing to promotions from established companies, such as Hilton Honors or Marriott Rewards, that follow a sweepstakes framework as well.
“New Jersey lawmakers have chosen to eliminate jobs, destroy innovation, and take away games that adults play responsibly and enjoy,” said Duncan, a former South Carolina congressman. “This isn’t about consumer protection – it’s about using political influence to help established gambling interests eliminate perceived competition even though our products are fundamentally different.
“Online social games use the same promotional structures as countless American businesses, yet New Jersey has decided to prohibit digital game providers from using well established marketing tools while protecting legacy casino operators.”
Most operators have already left NJ
The majority of notable sweepstakes casino brands have already shut down in New Jersey. Some waited until the last minute. Some did it soon after the New Jersey Legislature passed the bill. Some even did it before the legislation passed.
Some have done full shutdowns — meaning New Jersey players cannot access their social or sweeps games. And some have only closed off their sweeps games, still allowing New Jersey players to play with Gold Coins.
That’s what VGW sites (Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, Global Poker) are doing. VGW began phasing out its New Jersey sweepstakes platform on July 29. Funzpoints and Spree did full platform shutdowns earlier that month. Other notable recent departures from New Jersey include MyPrize.us, Clubs Casino and Clubs Poker, LuckySlots.us, and Zula Casino.
Checking in on evolving 2025 landscape
New Jersey joins Montana and Connecticut as the three states whose governors have signed bills banning sweeps casinos in 2025. New York passed a bill in June that hasn’t yet been signed, but according to Vixio, Sen. Joseph Addabbo, the bill’s author, said Gov. Kathy Hochul has until the end of the year to sign it. (In parallel, New York Attorney General Letitia James also issued cease-and-desist orders to 26 sweeps operators.)
Nevada’s governor also signed a bill that strengthens the state’s enforcement capability against unlicensed operators, a group that sweeps casinos belong to in that state.
Currently, a sweeps ban bill is set for its third and final Senate committee hearing in California on Aug. 18. And a bill that would ban sweeps casinos (and legalize real-money online casinos) is on the table in Ohio, but it appears to have stalled since May.
The SGLA is actively lobbying against the bill in California, Assembly Bill 831.
“The SGLA will aggressively oppose similar misguided legislation in other states,” the press release reads, “and continue fighting for sensible regulatory frameworks that respect voter preferences, protect consumers, and preserve the fundamental right of adults to choose their own entertainment.”
