A threat to sweepstakes gaming has hit the Maryland legislature, making it the next state to possibly ban sweeps casinos.
Maryland’s 2026 legislative session begins on Jan. 14, and lawmakers have pre-filed measures titled “Gaming — Prohibition on Interactive Games and Revenue From Illegal Markets.” The two bills are Senate Bill 112, which is assigned to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, and House Bill 295, which is assigned to the House Ways and Means Committee.
HB295 and SB112 share the exact same text. They look to prohibit “certain persons from operating, conducting, or promoting certain interactive games,” specifically games that utilizes “multiple currency systems of payment, allowing the player to exchange the currency for any prize or award or cash or cash equivalents,” those games that “simulates casino-style gaming, such as slot machines, video poker, and table games, including blackjack, roulette, craps and poker.”
The bills also outlaw sweeps gaming that includes “draw games, instant win games, keno, bingo [and] sports wagering.”
Why two bills with the exact same language?
Maryland attempted similar efforts in the 2025 session. Senate Bill 860 passed through the state senate’s Budget and Taxation Committee and the full Senate, but stalled in the House. Its companion bill, House Bill 1140, never got past the House’s Ways and Means Committee.
These new bills would penalize offending parties who operate these games with “imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not less than $10,000 and not exceeding $100,000 or both.”
Maryland’s 2026 bills also go over the financial systems that would support sweepstakes casinos. Licensed Maryland operators must disclose any business relationships with “a financial institution, payment processor, geolocation provider, gaming content supplier, platform provider, or media affiliate that is known to support, operate, conduct, or promote an interactive game in the State.”
Maryland is the 6th state to join the list
Maryland would join five other states that have introduced bans on sweepstakes casinos for the 2026 legislative session.
Virginia introduced HB161, which looks to regulate iGaming by tying licenses to brick-and-mortar casinos while also banning Sweeps Coin gameplay. Mississippi, Florida, Indiana, and Maine have also introduced sweeps bans in their legislative sessions.
However, as the number of states considering banning sweepstakes casinos increases, Indiana is up for debate. Recently, Indiana Rep. Jim Lucas said he was “100% against” an outright ban in his state.
“They provide a service that hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers are enjoying, and they are operating within the law,” said Rep. Lucas when supporting Rep. Steve Bartels’ amendment to House Bill 1052 that would create a regulatory framework for sweepstakes casinos.
“And it’s incumbent upon us to find a way to make this work.”
