Sweepstakes casinos weren't on any ballot last Tuesday.
Some of the people most likely to come after them were.
Voters in 30 states picked attorneys general on Nov. 3, and when the new terms start in January, at least 11 states will have a new AG.
That matters for sweeps. In addition to state legislatures, AGs have added enforcement pressure on sweeps gaming the past two years. The AGs in Kentucky, Florida, and Arkansas sued VGW. New York got an $8 million settlement from VGW as a result of the AG’s action. Various other AGs, including in Tennessee, Illinois, and Minnesota, have also issued cease-and-desists.
So who's coming in, who's going out, and what does it mean for the industry?
Sweepsy looked at every AG race for gambling records, public statements and, where we could find them, anything about sweeps.
The short version: Most of the AGs who have actually gone after sweeps casinos kept their jobs. But several of the country's most aggressive anti-gambling AGs are leaving, and the newcomers are mostly unknowns on sweeps.
| State | Incoming AG | Outgoing AG | Gambling angle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Katherine Robertson (R) | Steve Marshall (R) | Continuity: Robertson was Marshall's chief counsel |
| Nevada | Nicole Cannizzaro (D) | Aaron Ford (D) | Ford co-led the fight against Kalshi; Cannizzaro voted for tougher penalties on unlicensed operators |
| Texas | Nathan Johnson (D) | Ken Paxton (R) | Big shift: Johnson has backed legalizing sports betting and casinos |
| Ohio | John Kulewicz (D) | Dave Yost (R), resigned June 2026 | Yost led two multistate prediction-market coalitions |
| Michigan | Eli Savit (D) | Dana Nessel (D) | Nessel took one of the earliest AG actions against a sweeps casino |
| South Carolina | David Stumbo (R) | Alan Wilson (R) | Wilson, now governor-elect, was a longtime opponent of online gambling |
| Oklahoma | Jon Echols (R) | Gentner Drummond (R) | State sweeps ban took effect Nov. 1 |
| Iowa | Nate Willems (D) | Brenna Bird (R) | Bird joined multistate letters on offshore gambling |
| Kansas | Chris Mann (D) | Kris Kobach (R) | No notable sweeps record on either side |
| Georgia | Tanya Miller (D) | Chris Carr (R) | No notable sweeps record on either side |
Colorado, Rhode Island ,and South Dakota also have new AGs. We found no gambling or sweeps record for any of their incoming or outgoing AGs.
The newcomers worth watching
Alabama's Katherine Robertson
If any incoming AG looks built to take on unlicensed online gambling, it's Robertson.
She spent nearly eight years as chief counsel to Steve Marshall, the previous Attorney General, who made fighting illegal gambling a main issue. During an April roundtable on local television, Robertson said Alabama needs felony penalties for illegal gambling, which is currently a misdemeanor, plus more investigators.
She was also direct about online play. She said "online gambling is not legal in Alabama either," and confirmed the AG’s office had recently sent cease-and-desist letters to multiple companies.
She didn't mention sweeps casinos by name. But Marshall's office has already gone after a storefront that offered something akin to sweepstakes-style gaming once in 2017, so this looks like a state that could eventually send cease-and-desists to sweeps operators.
One wrinkle: Robertson's primary opponent attacked her for accepting donations tied to gambling interests, including the Poarch Band of Creek Indians.
Nevada's Nicole Cannizzaro
Cannizzaro hasn't spoken publicly about sweeps, but her record shows where she stands.
As Senate majority leader, she voted for Senate Bill 256 in 2025. The law raised fines for unlicensed gambling operators and allowed courts to make them give up their profits. In Nevada, sweeps casinos are considered unlicensed gambling operators.
Texas's Nathan Johnson
Texas was the biggest surprise of the night.
All four Republicans in the primary had promised strict enforcement of the state's gambling bans. Instead, Democrat Johnson beat Mayes Middleton by 6.5%, becoming the first Democrat elected Texas AG since 1994.
Johnson is openly friendly to gambling. As a state senator, he introduced a 2025 constitutional amendment to legalize sports betting and resort casinos. His campaign got $125,000 from the Texas Sands PAC.
That doesn't automatically make Texas a safe harbor for sweeps. In fact, it could mean the opposite. If Texas goes down the path of opening the door for licensed gambling operators, it may be more likely to ban sweeps operators — whom real-money platforms often view as unlicensed competition.
Oklahoma's Jon Echols
We found no gambling statements from Echols. But he takes office just after Oklahoma's sweeps ban, Senate Bill 1589, took effect on Nov. 1.
How hard Echols presses operators that don't leave could be one of his first gambling tests.
What wound up happening in Arizona?
Arizona is the most interesting of the bunch.
VGW gave $10,000 to Restore Order Arizona, a group spending to help Senate President Warren Petersen unseat Democrat Kris Mayes. Mayes won a second term anyway, and comfortably.
However, according to Tuscon.com, VGW also gave more than $200,000 to groups supporting Mayes and Gov. Katie Hobbs.
A Mayes aide told Tuscon.com that VGW was "on the attorney general's radar" but that its overseas headquarters creates jurisdiction and resource problems for state prosecutors. Mayes, meanwhile, has been far more aggressive with prediction markets. She filed the first-ever criminal charges against Kalshi this year.
The rest? Blank slates
Sweepsy found no gambling or sweeps record for Georgia's Tanya Miller, Iowa's Nate Willems, Kansas's Chris Mann, Michigan's Eli Savit, Ohio's John Kulewicz, or South Carolina's David Stumbo.
Several of them ran on consumer protection, though. Mann made scams and consumer fraud a centerpiece, and Kulewicz promised to go after "scam artists and robocallers." That's worth noting, as consumer protection law is exactly what Arkansas and Florida used to sue VGW.
The hardliners heading out
The bigger story may be who's leaving. Several of the most active anti-gambling AGs in the country won't be in office next year.
Steve Marshall (Alabama) — Marshall shut down electronic bingo halls and won a unanimous Alabama Supreme Court ruling that three major casinos were operating illegally. In 2017, he sent a cease-and-desist letter to an online sweepstakes-style gaming site.
Dave Yost (Ohio) — Yost, who resigned in June, led the states' fight against prediction markets, including a push by 41 AGs for state control of sports "event contracts."
Aaron Ford (Nevada) — The term-limited Ford co-led the coalition of AGs against Kalshi with Yost and pressed the Justice Department to go after offshore gambling sites.
Dana Nessel (Michigan) — In 2023, Nessel pushed the sweeps casino Golden Hearts Games out of Michigan. It was one of the earliest AG actions against a sweeps operator.
Alan Wilson (South Carolina) — A longtime opponent of video poker and online gambling, Wilson is now governor-elect, and he supports mobile sports betting.
Ken Paxton (Texas) — Paxton declared daily fantasy sports illegal gambling and went after gaming machines. But he declined to join efforts against Kalshi, which, along with its CEO, donated $12,000 to his PAC and Senate campaign, according to Politico. The sweeps crackdown some expected from him never came.
The sweeps enforcers who stayed
For operators, this is the less comforting part. Most of the AGs who have actually gone after sweeps casinos won re-election.
James Uthmeier (Florida) — Appointed in 2025, he won a full term this time around. He's suing VGW, Stake, and their payment processors, and he has demanded that Google, Meta, Reddit, Snap, and TikTok stop running sweeps ads to Floridians.
Tim Griffin (Arkansas) — Re-elected after suing both VGW and Kalshi under the state's deceptive trade practices law. His VGW complaint was filed the day after the election.
Letitia James (New York) — Won a third full term after getting $8 million from VGW in September.
Kwame Raoul (Illinois) — Won a third term. In February, his office and the Illinois Gaming Board sent cease-and-desist letters to more than 60 online casino and sweepstakes operators.
Keith Ellison (Minnesota) — Re-elected after ordering 14 sweeps casinos to stop by Dec. 1, 2025.
What it means for 2027
The AGs who have sued, settled with, or sent letters to sweeps casinos are almost all still in office. As for the new AGs, many of whom are focused on consumer protection, they’ll have to decide whether sweeps casinos are worth their time.
Three states to watch:
Alabama, where Robertson is likely to carry on Marshall's enforcement and has asked for tougher penalties.
Texas, where Johnson's pro-gambling record and lack of a sweeps position make the state's next move hard to predict.
Oklahoma, where a brand new ban meets a brand new AG.