Governors are obviously a vital factor in whether sweepstakes gaming is allowed or not allowed in a state, and whether laws regarding sweeps gaming are enforced.
That makes last week's governor election results just as important for the industry as the attorney general races we covered earlier this week. Over the past 18 months, governors in New York, Connecticut, California, Indiana, Maine, Tennessee, and Louisiana, among others, signed laws banning or cracking down on sweeps casinos. One, Oklahoma's Kevin Stitt, vetoed a ban, but lawmakers overrode him anyway.
Sweepsy went through the winners for gambling records, public statements regarding gaming, and donations from sweeps operators. Here's what we found.
| State | Incoming governor | Outgoing governor | Sweeps angle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Tommy Tuberville (R) | Kay Ivey (R) | VGW gave Tuberville $130,000 |
| Florida | Byron Donalds (R) | Ron DeSantis (R) | VGW gave Donalds $100,000; AG's VGW lawsuit is ongoing |
| Tennessee | Marsha Blackburn (R) | Bill Lee (R) | Lee signed the state's sweeps ban; VGW gave $15,000 to a pro-Blackburn PAC |
| Oklahoma | Mike Mazzei (R) | Kevin Stitt (R) | Stitt vetoed the ban; lawmakers overrode him |
| Maine | Hannah Pingree (D) | Janet Mills (D) | Mills signed the state's sweeps ban |
| Iowa | Rob Sand (D) | Kim Reynolds (R) | Reynolds signed SF 2289 against illegal sweeps |
| California | Xavier Becerra (D) | Gavin Newsom (D) | Newsom signed the state's sweeps ban |
| Nevada | Aaron Ford (D) | Joe Lombardo (R) | Lombardo signed SB 256; Ford fought Kalshi as AG |
| Texas | Gina Hinojosa (D) | Greg Abbott (R) | Largest open sweeps market left |
| Georgia | Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) | Brian Kemp (R) | Bottoms campaigned on legalizing casinos |
| Ohio | Amy Acton (D) | Mike DeWine (R) | Acton is open to legal online casinos |
| South Carolina | Alan Wilson (R) | Henry McMaster (R) | Wilson backs mobile sports betting |
Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado, and Alaska also elected new governors. We found no sweeps record for any of them.
The newcomers VGW backed
Alabama's Tommy Tuberville
VGW gave Tuverville’s campaign $130,000 total: $30,000 in March, then another $100,000 over the summer. In all, VGW put about $351,000 into Alabama races.
Tuberville has said he won't stand in the way of expanding gambling and that he would not block it as governor — but he wants any expansion to come as one comprehensive package worked out with his office.
"I'm not a gambler, so either way for me would be fine," he said in an October interview with Capitol Journal.
What he hasn't done is say anything about sweeps. He'll also work with a new incoming attorney general, Katherine Robertson, who wants felony penalties for illegal gambling.
Florida's Byron Donalds
VGW gave Donalds $100,000, part of more than $560,000 it spread across Florida candidates and committees.
But Donalds took in more than $6 million from gambling interests, led by the Seminole Tribe, which has a strong interest in protecting its monopoly on legal gambling in Florida. Kalshi, FanDuel, DraftKings, and PrizePicks gave donations too.
Donalds hasn't taken a public position on sweeps. He'll take office while Attorney General James Uthmeier's lawsuits against VGW and Stake continue.
Tennessee's Marsha Blackburn
Blackburn takes over from Gov. Bill Lee, who signed Tennessee's sweeps ban in May. Bans rarely get repealed, so the bigger question is how hard the state enforces it.
VGW gave $15,000 to a PAC backing Blackburn. On gambling overall, she has been a critic in Washington. She chaired a May 2026 Senate hearing on sports betting and addiction, and has criticized prediction markets for offering sports contracts outside state oversight.
A friendlier crop of governors for legal gambling
In several states, governors who opposed expanding gambling are being replaced by ones open to casinos, sports betting, or online casinos.
That can cut both ways for sweeps. A legal market means a licensed industry with a reason to want sweeps gone. That's the path most states with online casinos have followed.
Georgia: Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) — Bottoms flipped the seat after campaigning on a constitutional amendment letting voters legalize casinos, with the revenue going to pre-K. One wrinkle for online operators: A recent Georgia casino amendment proposal would ban all forms of online gambling.
Ohio: Amy Acton (D) — Acton beat Vivek Ramaswamy and replaces Mike DeWine, who famously called legalizing sports betting his "biggest mistake" in office. Acton has said she's open to online casinos as a revenue source, with strong regulation and limits on advertising.
Texas: Gina Hinojosa (D) — Texas is the biggest unknown. Hinojosa's upset of Greg Abbott came alongside Democrat Vikki Goodwin's win over Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the main obstacle to gambling bills in the Texas Senate. Texas is the largest market left where the traditional sweepstakes gaming dual-currency model faces no restrictions.
Oklahoma: Mike Mazzei (R) — Mazzei was Stitt's budget secretary, but he campaigned on repairing the state's relationship with its tribes, which pushed for the sweeps ban. He hasn't addressed sweeps, but a governor who backs the tribes is unlikely to support sweeps.
Nevada: Aaron Ford (D) — Ford beat incumbent Joe Lombardo. As attorney general, he co-led the multistate fight against Kalshi. Expect him to defend Nevada's licensed casinos.
California: Xavier Becerra (D) — Becerra sided with tribes against card rooms as attorney general, and he inherits a sweeps ban that's already in place.
The ban signers, and the lone vetoer, heading out
Kevin Stitt (Oklahoma) — In May, Stitt vetoed Senate Bill 1589, calling it "so broad that it criminalizes everyday apps people use for fun." Lawmakers overrode him, 34-10 in the Senate and 68-19 in the House, and the ban took effect Nov. 1. Stitt was term-limited, and the industry loses its only governor who was willing to veto a ban.
Janet Mills (Maine) — Mills signed Legislative Document 2007 in April, making Maine the second state to ban sweeps in 2026, after Indiana. Fellow Democrat Hannah Pingree replaces her.
Bill Lee (Tennessee) — Lee signed Senate Bill 2136 on May 22, banning dual-currency sweepstakes games.
Kim Reynolds (Iowa) — Reynolds signed Senate File 2289 in May. It gives the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission power to issue cease-and-desist orders to sweeps casinos. Democrat Rob Sand flipped the seat.
Gavin Newsom (California) — Newsom signed Assembly Bill 831, the ban that took effect in January in the country's most populous state.
Joe Lombardo (Nevada) — Lombardo signed Senate Bill 256 in 2025, raising penalties for unlicensed operators, including sweeps sites. He lost his re-election bid to Ford.
Two outgoing Republicans never dealt with sweeps directly but opposed gambling expansion: DeWine and Abbott.
The governors who stayed
As with the AGs, several governors who have moved against sweeps kept their jobs.
Kathy Hochul (New York) — She signed New York's ban in December 2025 and beat Republican Bruce Blakeman.
Ned Lamont (Connecticut) — He won a third term. In June 2025 he signed Senate Bill 1235, making Connecticut the second state to ban sweeps that year, after Montana.
Wes Moore (Maryland) — Moore asked for a ban this year. House Bill 295 was filed at the request of his administration and the state lottery, and it passed the House before stalling in the Senate. With a new term, expect another push in 2027.
Katie Hobbs (Arizona) — According to Tuscon.com, VGW gave more than $200,000 to groups backing Hobbs and AG Kris Mayes — and that the state Department of Gaming, which Hobbs oversees, ordered VGW to shut down in 2024 without announcing it, and VGW is still operating there. The department says it still considers VGW's activities illegal and is weighing enforcement.