Indiana House Bill 1052 has now officially passed through both chambers of the Indiana Legislature, as its conference committee report was approved by both houses — 46-4 in the Senate and 68-21 in the House — on Thursday. HB1052 now moves to the desk of Indiana Gov. Mike Braun. If Braun signs, the sweeps ban will take effect on July 1.
But Indiana is far from alone in terms of legislative activity targeting sweepstakes casinos so far in 2026.
There are plenty of updates to share from what has turned out to be a jam-packed February, so we’re collecting them all here.
Maryland
Maryland Senate Bill 652 was filed on Feb. 6 and has already gained quick traction, with a hearing before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee set for March 11. SB652 is one of four active bills that would ban dual-currency sweeps casinos in Maryland, where the 2026 legislative session ends on April 13 and bills must pass out of their originating chamber by March 23.
Maryland House Bill 1226 is the twin bill to SB652 and it will run in parallel in the House. Also filed on Feb. 6, HB1226 has a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee scheduled for March 5. The other two sweeps ban bills in Maryland (House Bill 295 and Senate Bill 112) would also authorize real-money iGaming, and neither of those bills has seen any activity since January. The introductions, then, of SB652 and HB1226 suggest anti-sweeps stakeholders recognize HB295 and SB112 may be doomed to failure, so they pushed for bills that only banned sweeps gaming to be filed instead.
Maine
Maine Legislative Document 2007 had its third hearing Feb. 18 before the Joint Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee, but it resulted in a divided vote, meaning the committee members reached no unanimous conclusion on what to recommend for a full chamber vote. Therefore, fellow lawmakers will receive separate recommendations filed by separate members of the committee, rather than one unified suggestion. It makes the immediate future of LD2007 murky. Maine’s 2026 legislative session ends on April 15.
Mississippi
Mississippi Senate Bill 2104 passed the Senate on Feb. 4 but hasn’t seen any movement since it was assigned to the House Gaming Committee. Notably, the bill was amended in committee to establish immunity for third-party companies whose platforms or tools could be indirectly used when someone connects to an unlawful sweepstakes casino. Mississippi’s legislative session ends on April 5.
Florida
Florida House Bill 189 passed out of the House Commerce Committee and was added to the second reading calendar for the full House on Feb. 13. Like Oklahoma’s SB1589, Florida’s HB189 never touches on sweeps gaming. Instead, it adds “thing of value” to the consideration for what needs to be wagered to consider something illegal online gambling, and anti-sweeps proponents will certainly argue “thing of value” covers Sweeps Coins. Florida’s legislative session ends on March 13, so there’s not a lot of time left for this bill — especially considering it hasn’t even passed through its originating chamber yet.
Florida Senate Bill 1580 makes the same internet gambling definition adjustment among a wide variety of gambling-related changes. It has cleared two Senate committees so far and currently awaits a March 3 hearing before the Senate Rules Committee.
Tennessee
Tennessee House Bill 1885 will have its first hearing with the House Departments and Agencies Subcommittee Committee on March 3. HB1885 (and its twin, Senate Bill 2136) is in our opinion the most smartly written bill of the 2026 cycle. Instead of leaving the door open for loopholes with “dual currency” or “multi currency” language, HB1885 singles out any sweeps platform that uses a “virtual-currency system.”
Tennessee Senate Bill 2136 is, like we said, the twin of HB1885. It passed through the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee unanimously on Feb. 24 and now awaits an assignment from the Senate Calendar Committee for full floor consideration. Tennessee’s 2026 legislative session ends on April 24.
Virginia
Virginia House Bill 161 passed a full House floor vote 67-30 on Feb. 17, and it already passed its first Senate committee — General Laws and Technology — on Feb. 25 via an albeit tight 9-6 margin. The bill now heads off to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. HB161 would legalize real-money iGaming, with the sweeps ban as a secondary aspect. Virginia’s 2026 legislative session ends on March 14 — but bills will be able to carry over to the 2027 session.
Virginia Senate Bill 118 does the exact same thing as HB161. It passed the full Senate on Feb. 16 in a narrow 19-17 vote, and it sits in the House Appropriations Committee after passing that chamber’s General Laws Committee earlier this week. The non-unanimous nature of the passages of HB161 and SB118 may give the pro-sweeps coalition some hope as these bills enter a crucial home stretch in March.
Virginia Senate Bill 579 focuses on banning sweeps casinos, and it doesn’t even touch on legalizing real-money iGaming. It didn’t advance quickly enough to continue to be considered during the 2026 session, but the Courts of Justice did vote on Feb. 11 for this bill to be considered in the 2027 session if neither HB161 nor SB118 pass.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Senate Bill 1589 passed favorably through the Senate Business and Insurance Committee and was placed on the General Order — where it will await a full Senate calendar assignment — on Feb. 24. Oklahoma’s legislative session ends on May 29. SB1589 is interesting because it never explicitly mentions sweepstakes gaming. Rather, it says any type of “dual currency” gaming model will fall under the monetary categorization of “representative of value” and that would make it illegal iGaming.
Iowa
Iowa Senate File 2289 — This bill would allow the state gaming commission to send cease-and-desist orders to sweepstakes casino operators. It passed the Senate via a 44-0 vote on Feb. 23, and now it awaits action in the House. Iowa’s 2026 legislative session ends on April 21.
Hawaii
Hawaii Senate Bill 3281 passed its Senate Judiciary Committee hearing unanimously on Feb. 24. SB3281 is another interesting bill that doesn’t talk about sweeps casinos but makes a language change that could prove problematic for sweeps. Although, admittedly, this would be a bit of a stretch to be considered to target sweeps gameplay models. If somehow SB3281 can be construed to suggest a mobile device or computer playing sweeps games could be an “illegal electronic gambling device” that “awards or allows the exchange of points, credits, tokens, prizes,” then there may be a problem for sweeps casinos in Hawaii. The 2026 session ends on May 8, but the deadline for a bill to pass through its originating chamber is on March 12.
