Maine has become the second state to officially outlaw sweepstakes casinos during the 2026 legislative session, joining Indiana.
Gov. Janet Mills signed Legislative Document 2007 into law on April 6. In Maine, signed bills take effect after 90 days, so sweepstakes casinos in Maine will, at minimum, have to remove the Sweeps Coin gameplay options from their platforms by early July.
LD2007 cleared the Maine Legislature on March 26. There was little doubt Mills would sign the bill into law, especially considering she signed into law in early January a bill that legalizes real-money iGaming in the state. And those real-money iGaming operators, including DraftKings, who testified against LD2007 during its committee process, see sweeps casinos as competitors and wouldn’t want them operating in Maine.
“With the passage of LD1164 last year and earlier this month, Maine has taken a step forward in legalizing a framework for online casino gaming that prioritizes consumer protection, responsible gaming and regulatory oversight,” said Kevin Cochran, Senior Director of Legal and Government Affairs at DraftKings, during one of LD2007’s hearings in January. “Unregulated sweepstakes-style casino platforms operate outside of that framework, drawing players away from licensed operators and undermining the intent of the law.”
LD2007 — the most precise sweeps ban thus far?
LD2007 zeroes in on the mechanics behind how sweeps casinos actually operate — specifically, the dual-currency system — in ways other bills simply do not.
The bill lays out a detailed framework that splits this system into two distinct types of “consideration.”
First, it introduces “direct consideration,” which covers any digital currency — coins, tokens, etc. — that users can buy outright or get through promotions and then use to play sweeps games online.
It then defines “indirect consideration” as a separate category. This refers to currency that players get for free — either bundled with a purchase or via promotions — but that still carries real-world value because it can be redeemed for cash or prizes.
That second category is especially significant because it effectively captures Sweeps Coins. While these can’t be purchased directly, they’re commonly distributed through bonuses like daily logins or social media offers and can ultimately be redeemed, which places them squarely within the bill’s scope.
LD2007 doesn’t stop at definitions, either. It also takes aim at the practice of buying Gold Coins and getting Sweep Coins as a free bonus. Specifically, the bill blocks any encouragement of users to pay for non-redeemable products (like Gold Coin packages) that come with a separate, redeemable currency (the bundled Sweeps Coins).
SGLA: Illegal operators ‘will continue to prey’ on Maine residents
During the same January committee hearing that featured testimony from DraftKings, Sean Ostrow, the Managing Director of the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance, testified against LD2007, along with a representative of VGW (the owner of Chumba Casino, Global Poker, LuckyLand Slots, LuckyLand Casino, and soon-to-launch United Slots.)
Ostrow warned committee members of adverse and unintended consequences if LD2007 ultimately passed.
“We think if LD2007 passed, the outcome will be pretty predictable,” Ostrow said. “The law-abiding operators, including members of the SGLA, would exit the state, but it would be the illegal operators that stay. They can continue to prey on unsuspecting Maine consumers. Many of those are based in China that use exploitative marketing techniques. We believe there’s no place for that.”
With the signature, Legislative Document 2007 will take effect in early July, meaning we’ll likely see many sweeps casinos leave Maine before then. Carnival Citi, for instance, already exited Maine in March.
