Key legislative deadlines are approaching in two states considering bills that would ban Sweeps Coin gameplay at sweeps casinos.
Maryland and Oklahoma.
In Maryland, bills introduced in this 2026 legislative session must pass out of their originating chamber by March 23. This is called the crossover deadline, and the last remaining sweeps ban bills with legitimate odds of succeeding — House Bill 1226 and Senate Bill 652 — have not cleared the House or Senate, respectively.
In Oklahoma, one of the two bills that would ban dual-currency sweepstakes casinos is also facing a crossover deadline — March 26 — without yet passing its originating chamber.
One more day for HB1226 to pass the Maryland House
HB1226 is much closer to getting where it needs to be by the March 23 deadline.
On Saturday, it passed through its second reading in the House. However, a bill must receive three readings before it officially advances through the House. So, if HB1226 doesn’t receive that third reading on March 23, it will officially stall out.
SB652, meanwhile, hasn’t even gotten a first reading in the full Senate yet. It did have a hearing on March 11 before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, but the committee elected to defer action on the bill, likely dooming the chances for SB652 to pass out of the full Senate by the March 23 crossover deadline.
Unlike two other failed Maryland bills this session that would outlaw sweeps casinos while also legalizing real-money online casinos, HB1226 and SB652 focus more explicitly on sweeps casinos. Or, more specifically, they focus on shoving online sweepstakes gaming under the category of illegal online gambling that already exists in Maryland law.
If neither bill makes the necessary movement by Monday’s deadline, a sweeps ban bill will fail to pass in Maryland for the second year in a row. (Which is the same story in Mississippi.)
Will HB4130 in Oklahoma progress before March 26?
It’s a bit more complicated in Oklahoma.
There, twin bills that would ban dual-currency sweepstakes gaming exist in the House and Senate. The Senate version, Senate Bill 1589, unanimously advanced through the Senate on March 2 and had its first reading in the House on March 3. So it has already done what’s necessary by the March 26 crossover deadline. But its inactivity since March 3 — with no committee assignments or hearings — may not be a good sign for its momentum.
(The Oklahoma 2026 session doesn’t end until May 29, though, so there is plenty of time.)
The House version, House Bill 4130, has passed through two committees but has not yet advanced via a full House vote. It has until Thursday to do so.
States where sweeps bans have failed in 2026
So far, sweeps ban legislation has failed to pass in Mississippi, Virginia, Florida, and Massachusetts in the 2026 legislative session.
In Mississippi, Senate Bill 2104, which proposed strict penalties including felony charges, fines, and asset forfeiture for sweeps operators, stalled in the House after unanimous Senate approval. (Last year’s sweeps ban bill also stalled in the House, although that was because lawmakers there added a sports betting amendment and the Senate didn’t approve.)
In Virginia, the session ended on March 14 without a compromise reached on two iGaming bills that would have also banned sweeps casinos — House Bill 161 and Senate Bill 118. However, the proposals can carry over into the 2027 session, and a separate bill focused solely on banning sweepstakes casinos — Senate Bill 579 — is already slated for reconsideration.
Florida experienced a similar outcome. A bill addressing internet gambling successfully passed both chambers but ultimately failed because the Senate did not have time to review House amendments before the legislative deadline. The bill’s language raised questions about whether sweepstakes models could be restricted under a modified definition of internet gambling, but with its failure, no new restrictions will take place in 2026.
In Massachusetts, lawmakers opted to send an iGaming and sweeps ban bill to study, effectively ending its progress for the current session. The bill faced major resistance, including from the state Treasurer, and there appear to be staunch challenges for broader iGaming legalization in Massachusetts.
