Gov. Greg Gianforte made history this week, putting pen to paper and signing Senate Bill 555 into law in Montana.
As a result, online sweepstakes casinos are officially banned in Big Sky Country effective Oct. 1 as Montana becomes the first state in a busy 2025 for sweeps bills to sign a ban bill into law.
Most interestingly, however, is that the bill never explicitly uses the term “sweepstakes,” yet other language within the legislation targets those sweeps operators that have come under fire by state lawmakers in recent months.
SPGA ‘strongly condemns’ bill’s passage
After Gianforte signed SB 555 into law, the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) emphasized that it “strongly condemns” the legislation’s enactment, noting that Montana effectively banned online sweepstakes casinos “without even using the word sweepstakes.”
“Montana just criminalized everyday digital promotions with a law so broadly written it fails to name what it bans,” a spokesperson for SPGA said in a statement.
“It’s a dangerous precedent that could undermine consumer trust, business innovation, and long-standing legal marketing practices.”
The SPGA also pointed out that Montana legislators took “a reckless step” by passing SB 555 by ignoring economic and consumer consequences. In conclusion, the SPGA said, lawmakers in other states should not follow in the footsteps of Montana.
Rather, the group said, those legislators should “reject vague prohibition and instead protect consumer choice through smart, modern frameworks, if action is even needed at all.”
The unintended consequences argument
The SPGA again brought up the notion that the vague wording of SB 555 could lead to restrictions on promotions run by other regulated businesses, a similar argument it’s brought up in response to the sweeps ban bills in Louisiana and New York.
“Take Microsoft Rewards, for example,” the SPGA said in its statement. “An active national program where users earn points for using Microsoft products and can redeem those points to enter sweepstakes for prizes, including a current $2,000,000 giveaway. No purchase is necessary to participate, but points can also be redeemed to increase one’s number of entries.
“Under SB 555’s vague definitions, such mechanics could be construed as ‘gambling’ involving digital currency, even though they’ve long been considered lawful promotions. These legally sound and widely accepted programs could now be considered criminal activity in Montana.”
Louisiana Sen. Adam Bass, the sponsor of that state’s bill responded to a similar argument during a hearing last month.
“This bill does not affect legitimate promotions, such as McDonald’s Monopoly, Starbucks or Marriott rewards,” he said. “This bill narrowly defines sweepstakes casinos.”
Sen. Ricci: Sweeps industry ‘undermines’ licensed gambling businesses
Gianforte’s signature comes less than two months after the first introduction of SB 555 and a month after it passed both the Senate and the House.
When Sen. Vince Ricci, the bill’s sponsor, presented the proposal to the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs committee early in its life cycle, he emphasized that Montana residents “are unprotected from companies offering this type of online rated gambling.”
He also noted that “the illegal industry undermines the licensed and taxpaying Montana gambling businesses.”
Some of the biggest brands in the sweeps industry had already closed up shop in Montana before the governor signed SB 555 into law, including all three VGW platforms in Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker.
The SPGA has consistently denied sweepstakes gaming equates to online gambling.
“This vague and sweeping law reclassifies legitimate, free-to-play promotional games as ‘internet gambling,’ ignoring the clear legal and operational distinctions between sweepstakes platforms and real-money online casinos,” its statement read.
‘Any form of currency’ brings sweeps operators under umbrella
As noted, the bill never specifically mentions “sweepstakes” in the text.
That said, other areas of the bill certainly apply to sweeps operators as SB 555 was crafted to “generally revise gambling laws” in Montana. That includes the definition of “internet gambling.”
With its passage, SB 555 amends the state’s definition to include online casinos, “by whatever name known, which constitute internet gambling and therefore are prohibited.
“This includes but is not limited to any platform, website, or application that knowingly transmits or receives gambling information, allows consumers to place a bet or wager using any form of currency, and makes payouts of any form of currency.”
That phrase – “any form of currency” – is the catch-all that lawmakers believe applies not only to real-money casinos but also operators dealing in cryptocurrency and Sweeps Coins, which sweepstakes platforms deal in and can be redeemed for cash prizes.
What about social casinos?
The bill does get more specific in terms of what platforms are allowable in Montana. While again not explicitly highlighting them in the text, SB 555 leaves the door open for social casinos, so long as they follow this exception:
“Online casinos that do not allow the use of currency of any kind are not considered a gambling activity and therefore are permitted.”
Simply put: If an operator offers casino-style games and does not exchange real or virtual currency, it is allowed to set up shop in Big Sky Country.
