For the second straight year, a bill that would ban sweepstakes casinos in Mississippi has failed.
Senate Bill 2104 addressed a range of gambling-related topics, including outlawing sweepstakes gaming sites via a felony charge that could carry up to 10 years in prison. It was among the harshest sweeps ban bills considered in the country’s 2026 legislative cycle.
But, on March 3, SB2104 officially stalled out in the House Gaming Committee — just under a month after unanimously passing the Senate.
SB2104 held nothing back
If passed, SB2104 would have likely been an effective ban.
Its language was stark and direct.
Here’s where it labeled any device that’s used to play sweeps gaming a gambling device:
Any online, interactive, or computerized version of any game as defined in Section 75-76-5(k) or any other game of chance or digital simulation thereof, including, but not limited to, online race books, online sports pools, and online sweepstakes casino-style games, is hereby declared to be a gambling device, and the offering for play or operating an online or interactive platform that offers for play such games within the State of Mississippi shall be deemed unlawful under the provisions of this section.
And here’s where it labeled sweeps casinos as illegal activity:
The provisions of this section are intended to clarify that the operation of “internet sweepstakes cafes” and “online sweepstakes casinos” are illegal gambling activities under state law.
SB2104 classified offering sweeps gaming in Mississippi as a felony with, in addition to a prison sentence of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $100,000 and, more importantly, offenders would “be liable to forfeiture, to the State of Mississippi or to the county in which a violation is committed, of the assets, rights, and privileges used in connection with violations of the provisions of this section.”
Translation: Give us back the money you made in Mississippi.
Smooth progress, then an abrupt halt
The journey for SB2104 was smooth sailing up until its stagnation in the House Gaming Committee.
Introduced on Jan. 9, it passed its committee stage by the end of the month and quickly received unanimous, 52-0 voting approval from the full Senate on Feb. 4. Then, on Feb. 5, it was sent to the House. On Feb. 6, it got assigned to the House Gaming Committee.
Then … nothing.
It sat there for almost a full month before ultimately failing to progress.
The fast momentum met by an abrupt stop echoes what happened with another sweeps ban bill in Mississippi that met a similar fate in the 2025 legislative session.
Last year, the Mississippi Senate approved Senate Bill 2150, which would have banned sweeps casinos. But complications arose when SB2150 moved to the House. (Sound familiar?) In the House, lawmakers there tacked on an amendment to authorize sports betting, and that change stalled negotiations between the chambers. The disagreement ultimately sank the bill.
In the months that followed, however, Mississippi did still signal a tougher stance toward sweepstakes gaming. The Mississippi Gaming Commission issued a cease-and-desist letter to Chumba Casino in June. Soon after, several sweepstakes operators either disabled Sweeps Coin play for Mississippi users or exited the state altogether.
Still, in terms of the ability to actually steer a good chunk of sweeps casinos out of your state, cease-and-desist orders fall well short of the efficacy of legislation. And we know for sure there will be no legislative sweeps ban in Mississippi this year, because the state’s bill crossover deadline — the date by which a bill has to pass out of its originating chamber — was Feb. 12, and there are no other bills with sweeps bans currently on the table in Mississippi.
The first to fail in 2026
Mississippi’s SB2104 is the first sweeps ban bill to officially fail in the 2026 legislative cycle.
So far, one state — Indiana — has passed its ban (House Bill 1052). That legislation is now off to Gov. Mike Braun for his signature, and he’s expected to sign. HB1052 is significantly milder than Mississippi’s SB2104, though. HB1052 only levies civil penalties against operators still offering their Sweeps Coin gameplay in Indiana after July 1, 2026.
Plenty of other states have active bills, too, including Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Maine, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii, and Iowa.
