Louisiana Senate approves anti-sweepstakes bill, sends it to House
The Louisiana Senate has unanimously passed a bill that would ban online sweepstakes casinos, sending it over to the House.
On Tuesday, Senators voted unanimously in favor of passing the legislation in a 39-0 vote. On Wednesday, it was received by the House and read the first time in that chamber.
Sen. Adam Bass’ SB 181 would ban the operation and promotion of online games, contests or promotions that utilize a dual-currency system of payment and offer players the chance to win any prize or award or cash or cash equivalents.
The bill also looks to more broadly clamp down on illegal gambling. The definitions outlined in the legislation note that any product that simulates any form of casino-style gaming, lottery gaming or sports betting would constitute illegal gambling by computer and would be prohibited.
“Senate Bill 181 is legislation to combat the proliferation of illegal online casinos, which are ripping off Louisiana citizens,” Bass told the chamber before moving it for a vote. “These online casinos, which are often based offshore, evade consumer protection, responsible gaming and anti-money laundering requirements to which gambling in Louisiana would otherwise be subject.
“This legislation will force these illegal operators who do not verify age out of our state and provide a powerful deterrent to offshore and domestic, illegal online gaming operators from entering the state.”
Bill not interested in targeting McDonald’s or Starbucks
In a recent Senate Judiciary Committee, before the bill reached the Senate floor, Bass told members that Louisiana residents are “conned” into wagering an estimated $4.5 billion on unlicensed online gaming websites. “So-called sweepstakes casinos claim to simply be a sweepstakes contest but are in fact unregulated and untaxed gambling,” he said at that hearing.
Meanwhile, Bass dismissed the argument from the likes of the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) and VGW that pushing to ban sweeps risks compromising legal promotions such as rewards programs.
“Regardless of what you’ve heard, this bill does not affect legitimate promotions, such as McDonald’s Monopoly, Starbucks or Marriott rewards. This bill narrowly defines sweepstakes casinos. We know the gaming control board and attorney general have no interest in going after Starbucks or Marriott or McDonald’s and are solely focused on putting an end to sweepstakes casinos in this state.”
Bill would punish any alleged complicit parties
The bill targets not only operators but also suppliers and vendors, affiliates and other parties such as platform providers, geolocation partners and advertisers in the crosshairs. Any existing licensed operator or associated vendors would be strictly prohibited from being involved with any aspect of illegal gambling or sweepstakes.
The Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB) and the Department of Public Safety and Corrections would be authorized to investigate violations and pursue enforcement actions such as cease-and-desist letters. Anyone guilty would be fined between $10,000 and $100,000 per instance and could face up to five years in prison. They would also be found guilty of violating the state’s deceptive and unfair trade practice law and could be subject to both civil and criminal penalties.
In another provision, the bill would also grant the LGCB and the Louisiana State Police’s Gaming Enforcement Division the right to deny any gaming manufacturer or supplier a license if the company or its affiliates were found to have profited in the last five years from gambling in a jurisdiction that which prohibits land-based or online gaming or is blacklisted by the LGCB.
Louisiana’s legislative session for 2025 ends on June 12, meaning the House has six weeks to consider Bass’ bill and potentially send it to the governor’s desk for final approval.
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