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Louisiana legislators are once again moving to outlaw online sweepstakes casinos, with two separate measures now in the Senate.
HB 53, which passed the House in late March by 87-11, takes a different approach. It adds sweepstakes operations to the state’s RICO statute, treating them as organized criminal activity. The Senate Judiciary C Committee has already advanced the measure, sending it to the Legislative Bureau for further review.
HB 883 cleared the House on Tuesday with a unanimous 99-0 vote. The bill defines sweepstakes casinos as gambling by computer, targeting any online contest or game that uses dual currencies and allows players to convert winnings into cash or equivalents.
Together, the two bills show strong bipartisan support for tightening gambling laws.
Louisiana try again
Last year, Sen. Adam Bass guided a similar bill through both chambers with ease, but Governor Jeff Landry vetoed it. Landry described the measure as “a solution in search of a problem that is already being solved by our current system,” pointing instead to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board as the body equipped to handle regulation.
“Some of the language in this bill is overly broad and could be interpreted in an adverse manner, which may harm or impede our current enforcement actions taken against these bad actors,” the governor added at the time.
The veto drew support from the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA), which argued that the decision protected lawful digital entertainment. In its statement, the group said the proposal “would have dramatically restricted lawful digital entertainment platforms enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of Louisiana residents.”
AG backing 2026 push
After Governor Landry’s veto last year, enforcement quickly shifted to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board and Attorney General Liz Murrill. In June, the board issued more than 40 cease‑and‑desist letters to sweepstakes operators, including VGW and WOW Vegas.
Weeks later, Murrill released a written opinion declaring sweepstakes illegal under the state constitution and multiple laws, noting that “[g]ambling shall be defined and suppressed by the legislature.”
Her opinion cleared the way for the Department of Revenue to file suit against VGW and MW Services, seeking $44.4 million in taxes, interest, and penalties tied to digital gaming activity.
The legislative response has followed that same line. HB 883, sponsored by Rep. Laurie Schlegel, keeps criminal penalties in place, with fines up to $40,000 and prison terms of as much as five years. Each wager would count as a separate violation.
Source: Casino Reports
