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Maine’s Joint Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee took up LD 2007, a proposal that would outlaw Sweeps Coin play in the state yesterday (jan 14). The hearing drew sharp lines between supporters and opponents of the measure.
DraftKings backed officials from the state’s Gambling Control Unit in pushing for the ban, arguing for tighter restrictions on sweepstakes-style gaming. Meanwhile, VGW and the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance were the main opponents of the bill, both warning against the bill’s reach and defending the role of sweepstakes in the broader gaming market.
DraftKings lists consumer protection, fair play, and responsible gambling as reasons for support
Kevin Cochran, who serves as Senior Director of Legal and Government Affairs at DraftKings, told lawmakers that LD2007 fits into the framework Maine has already begun to build for online casino gaming.
“With the passage of LD1164 last year and earlier this month, Maine has taken a step forward in legalizing a framework for online casino gaming that prioritizes consumer protection, responsible gaming, and regulatory oversight,” he said.
According to Cochran, sweepstakes-style platforms sit outside that system, pulling players away from licensed operators and weakening the intent of the law.
He explained that the new bill would close that gap and keep online casino play within a regulated environment. DratKings’ support, he added, comes from the belief that the measure will “help retain players in that regulated market that does offer those consumer protections, has some fair play standards, offers RG resources to those players who need them.”
Cochran pointed to Maine’s rollout of online sports wagering as proof that gaming can be managed safely, with players protected, operators held accountable, and the state maintaining oversight.
Massive fines up to $100,000 for violators
Milton Champion, who leads Maine’s Gambling Control Unit under the Department of Public Safety, told lawmakers that LD2007 would put the state in line with places like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Nevada, Montana, and California, with more states expected to follow.
“The bill impacts online games or contests that use a dual currency system of payment, and that simulates casino style gaming, including but not limited to slot machines, poker and other table games, lottery games, bingo, and even sports wagering,” he explained.
The measure defines dual currency systems as platforms that rely on more than one type of coin or token to play. Under the proposal, anyone found running or promoting sweepstakes games of this kind would face fines starting at $10,000 and reaching as high as $100,000. All penalties collected would be directed to the Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund.
Champion also made clear that licensed operators would face even tougher consequences. “If a person is found to operate or promote an online sweepstakes game, and that person holds a license with a gambling control unit or the gambling control board within the Department of Public Safety to operate a casino, fantasy, sports, or even charitable gaming activities, the licensing entity must be revoked,” he said. Violators would also lose eligibility for future licenses.
Bill would limit innovation and encourage illegal operators, SGLA and VGW warns
The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance came out strongly against LD2007, warning that the proposal would “ban and actually criminalize our entire industry, including law abiding businesses that have been operating in Maine since 2012.”
Sean Ostrow, the group’s managing director, explained that sweepstakes-style games are built on the same concept as free‑to‑play social games, but enhanced with the chance to win prizes through established marketing arrangements.
He highlighted that these promotions are already legal under Maine law and said SGLA members have put in place strict safeguards, including mandatory 21-plus participation and advanced age and identity verification systems.
Ostrow argued that if the bill passes, legit operators would leave the state while illegal ones would remain.
VGW’s Lloyd Melnick also shared those concerns, but focused on the impact the ban could have on innovation. “By banning these Social Plus games, Maine would be setting a precedent that any future interactive innovation interested in entering the state could be blocked,” he told lawmakers, pointing to daily fantasy and historical horse racing as examples of opportunities that could be shut out.
He reminded the committee that VGW’s game have been played by millions across the US since 2012, including many in Maine, and emphasized that most players never spend a penny. Melnick also noted that while most prizes were small, the operator has “made multiple millionaires over the 12 years we’ve been in existence.”
“Some have been in the several million,” he added.
Source: Sweepsy
