Chavdar Vasilev is a gambling news writer with several years of experience in the iGaming industry. He started creating promotional content but soon found he loved reporting on the industry itself. Since then, he’s delivered...
Read Full BioOn June 17, New York Senate Bill 5935 advanced quickly through the Assembly and ultimately passed, sending it back to the Senate as a formal step. As the Senate has already passed the bill on June 11, it now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for approval.
If approved, the new law would prohibit platforms using dual-currency payment systems from operating in the state. An official ban is now just a formality, as most sweepstakes operators no longer serve New York customers.
About a week ago, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that her office had targeted and shut down 26 sweepstakes platforms. Those were in addition to over a dozen others who voluntarily left the state a few months prior.
New York Joins Montana and Connecticut With a Ban
If Senate Bill 5935 becomes law, it would mean New York will become the third state to prohibit sweepstakes casinos in the past month.
Montana led the way when it became the first jurisdiction to ban the platforms at the end of May. Meanwhile, a week ago, Connecticut also banned sweepstakes casinos along with lottery courier apps like Jackpocket.
Louisiana would have been on the list as well. The state’s legislature passed a ban bill, but Gov. Jeff Landry vetoed it. He stated that a formal ban was not necessary. Landry believes that state authorities and gambling regulators can handle the fight against unregulated gambling.
Earlier this year, the Mississippi and Maryland Senate both passed ban bills. However, for various reasons, the proposals stalled in the House.
Furthermore, New Jersey and Ohio still have active bills banning sweepstakes casinos. The New Jersey legislative session ends at the end of the year. Meanwhile, Ohio has a two-year session, meaning both states have plenty of time to pass a ban.
Regulatory Crackdowns Expand in LA, MS, and CA
On the same day that the New York Assembly passed SB5935, sweepstakes casinos became a target of state gambling regulators and lawsuits in Louisiana, Mississippi, and California.
Following Gov. Landry’s veto, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board announced that it had targeted 40 unlicensed offshore and sweepstakes casinos.
The official announcement does not specify any particular operators. However, it’s believed that VGW, the parent of Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots, and Global Poker, is on the list.
On the same day, the Mississippi Gaming Commission announced it had served several offshore casinos and Chumba Casino with cease-and-desist letters.
Meanwhile, WOW Vegas now faces a class action lawsuit in California. The lawsuit alleges that the company has failed to register as a foreign corporation in the state of California.
Class action lawsuits against sweepstakes casinos are not uncommon. Approximately ten days ago, High 5 Entertainment became a target in a lawsuit filed in New Jersey. Earlier this year, the company agreed to pay $24.9 million in a separate case in Washington.
Other notable class-action lawsuits include the $415 million settlement imposed against International Game Technology and its former subsidiary, DoubleDown Interactive, in 2023. In the same year, a Kentucky judge ordered VGW to pay $11.75 million.
