Poker Writer
Louisiana legislators are again attempting to ban sweepstakes casinos. They passed similar legislation last year, only to run into a governor’s veto. Gov. Jeff Landry said such a law wasn’t necessary.
House Bill 833, sponsored by Republican Laurie Schlegel, aims to update the state’s definition of illegal online gambling to cover the dual-currency model often used by sweepstakes casinos.
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Louisiana Aiming Hard at Sweeps Casinos in 2026
The bill is the second anti-sweeps bill in Louisiana this year. In late January, HB 53 also tried to connect sweepstakes casinos to racketeering charges. That bill looked to expand the definition of racketeering to include gambling by electronic sweepstakes devices and gambling by computer.
In 2025, Gov. Landry said that authorities already had sufficient power to target the sweeps casinos. He also believed that the language of the bill was too broad.
Without a legal ban to do the work for them, authorities sent cease-and-desist letters to many sweepstakes operators. Many of these operators exited the Pelican State following the letters issued in June 2025. A total of 41 operators were named in the state’s list.
Louisiana also took the unusual step of suing some operators for unpaid taxes.
State lawmakers apparently still see sweepstakes operators as a threat worth their time. Given the legislature’s support of the prior ban and the increasing scrutiny on gambling of all types nationwide, Gov. Landry may see another ban land on his desk this year.
Sweeps Operators Attempt to Stay in Louisiana
As of February 2026, a handful of sweepstakes casinos remain available to play in Louisiana despite the letters. These are mostly smaller operators who were not on the original C&D list.
Sweepstakes operators took advantage of Gov. Landry’s summer 2025 veto to make it seem like he was in favor of sweepstakes casinos. The Social and Promotional Games Association (since merged with the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance), a group of several sweepstakes operators, supported the veto, saying:
Governor Landry’s veto is a powerful affirmation that not all online games are gambling and that innovation should not be met with prohibition. This legislation blurred critical legal distinctions and risked punishing legitimate businesses that comply with well-established sweepstakes laws and offer free-to-play experiences.
Poker operators have not felt so welcome. Major sweepstakes poker sites ClubWPT Gold, Stake Poker, Clubs Poker, and Global Poker all list Louisiana under their restricted territories. At least as far as poker operators go, Landry has been correct that issuing cease-and-desists has done the trick, leaving no need for a legislative ban.
