Maryland bill targets sweepstakes casino platforms

Bill advances with amendments
Competing legislative tracks
What comes next

Maryland’s House Ways and Means Committee advanced HB 295 on March 18, 2026, moving the bill requested by the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency toward floor consideration in the House, with a proposed effective date of July 1, 2026.
The measure targets online interactive games that simulate casino, lottery or sports wagering activity using virtual currency systems, and creates criminal penalties for operators of such platforms.
Two competing legislative tracks are running in Annapolis: HB 295 pursues prohibition, while separate proposals contemplating a licensed iGaming market remain under consideration.

Maryland lawmakers have moved a key piece of anti-sweepstakes legislation forward, as the state’s ongoing debate over online casino-style games produces competing regulatory visions within the same legislative session.

Bill advances with amendments

The House Ways and Means Committee advanced HB 295 with amendments on March 18, 2026. The measure was introduced by request of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency and is formally titled Gaming: Prohibition on Interactive Games and Revenue From Illegal Markets, House Bill 295 of the 2026 Regular Session.

The bill targets online interactive games, as defined under the Criminal Law Article, that exchange virtual currency for prizes or cash-like value, including platforms that simulate casino gaming, lottery games or sports wagering.

The legislation creates criminal penalties for those who promote or operate such platforms, subject to the penalty framework in the Criminal Law Article, which provides for imprisonment of up to three years and fines between $10,000 and $100,000.

Related enforcement responsibilities are also shifted to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. A non-cash prizes carve-out is included as currently defined in the bill text, though that exemption may be narrowed through further amendments as the bill progresses.

If enacted, the bill would take effect July 1, 2026, assuming it passes the Senate in its current form.

A separate but related measure, HB 1226, enables the Attorney General and prosecuting attorneys, in consultation with the agency, to issue cease-and-desist orders and block financial flows to illegal online gambling operations.

Violations of HB 1226 are also treated as unfair or deceptive trade practices under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, providing an additional enforcement lever. The two bills are complementary but distinct: HB 295 targets the substantive definition and prohibition, while HB 1226 focuses on enforcement tools.

Maryland regulators have argued for months that illegal online gaming is growing in the state while existing tools to address it remain limited. Both bills are intended to define illegal online gaming more clearly and give the agency greater authority to act against unlicensed platforms.

Competing legislative tracks

The committee vote lands in the middle of a broader fight in Annapolis. Two distinct legislative tracks are running in parallel: HB 295 pursues prohibition of sweepstakes-style casino platforms, while separate proposals contemplating a licensed iGaming market for Maryland remain under consideration, with some proposals contemplating a statewide referendum on legalising iGaming.

The outcome of the iGaming debate will not directly determine whether HB 295 passes; the two tracks are legislatively distinct.

Industry positions are divided along predictable lines. Tribal-owned and brick-and-mortar casino operators have broadly supported stricter enforcement, while sweepstakes-style platform operators continue to press for regulation over prohibition, arguing a licensing framework would be preferable to a ban.

Some traditional gaming interests, however, favour controlled legalisation of iGaming rather than a sweepstakes-only clampdown. That range of positions has made HB 295 one of the more contested gambling bills in Annapolis this session.

Maryland is not the only state moving in this direction. California passed a state-wide online sweepstakes-casino ban last year, signed into law by Governor Newsom, and several other states are pursuing similar prohibition-first strategies.

Operators in the space have already begun responding to the broader state-level pressure: Pragmatic Play exited the US sweepstakes market ahead of the California ban taking effect, citing the shifting regulatory environment across multiple states.

What comes next

For sweepstakes operators active in Maryland, HB 295‘s committee passage represents a meaningful escalation. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency‘s role as bill sponsor signals that enforcement ambitions are regulator-driven, not solely legislative.

A July 2026 effective date, assuming the bill clears the Senate in its current form, would give operators limited time to adapt or exit the market.

The outcome of the competing legislative tracks in Annapolis will ultimately determine whether sweepstakes operators face a blanket ban or retain a path to licensed operation under a future iGaming framework. Until that question is resolved, the legislative picture in Maryland remains unsettled.

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