Maryland comes a step closer to banning sweepstakes casinos

Sweepstakes social casinos are under threat in the United States, and despite prognostications that their numbers will only increase in the coming years, there has been a multi-pronged attack on their legitimacy launched by legacy gambling operators, tribal gaming operations, and business groups.

Maryland’s opposition against the sweepstakes casino sector is growing

The fact that Mississippi has become the first state to ban online sweepstakes casinos has not helped, and now, Maryland is moving a step closer to replicating this success. A bill sponsored by Sen. Paul D. Corderman, Senate Bill 860, is now looking to do away with sweepstakes-based internet gaming.

The bill has already progressed through the Maryland Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, receiving an overwhelming 13-0, vote, and a companion bill – House Bill 1140- seems equally poised to gain headway, backed by Eric Ebersole, and presently in the House Ways and Means Committee.

The Senate bill is looking to ensure that sweepstakes casinos are regulated in the sense that they are not allowed unless the Maryland State Lottery and Gaming Control Commission has given a license to such businesses in the first place.

Maryland does not have a clear definition for sweepstakes, and such businesses operate based on well-established historic precedent, i.e. sweepstakes are not considered a form of gambling and do not require a license.

Lawmakers have fumigated against the sector, arguing that sweepstakes casinos have repeatedly breached protocol and used their model to encroach on regulated gambling. Some, such as the American Gaming Associations and tribal representatives, have equated the sweepstakes model to "legal acrobatics" designed to dodge the law, while making full use of the business itself.

The SPGA, a newly set-up body pushing back against this, has argued that its business operations are indeed legitimate and set in a historic precedent. The association has criticized the sudden attack on the sector, arguing that millions of people across the United States enjoyed sweepstakes casinos and the model itself.

Lawmakers, tribes, and private companies all push against the sector

Maryland, though, and its lawmakers, may soon make it impossible to operate locally. Some websites have already withdrawn from the market, too, with MrLuck and Hello Millions quitting the state ahead of the bill’s most likely passage.

Other states have also taken the battle against the sweepstakes model. Among the most recent movers against the vertical are Washington State, New York, and New Jersey, all of which have pointed out to the same problems with the sector, arguing that although it promoted free gaming, they still allowed users to secure real money prizes, and also generated a revenue.

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