Tennessee and Oklahoma toughen up on sweepstakes with bills passing the Senate

• Tennessee and Oklahoma are advancing legislation to crack down on sweepstakes online casinos, with both states' Senate bills now headed to their respective Houses of Representatives
• Tennessee's SB 2136 aims to ban virtual currencies used in sweepstakes platforms and classify online sweepstakes games as violations of the state's Consumer Protection Act, empowering the Attorney General to pursue sanctions
• Oklahoma's SB 1589 takes an even harder stance, seeking to classify the provision of online sweepstakes games as Class C2 felonies, broadly defining online gambling to include the dual-currency model sweepstakes operators rely on

Both Tennessee and Oklahoma are toughening up their language on sweepstakes online casinos, with the two states advancing bills in their Senates to prohibit and limit the operations of these businesses.

US States crank up pressure against sweepstakes sector

Despite calls from sweepstakes advocates that the industry is based on historic and legal precedent, the two states argue to the contrary, i.e., that sweepstakes are just a way for unregulated online casinos to operate without meeting stringent gambling regulation.

Tennessee’s Senate has now advanced SB 2136, which will proceed to the House of Representatives. Sponsored by Sen. Ferrell Haile, the bill seeks to end the use of virtual currencies that allow players to exchange progress on sweepstakes online casinos for prizes such as cash or a cash equivalent. The bill’s language specifically states:

"Gambling; the operation or possession of gambling devices; and the operation, conducting, or commercial promoting of online sweepstakes games and other forms of online or app-based gambling are unlawful and are offenses against the public health, safety, and welfare of this state."

Should the bill pass successfully, it would qualify the introduction of online sweepstakes gaming products as violations under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, and it would, by extension, grant Attorney General Nonathan Skrmetti the power to intervene and pursue sanctions.

Anti-sweepstakes sentiment spreads among judiciary, legislature

Skrmetti has already gone on the offensive against the sector, having issued a cease-and-desist letter against 40 sweepstakesoperators in December 2025. In similar news, Oklahoma is making moves against the sector of its own.

Sen. Todd Gollihare and Rep. Scott Fetgatter have sponsored a new bill - SB 1589 - which has also made it out of the Senate, and is now headed for the House of Representatives.

The bill uses a broad language to define online gambling, framing it as any games access via the Internet that is based on a risk-reward factor, or resembles gambling, including the dual currency model currently used by sweepstakes operators.

The bill seeks to classify the provision of online sweepstakes games as Class C2 felonies, and also targets providers of titles as well as other services tied to the business as complicit with the activity.

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