Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signed Senate Bill 1235 (SB 1235) into law back in June, putting an end to sweepstakes casinos within the Constitution State. This makes Connecticut the second state after Montana to ban sweepstakes casinos. The ban will take effect on October 1, 2025.
Other states where sweepstakes casinos are unavailable include Washington, Idaho, New York, Nevada, Michigan, Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia.
SB 1235 states that “no person shall conduct or promote a sweepstakes or a promotional drawing” or “facilitate participation in any real or simulated online casino gaming or sports wagering.” Under SB 1235, violators can be subjected to a $5,000 fine and up to five years in prison.
There is one exception to SB 1235 when it comes to sweepstakes, as grocery stores are still permitted to offer these types of contests. However, the prizes can only be discounts on store products instead of real money rewards.
Due to this anti-sweeps sentiment, SB 1235 has faced pushback since being signed into law.
The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) stated that Connecticut’s decision “fails to distinguish between lawful promotional sweepstakes and unregulated gambling.” Their main argument is that since sweepstakes casinos don’t require users to make any purchase, these platforms comply with U.S. sweepstakes laws.
Since there has been an “absence of any meaningful evidence of consumer harm,” the SPGA believes that this anti-sweeps decision in Connecticut is the wrong decision, which could potentially influence players to move to offshore platforms.
With that said, Connecticut users still have a couple of regulated online casinos within the state.
Connecticut players can participate in casino games at DraftKings Casino (partnered with Mashantucket Pequot Tribe’s Foxwoods Resort Casino) and FanDuel Casino (partnered with Mohegan Sun Casino). Each of these operators are industry leaders, with both DraftKings and FanDuel leading several markets throughout the country.
What separates online casinos like DraftKings and FanDuel from sweepstakes operators is that users have dual-access to casino and sportsbook from the same account, making it a more convenient and diverse experience.
This is unlike other states that are looking to ban sweepstakes casinos, where there won’t be any options for users if this is finalized.
Other states have taken similar action to Connecticut, including California, which recently passed an anti-sweeps bill in the Senate Governmental Organization Committee earlier this month. The next step is for this bill to get through the Senate Public Safety Committee. All signs point towards a full-out ban in the foreseeable future, but that is yet to be determined.
However, there were some exceptions, such as in Louisiana, where Gov. Jeff Landry rejected Senate Bill 181, which was a surprising result.
With that said, pushback on sweepstakes casinos has been prevalent in the United States for the last few months. It remains to be seen whether the ban in Connecticut will affect other states to follow suit.
