Legislative Round-Up: Bans ‘Swept’ Away And The Sports Betting Roller Coaster

It’s springtime in some statehouses, which means it is time for some bills to bloom toward possible passage and for others to be cast away and pulled like annoying weeds. Welcome to this week’s legislative round-up:

A good week for sweepstakes casino operators

Though clearly not out of the woods everywhere when it comes to potential bans — Louisiana was the latest to have legislation filed on the matter — online sweepstakes operators can point to a few jurisdictions where they are (for now) able to exhale and claim victory.

Maryland

The biggest “W” came in Maryland, where SB 0860 failed to come up for a vote in progress from the House Ways and Means Committee. Del. Eric Ebersole, who sponsored the companion House Bill (HB 1140), made his case last month trying to link online sweeps to a gaming black market where $6 billion is wagered annually by Maryland residents.

But Josh White, who spoke on behalf of sweepstakes operator VGW, and attorney Jeff Ifrah, representing the Social and Promotional Games and Association (SPGA), made a credible counterargument that Ebersole’s bill was both too broad and overreaching. Additionally, they presented the idea that sweeps operators were open to regulation, though that currently is complicated by the spate of cease-and-desist letters filed by Maryland Lottery and Gaming against multiple operators.

Arkansas

A late push to legalize internet casino gaming in the Razorback State came via HB 1861, which would also have banned online casino sweeps and illegal sports betting activity. There was a lack of consensus among the three casino operators for expansion, which contributed to the bill being ultimately withdrawn last Thursday.

It will be revisited in the future, though, as the withdrawal led to agreement on the subject being the focus of an interim study by the House Judiciary Committee.

Mississippi

Legislation in Mississippi involving online sweeps was caught in the crossfire of the House trying an end-around to legalize mobile sports betting. The language covering the banning of sweeps in SB 2510 passed unanimously in the Senate, but the bill was amended to include sports betting language in a procedural maneuver originating in the House.

A bi-cameral conference committee between the two principal lawmakers involved — Rep. Casey Eure and Sen. David Blount — failed to generate any sort of compromise, resulting in the bill dying in committee in the upper chamber.

A statement from the SPGA pointed to common threads across all three states as reasons for failure: bills being “too broad, unsupported by evidence, and out of step with the public.”

“These bills shared the same fatal flaw: no facts and no foundation. Legislators are consistently rejecting efforts to criminalize safe, digital entertainment enjoyed by millions of adults across the U.S.,” a spokesperson for the SPGA said.

Sports betting: Trending up or down?

Hawaii: Trending up

The race against the clock is on after the Hawaii Senate approved an amended version of HB 1308 on Tuesday night. The bill has been transmitted to the House, where if it is approved, it would then be sent to Gov. Josh Green for his signature.

The Hawaii legislative session ends May 2, which gives legislators three weeks to reach a conclusion. An unlikely contender to legalize when multiple bills were filed in the statehouse in late January, HB 1308 has navigated a path forward despite consistent opposition from multiple state agencies and a late change of the proposed regulatory body to the Department of Law Enforcement.

Oklahoma: Trending down

The Oklahoma legislature could be in for a wild ride when it comes to legalizing sports betting. SB 585, which had already passed through the Senate, was withdrawn from the House’s Budget and Appropriations Committee on Monday.

The bill was considered to be the best chance for potential passage since Sen. Bob Coleman included an amendment for the Oklahoma City Thunder to obtain a license for mobile wagering. That was a nod to Gov. Kevin Stitt’s demand tribal operators not have exclusivity — Stitt has long had an acrimonious relationship when it comes to tribal operators.

As Coleman’s bill languishes, Rep. Ken Luttrell has two bills already passed through the House and ready to be debated by the Senate’s Business and Insurance Committee in HB 1047 and HB 1101. The language of the bills is similar except for one crucial caveat: HB 1101 would bypass a potential governor’s veto and attempt to legalize sports betting via public referendum should HB 1047 not become law. Stitt’s lone role would be setting the date for the referendum.

“Needless to say, the governor is not very happy with me right now,” Luttrell told the Pawhuska Journal-Capital. “He said my two bills are the height of corruption.”

Coleman, who chairs the Business and Insurance Committee, offered a potential timeline of three weeks for the bills to possibly advance to the Senate floor.

Alabama: Trending (way) down

One sensed Alabama state Sen. Greg Albritton knew any sort of gaming legislation, let alone passing sports betting as a standalone measure, was going to be a tough sell this session. There were still some hard feelings that came with last year’s protracted battle between the House and Senate that ultimately left the Cotton State one vote short of legalization.

Albritton released details of what he called a “trimmed-down” measure from last year to the public last week, but interestingly never filed his bill because he could not wrangle enough votes in the upper chamber to secure passage. It is OK to be disappointed as Albritton understandably is as the state’s champion of gaming, but to say it’s dead for the next 20 years as he did to AL.com seems a bit hyperbolic. The state will again be looking for revenue streams next year, and gaming will undoubtedly come to the forefront during statewide elections held in 2026.

Additionally, it seems little to no attention will be paid to Rep. Jeremy Gray’s standalone sports betting bill, HB 490, given Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger has no interest in bringing any gaming-related measure up in the Senate.

Other newsworthy nuggets

North Carolina: Rep. Marshall Setzer filed HB 828 on Tuesday, looking to ban prop bets on college and amateur sports as well as ban in-person wagering at any sports facility hosting a college sports event. The latter language is similar to a carveout New Jersey has in place and could prove to be a pivotal point of contention in Kalshi’s lawsuit against the Division of Gaming Enforcement there.

Banning player-specific prop bets at the collegiate level gained some traction last year as state regulators in Maryland and Ohio removed such offerings following a push by the NCAA. Rep. Marcia Morey filed similar legislation in the Tar Heel State last year via HB 967, but that bill failed to advance out of committee.

Nevada: The Nevada Senate unanimously passed SB 256 on Tuesday, which would allow courts to order the “disgorgement of any profit, gain, gross receipt or other benefit related to certain illegal gaming activities,” which includes online sweeps. The bill now heads to the lower chamber.

Florida: HB 1467, which would legalize and regulate daily fantasy sports in the Sunshine State, continued to wind its way through House committees, advancing from the Budget Committee by a 23-4 vote Tuesday. The next and final stop for Rep. John Snyder’s bill in the lower chamber is the Commerce Committee. Snyder’s bill also would create a 2-year waiting period for any commissioner of the Florida Gaming Control Commission to take a job with a DFS or sports betting company after leaving the post.