Louisiana Anti-Sweeps Bill Headed To House Floor

A bill authored by Louisiana Sen. Adam Bass that would ban online sweepstakes gaming in the Pelican State moved closer to the House floor on Wednesday after it unanimously passed through the lower chamber’s Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.

SB 181 looks to amend and reenact R.S. 14:90 with a series of amendments that would include completely banning online sweepstakes prizing for casino, lottery, and mobile sports wagering. It passed unanimously in the Senate by a 39-0 vote last month before arriving at the House.

After passing through the House Committee, it was referred to the Legislative Bureau, which examines all bills that originate in the opposite chamber prior to third reading. The Legislative Bureau reported Bass’ bill without amendments Thursday.

Little in the way of resistance

Bass’ bill received plenty of support without oral testimony as representatives from Boyd Gaming, Golden Nugget, Cordish Companies, Aristocrat, and Light and Wonder publicly backed the bill. Representatives from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, Attorney General’s Office, and State Police submitted cards of support to the committee without testimony.

There was some concern expressed by Emile Collins, a representative of charitable gaming industries in the state, that the bill could overreach into draw games they offer such as keno and bingo. Bass said there was a need to include such types of games because they come up in Google searches for online gaming and stressed his bill focuses only on online gaming.

“They call them sweepstakes games,” Bass explained to the committee. “Once you get into the sweepstakes game, often times you’re dealing with tokens. But at some point, they transition from the tokens to asking for real money. And then they can take you to real online gambling. There’s not any age verification in doing that.”

A far-reaching bill beyond the ban

Bass’ amendments go far beyond a mere blanket ban on socials casinos with sweepstakes prizing.

Fines for violating the law range from $10,000 to $100,000 along with a potential prison sentence of up to five years. The bill would make it “unlawful for any applicant, licensed, or permitted entity, geolocation provider, gaming manufacturer, gaming supplier, platform provider, promoter, or media affiliate to provide support for the operation, conduct, or promotion of illegal gambling by computer, including illegal online sweepstakes games as described in this Section within the state.”

In April, the Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) said in a statement it “vehemently opposes” SB 181, claiming the bill “recklessly misclassifies legitimate sweepstakes as illegal gambling.”

The SPGA took specific aim at Bass’ proposal to criminalize sweeps, noting that a portion of the bill “discourages venture capital investment, potentially stifling the development of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence.

“This legislative overreach positions Louisiana as hostile to innovation, putting the state at a competitive disadvantage compared to more forward-thinking regions.”