Two Louisiana Sweeps Ban Bills Progressing In Legislature

For the second straight year, Louisiana lawmakers appear overwhelmingly in favor of passing legislation designed to ban online sweepstakes casinos in the Pelican State.

The House has moved two measures to the Senate. HB 883, which was unanimously approved 99-0 in the lower chamber Tuesday, explicitly bans “Any game, contest, or promotion that is available on the internet or accessible on a mobile phone, computer terminal, or similar access device that utilizes a dual-currency system of payment allowing the player to exchange the currency for any prize or award, cash, or cash equivalents, and simulates any form of gambling constitutes gambling by computer.”

HB 53, which arrived in the upper chamber in late March after passing 87-11 in the House, would add sweepstakes games to the definition of the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute. The bill passed out of the Senate’s Judiciary C Committee on Tuesday and has been referred to the Legislative Bureau.

Legislation sponsored by Sen. Adam Bass easily passed through both houses last year, only to be vetoed by Gov. Jeff Landry. The governor called Bass’ bill “a solution in search of a problem that is already being solved by our current system” while expressing confidence in the Louisiana Gaming Control Board to regulate such matters.

Legislative overkill?

Last year, Landry’s veto was promptly followed by a tandem effort from the LGCB and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill. The gaming board sent more than 40 cease-and-desist letters in June to sweeps operators, which included VGW and WOW Vegas.

Less than a month later, Murrill released a written opinion declaring sweeps illegal via the state constitution and multiple state laws, starting with the fact that “[g]ambling shall be defined and suppressed by the legislature.”

Murrill’s opinion opened the door for the Louisiana Department of Revenue to sue VGW and MW Services, which does business as WOW Vegas, for $44.4 million in taxes, interest, and unpaid penalties for offering digital gaming in the Pelican State.

In sponsoring HB 883, Rep. Laurie Schlegel retained criminal penalties for violators similar to Bass’ bill that included up to five years imprisonment. Fines could reach as high as $40,000, and every wager would constitute a separate violation of the law.