Ruddock Report: Will Legalization Trend Reverse In 2026?
Anti-online casino side adds members, pro-legalization finds glimmers of hope
5 min
Our monthly look at the online gambling landscape includes the current legal and regulatory scene, prospective online casino and online poker states, and significant trends to watch.
2025 looks to be a wash for online casino legalization, so this month’s report will look ahead to 2026 and determine if the anti-online casino side will continue to thwart efforts or if the pro-legalization and regulation side can come away with a few victories.
Trends to watch: NAAiG grows, diversifies
The National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG) recently added two high-profile members:
- Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc. — A real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on gaming properties
- Laguna Development Corporation — A business run by the Pueblo of Laguna tribe of New Mexico.
Opponents have been highly successful in preventing online casino legislation from passing, and with the membership rolls increasing in both number and diversity, NAAiG (alongside unions, responsible and problem gambling advocates, and religious leaders and anti-gambling crusaders) is going to be a difficult hurdle to overcome.
The NAAiG members include several prominent casino operators, including Cordish Companies, Churchill Downs, Monarch Casino, and JACK Entertainment.
Other prominent members include Accell Entertainment (VGT supplier and route operator), multiple trade unions, Central City, City of Blackhawk, and Gilpin County in Colorado.
You can find further insights on my podcast with Mark Stewart, executive vice president and general counsel at the Cordish Companies and a board member of NAAiG.
Questions to answer: Is a tipping point coming?
Despite the opposition and the lack of meaningful results on the online casino front, pockets of optimism persist — for a variety of reasons.
During the company’s Q2 earnings call, Rush Street Interactive CEO Richard Schwartz pointed to the possibility of prediction markets eroding sports betting tax revenue across the country. According to Schwartz, a solution is staring states in the face: online casinos, which are seemingly (stressing the word seemingly) insulated from prediction markets.
There is a “very real possibility” prediction markets could accelerate legalization, Schwartz said. “It could work out well for us ultimately in the sense that our top priority is legalizing additional iCasino states and opportunities for online casino legalization.”
And then there was Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who, at the most recent National Council of Legislators from Gaming States meeting, said online casinos were a matter of when, not if, in Illinois.
If I were a betting man, I would put a sizable amount on the status quo remaining, with legalization occurring at a slow trickle.
2025 online casino bills
The Ruddock Report will revise this list as new bills are introduced.
LEGAL ONLINE GAMBLING ONLINE POKER-ONLY
ACTIVE LEGISLATION LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS FAILED
Active bills
Ohio
- HB 298, sponsored by House Finance Committee Chair Brian Stewart
- SB 197, sponsored by Sen. Nathan Manning
I’m hearing a lot of backchannel chatter about Ohio’s online casino bills. While there is some support, there is also significant opposition, including two Ohio casino operators that are members of NAAiG: JACK Entertainment and Churchill Downs. And then there is Penn Entertainment, which has lobbied against bills in 2025. On top of that there is Gov. Mike DeWine, who doesn’t seem to be a fan of gambling (given his efforts to double the sports betting tax rate in the state twice, once successfully). On iCasino specifically, DeWine recently said, “I’m not for it. Basically, to put a casino in everybody’s hands, 24/7, I think, is probably not a great idea. And I think it will cause more pain and suffering … as far as gaming addiction. I don’t usually use the ‘V-word,’ [veto] but, you know, I’m very much against this.”
New York
- S 2614, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr.
New York’s annual online gambling bill has been introduced, but the focus on the downstate casino licenses has overshadowed online casino efforts. The licenses aren’t expected to be awarded until the tail end of this year, at the earliest, which means there’s no room for online casinos.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts has multiple online casino bills, with SB 235 and HB 332 discussed (briefly) during a Massachusetts Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure hearing.
Illinois
As I wrote in my Straight to the Point newsletter, “Two online casino bills are under consideration: SB 1963, sponsored by state Sen. Cristina Castro, and HB 3080, sponsored by state Rep. Edgar Gonzalez. … The problem is, (almost) no one wants it,” evidenced by nearly 1,000 witnesses testifying against online casinos at a recent hearing. March polling from Tulchin Research indicates opponents are winning the public perception battle, as respondents overwhelmingly view online casino as a more addictive product that will lead to increased rates of problem and underage gambling.
Maine
- LD 1164, sponsored by Rep. Ambureen Rana
This has been passed by the House and Senate and is on the desk of Gov. Janet Mills (who is expected to veto, or pocket veto, the bill when the legislature returns in 2026). The legislation allows each of the state’s four tribes to offer online casino gambling: Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, Passamaquoddy Tribe (with two reservations: Indian Township and Pleasant Point), and Penobscot Nation.
The bill calls for a $50,000 licensing fee and a 16% tax rate, with funds distributed as follows:
- 3%: Deposited in the Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund
- 3%: Deposited in the E-9-1-1 fund
- 3%: Deposited in the Opioid Use Disorder Prevention and Treatment Fund
- 2%: Deposited in the Emergency Housing Relief Fund
- 3%: Deposited in the Maine Veterans’ Homes Stabilization Fund
Inactive bills
New Hampshire
- SB 168, sponsored by Sen. Tim Lang
Despite passing the committee stage, Lang “tabled” the bill due to opposition. It can be brought back later in the session, but nothing on the ground has changed that would indicate progress is happening behind the scenes.
Arkansas
- HB1861, sponsored by Rep. Matt Duffield
A late push came up short in Arkansas, as Rep. Duffield’s legislation was withdrawn and recommended for interim study by the House Judiciary Committee. The bill emerged late in the session (which seems to be the best way to pass a gambling expansion bill these days), but the stakeholder divide between Saracen Casino (pro) and Oaklawn (against) was too large to overcome.
Maryland
Legislation once again stalled in committee, and the absence of online casino revenue in the state’s proposed budget deal between the legislature and Gov. Wes Moore signals the end of 2025 efforts.
Virginia
A new contender in the online casino landscape, Virginia ran into similar concerns from unions and brick-and-mortar stakeholders to those that have plagued states like Maryland and New York. The proposed legislation failed to gain traction in either chamber, with bill sponsors pulling them and announcing they will reintroduce the bills in 2026.
Wyoming
- HB 162, sponsored by Rep. Bob Davis
Efforts to legalize online casinos in Wyoming failed to gain the necessary support from the committee and are effectively dead. Despite a favorable report from Spectrum Gaming, Wyoming tribes voiced concerns that online gambling would cannibalize their brick-and-mortar properties.
Indiana
- HB 1432, sponsored by Rep. Ethan Manning
After running into opposition, including cannibalization concerns, Indiana’s annual effort to legalize online casino gambling (and online lottery sales) once again came up short. One glimmer of hope as we look ahead to 2026 is the passage of a bill prohibiting online lottery couriers, with Rep. Manning saying the goal is to allow the state lottery to start on equal footing when online lottery is legalized.
Hawaii
Separate versions of a mobile sports betting bill passed the House and Senate, with the details now being hashed out by a conference committee. The state’s online casino bills failed to gain any support.
