Tennessee Attorney General: Multiple Online Sweeps Platforms ‘Successfully Halted’

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced Monday his state office has “successfully halted” operations of multiple online sweepstakes casinos.

The Volunteer State has neither internet nor brick-and-mortar casino gaming, with only digital sports wagering and the lottery legalized at the state level.

“The only thing you can be sure about with an online sweepstakes casino is that it’s going to take your money,” Skrmetti said in a statement released by the attorney general’s office. “They work hard to make these sweepstakes casinos look legitimate, but at the end of the day they are not. They avoid any oversight that could ensure honesty or fairness.

“Our Office was glad to chase these shady operations out of Tennessee and will keep working to protect Tennesseans from illegal gambling.”

The announcement caps what has been a brutal 2025 for online casino sweepstakes operators, who have been forced to exit several states via legislation and attorneys general opinions.

Skrmetti’s process as attorney general differs from Louisiana, where his counterpart Liz Murrill declared sweeps illegal via opinion after legislation was vetoed by Gov. Jeff Landry.

Indiana state Rep. Ethan Manning filed legislation earlier this month looking to ban sweeps that could be taken up next year.

Actively following up C&D letters

Skrmetti said his office has sent nearly 40 cease-and-desist letters to online sweepstakes casino operators the state claims operate illegally. The list included major players VGW, which runs Chumba and Luckyland, and MW Vegas, which runs WOW Vegas, and Stake.

According to the letter, promotional sweepstakes casinos constitute an illegal lottery that violates the Tennessee constitution as well as gambling and anti-consumer protection laws. The attorney general added every platform that received a cease-and-desist letter has either “already disabled the unlawful components of their platforms or have agreed on a date in the coming weeks for winding down their illegal services.”

Skrmetti’s letter closes by stating “Other sweepstakes casinos currently operating in Tennessee or contemplating entering the Tennessee marketplace should consider themselves on notice that illegal gambling will not be tolerated.”

Online sweepstakes casinos were declared illegal via legislation in New York, California, New Jersey, Nevada, Connecticut, and Montana this year. Tennessee is the third state where the attorney general’s office has weighed in along with Louisiana and West Virginia.