Legislative Week in Summary: Illinois Fires 60 Letters, While Indiana and Virginia’s Sweepstakes Casino Bills Progress

The push against sweepstakes casinos continues in the first two weeks of February, sustaining January's legal sprint. Key anti-sweepstakes actions in early February include committee progress, unanimous votes and other enforcement moves, building on the January momentum.

Leading the list is Virginia, which has cleared its first House committee, then there’s Indiana, setting up bigger fines of up to $100k, and Illinois, which dumped over 60 cease-and-desist letters a few days ago. Although there are new bills filed this Friday, existing ones advanced, sustaining the momentum.

Illinois Sets the Tone for the February Campaign

Last February 5th, Illinois sent a strong message to the industry by unloading over 60 cease-and-desist letters to websites operating illegal online casinos and sweepstakes gaming platforms.

The Illinois Gaming Board partnered with the Attorney General’s Office to issue these letters and warn operators to restrict access to local players immediately.

According to Marcus D Fruchter, the Illinois Gaming Board Administrator, these websites compromise the players’ safety and well-being, and run counter to public interest in regulated gaming. He added that Illinois authorities will continue to explore all available regulatory and law enforcement tools to stop illegal gambling and protect players. Aside from Illinois, two more states have signalled stricter regulations via successful votes:

• Virginia. The state’s HB161 or iGaming legislation with sweepstakes ban has cleared its first committee, and now, with the powerful House Appropriations Committee as of February 13th.
• Indiana. HB1052 passed the House by an 87-11 vote, advancing to the next step.

Maine and Ohio have completed their hearings on potential bans on sweepstakes casinos, but no vote has been scheduled for this February.

Ohio is a hot spot for sweepstakes casino drama since it witnessed a class action suit filed against Stake.us. According to the plaintiff, the popular sweepstakes casino platform has misrepresented itself by advertising it as a legal and safe site even though it isn't licensed or registered.

What to Expect this February 2026?

Expect continued hearings and committee work, with possible floor votes. There’s momentum for bills banning and regulating sweepstakes casinos. Analysts see Virginia’s HB161 and Indiana’s HB1052 moving past their committees; a full House vote is expected for the former, and a mid-February vote is possible for the latter.

There are no rumoured new bills in the pipeline, which is good news for operators. However, the existing bills in identified states have a strong chance of moving to the next legislative stage.

REFERENCES

• Indiana’s Press Release

• Virginia’s HB161