Sweepstakes Casinos in Florida (2026)

Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Florida?

Sweepstakes casinos are not banned in Florida, but they operate under a game promotion law that caps prizes in practice, and the Attorney General sued the two largest operators in August 2026. As of September 2026 major brands including Chumba Casino, McLuck, Pulsz and Stake.us still accept Florida players, with Florida-specific redemption limits.

Florida’s gambling statutes (Chapter 849, Florida Statutes) make it an offence to play a game of chance for money and treat any device that awards a prize by chance for consideration as a slot machine, which only the Seminole Tribe and licensed pari-mutuels in Broward and Miami-Dade may offer. Florida has always allowed genuine game promotions, however. Section 849.094 defines a game promotion as a contest or sweepstakes run in connection with the sale of consumer products or services, with prizes awarded by chance, and regulates rather than bans them. Sweepstakes casinos rely on that section and their free entry routes (daily bonuses and mail-in requests) to argue that nobody pays consideration for Sweeps Coins. Attorney General James Uthmeier argues the opposite: buying Gold Coins to receive Sweeps Coins is consideration, and the games are unlicensed slot machines.

The $5,000 game promotion rule

Section 849.094 requires the operator of any game promotion whose total announced prizes exceed $5,000 to file the rules and prize list with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) at least seven days before it starts, to post a surety bond or hold the prize money in trust unless it has run Florida promotions for five consecutive years without a violation, and to keep a winners list. The rule applies to out-of-state companies whose promotions are open to Floridians.

Sweepstakes casinos would rather not register a casino-style game with FDACS, so most keep their Florida prizes under the threshold instead. Chumba Casino’s rules cap a Florida prize won on a single spin or play at $5,000, and McLuck limits Florida redemptions to 5,000 SC per transaction against 10,000 SC elsewhere. Other brands publish similar Florida limits. Violating Section 849.094 carries a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation, an injunction and possible criminal referral, and can also be pursued as a deceptive trade practice.

Recent developments

• September 2024 and February 2025: the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) sends cease-and-desist letters to daily fantasy operators PrizePicks, Underdog and Betr, then to offshore sites BetUS, Bovada and MyBookie.
• 2025 session: SB 1404 and HB 1467, which would have widened the definition of illegal internet gambling, die in committee.
• December 2, 2025: HB 591 is filed for the 2026 session, with SB 204 as its Senate companion. It would make operating or promoting internet gambling that simulates casino games a third-degree felony, exempt only gaming under the Seminole compact, ban gambling advertising and make trafficking in slot machines a first-degree felony, effective October 1, 2026.
• January to March 2026: HB 189 and SB 1580 also seek to redefine unauthorised internet gaming in terms that could cover dual-currency sites. SB 204 clears two Senate committees; HB 591 and HB 189 never leave their first committee.
• March 13, 2026: the session ends with no gambling bill passed.
• August 19, 2026: Attorney General Uthmeier files two lawsuits in Hillsborough County Circuit Court against Stake (Stake.us) and VGW (Chumba Casino, LuckyLand and Global Poker), also naming payment processors Worldpay, Trustly, Praxis and Breeze Labs. The complaints allege illegal slot machines under Chapter 849 and deceptive marketing under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, and seek permanent injunctions, recovery of every dollar lost by Florida consumers, disgorgement, civil penalties and fees.
• September 2026: both operators continue to serve Florida while the cases proceed. No court has ruled on the merits.

How Florida law treats sweepstakes and gambling

Keeping a gambling house is a third-degree felony under Section 849.01, and playing an unlawful game of chance for money is a second-degree misdemeanor under Section 849.08, although Florida does not prosecute individual online players in practice; the state’s lawsuits target operators and their payment partners. Game promotions are regulated by FDACS under Section 849.094. The Florida Gaming Control Commission, operating since 2022, oversees pari-mutuels, slot facilities and the Seminole compact and investigates illegal gambling, while the Attorney General enforces consumer protection law. Since Amendment 3 in 2018, any expansion of casino gambling needs statewide voter approval, which is why the Legislature has focused on restricting rather than legalising online play.

What Florida players should check

• Age: sweepstakes sites accept Florida players aged 18 and over (Stake.us requires 21). Florida’s casinos and slot rooms are 21+, while the lottery, poker and pari-mutuel betting are 18+.
• Florida caps: read the Florida section of each site’s sweepstakes rules. Expect a $5,000 limit per prize or per redemption.
• Registration: a promotion offering more than $5,000 in prizes must be filed with FDACS, which can confirm whether one is registered.
• Litigation risk: the state is seeking injunctions against Stake and VGW. Keep balances low and redeem promptly, because an operator could exit Florida at short notice.
• Identity: expect geolocation and KYC checks before your first redemption.

Other legal ways to play in Florida

The Seminole Tribe operates seven casinos, including Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa and Hollywood, under its 2021 compact with the state, and its Hard Rock Bet app has offered statewide online sports betting since December 2023, when craps and roulette also arrived at Seminole casinos. Eight pari-mutuel facilities in Broward and Miami-Dade run slot machines, and cardrooms operate at pari-mutuels across the state. The Florida Lottery has run since 1988. There is no legal online casino in Florida.

Staying up to date

We monitor the Attorney General’s lawsuits, FDACS and FGCC actions, 2027 bill filings and every operator’s Florida terms. This page and the Florida casino list are updated as soon as anything changes; the review date in the header shows when we last checked.