Sweepstakes Casinos in Mississippi (2026)

Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Mississippi?

Mississippi has not enacted a ban, but the Mississippi Gaming Commission says sweepstakes casinos are illegal gambling, VGW has left, and the Senate has passed a ban two years running. Mississippi Code section 97-33-1 makes it an offence to encourage, promote or play at any game for money or anything of value, except gambling authorised by law: licensed casinos, the Lottery, charitable bingo and fantasy contests. Nothing authorises online casino games. Operators rely on the argument that free-entry sweepstakes involve no consideration, but the Gaming Commission rejected that in June 2025 when it sent cease-and-desist letters to ten sites, including Chumba Casino, and warned that players themselves could face prosecution and forfeiture of money.

VGW responded by ending Sweeps Coins play at Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker for Mississippi residents, with the last redemptions on September 14, 2025. Other dual-currency brands, including McLuck, PlayFame and NoLimitCoins, continue to accept Mississippians, so availability is patchy. We are not lawyers, and you should weigh the regulator’s stated view before you play.

Recent developments

• February 11, 2025: the Senate passes Senate Bill 2510, sponsored by Senator Joey Fillingane, 44-1, the first chamber in the country to approve a sweepstakes casino ban. It would make operating one a felony with fines of up to $100,000 and up to ten years in prison.
• March 2025: the House, led by Gaming Committee chair Casey Eure, amends SB 2510 to add statewide mobile sports betting and passes it 83-19.
• Late March 2025: Senate Gaming Committee chair David Blount refuses the sports betting addition and the bill dies in conference as the session closes.
• June 17, 2025: the Gaming Commission announces cease-and-desist letters to ten operators: Chumba Casino plus nine offshore sportsbooks and casinos such as Bovada, BetOnline and MyBookie. Executive Director Jay McDaniel promises aggressive enforcement against domestic and offshore operators without a Mississippi licence.
• July 31 to September 14, 2025: VGW stops Sweeps Coins purchases, then play, then redemptions in Mississippi. Gold Coin social play continues.
• January 9, 2026: Senator Fillingane files Senate Bill 2104, which declares online sweepstakes casinos illegal gambling, treats their games as gambling devices and carries a $100,000 fine, up to ten years in prison and asset forfeiture.
• Early February 2026: the Senate passes SB 2104 without a dissenting vote; the House passes its own mobile sports betting bill, HB 1581, 85-31, keeping the two issues separate this time.
• March 3, 2026: the House Gaming Committee lets SB 2104 die at the committee deadline; the Senate returns the favour on HB 1581 and a revised HB 4074. Both issues are expected back in 2027.

How Mississippi law treats sweepstakes and gambling

• Section 97-33-1: playing or promoting an unauthorised game for money is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500, with up to 90 days in jail if it is not paid. Unusually, the statute reaches players, which is why the Gaming Commission’s June 2025 warning mentioned them.
• Gambling devices (section 97-33-7) and the Gaming Control Act (Title 75, chapter 76): casino gaming is legal only on licensed premises in the Gulf Coast and Mississippi River counties that approved it.
• Internet sweepstakes cafés: a 2013 law targeted storefront sweepstakes parlours; SB 2104 would have extended that logic to online sites.
• Regulator: the Mississippi Gaming Commission licenses casinos and sports betting; the Mississippi Lottery Corporation runs the Lottery.

What Mississippi players should check

• Age: Mississippi sets 21 for casinos, sports betting and the Lottery, and sweepstakes sites that serve the state should hold you to 21.
• Regulator warnings: the Gaming Commission has said sweepstakes casino play is illegal. Prosecutions of players have not been reported, but the statute allows them.
• Eligibility: VGW brands no longer offer Sweeps Coins in Mississippi; confirm any other site lists Mississippi as eligible.
• Geolocation and identity checks: expect both, and note that legal mobile sports betting apps only work inside a licensed casino.

Other legal ways to play in Mississippi

Mississippi has more than two dozen commercial casinos, concentrated in Biloxi and Gulfport on the coast and in Tunica, Vicksburg, Greenville and Natchez along the river, plus three casinos run by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, including Pearl River Resort. Retail sports betting has been legal since August 1, 2018, but mobile wagering is allowed only while on casino property. The Mississippi Lottery began selling tickets on November 25, 2019. Daily fantasy sports has been regulated since 2017, and charitable bingo is licensed. There is no legal online casino gaming or statewide mobile sports betting.

Staying up to date

We monitor Gaming Commission enforcement, the 2027 versions of the ban and sports betting bills and every operator’s Mississippi policy. This page and the casino list are updated as soon as anything changes; the review date in the header shows when we last checked.