Sweepstakes Casinos in Pennsylvania (2026)

Are sweepstakes casinos legal in Pennsylvania?

Sweepstakes casinos are not banned by statute in Pennsylvania, but the state regulator treats them as illegal online gambling and most brands have left. In April 2025 the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) disclosed that it had sent cease-and-desist letters to 18 sweepstakes operators, and all 18 complied by leaving the state or geo-blocking Pennsylvania players. Stake.us, McLuck and Mega Bonanza were among those that withdrew. Pennsylvania is therefore one of the hardest large states in which to find a sweepstakes casino, even though nothing in the Crimes Code names the model.

The legal argument is the familiar one. Pennsylvania’s gambling offences turn on consideration, chance and reward. Sweepstakes casinos say that Gold Coins have no cash value and that Sweeps Coins are free, so no consideration is paid. The PGCB’s view, set out by its chief counsel Steve Cook at a House Gaming Oversight Committee hearing in April 2025, is blunt: sweepstakes casinos, despite their misleading presentation, are in the Board’s assessment illegal online gambling. Since the Board licenses one of the country’s largest regulated online casino markets, it has every reason to press the point.

The few sites that still accept Pennsylvania players are listed on this page for information only. We are not lawyers, and you should read each site’s Pennsylvania terms before you buy anything.

Recent developments

• April 2025: at a Gaming Oversight Committee hearing, PGCB chief enforcement counsel Cyrus Pitre and chief counsel Steve Cook confirm 18 cease-and-desist letters to sweepstakes operators, with full compliance. Pitre describes enforcement as a whack-a-mole situation as new sites appear, and Cook says the Board is significantly hamstrung because the Gaming Act limits its powers to licensees. The Board asks lawmakers for authority to pursue unlicensed operators in court. The Social and Promotional Games Association (SPGA) calls the letters regulatory overreach.
• 2025-2026 session: a House co-sponsorship memo circulates proposing legislation to stop unlicensed operators exploiting gaps in the gaming and sweepstakes laws, noting that Pennsylvania bars anyone under 21 from casinos and iGaming while many sweepstakes sites accept 18-year-olds. No sweepstakes-specific bill has passed either chamber.
• June 2026: Representatives Tarik Khan and Jamie Flick announce a bipartisan package of online gambling consumer-protection bills, covering deposit limits and marketing restrictions, aimed at the licensed market rather than sweepstakes sites.
• 2026: industry trackers report further letters after the initial 18 and describe Pennsylvania as a state where very few sweepstakes casinos remain. Brands that left include Stake.us, McLuck, Mega Bonanza, High 5 Casino, Jackpota and SweepSpot.

How Pennsylvania law treats sweepstakes and gambling

Gambling in Pennsylvania is governed by the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act (Title 4 of the Consolidated Statutes, enacted in 2004 and expanded by Act 42 of 2017) and by the gambling offences in the Crimes Code (Title 18, Section 5513). Operating unlicensed gambling devices or games is a first-degree misdemeanor for those who run them; the statutes are aimed at operators and promoters, not at people who play.

The PGCB’s enforcement problem is structural. Its interactive gaming powers under Chapter 13B of the Gaming Act apply to licensees and applicants, so against an unlicensed website it can send letters and refer matters to the Attorney General, but it cannot itself sue or fine. That is what the Board asked the General Assembly to fix in 2025. Until it is fixed, availability depends on whether an operator chooses to comply with a letter, and so far all of them have.

What Pennsylvania players should check

• Availability: check the site’s list of excluded states before registering. Most large brands list Pennsylvania alongside Washington, Idaho, Michigan and Nevada.
• Age: the sites that remain generally accept players from 18. Pennsylvania’s casinos and licensed online casinos are 21 and over, and lawmakers have flagged the gap.
• Location: geolocation is enforced at login and redemption. If a site has left Pennsylvania, using a VPN breaches its terms and forfeits your balance.
• Balances at departed sites: if your operator left after a PGCB letter, contact support about redeeming or refunding Sweeps Coins; most gave players a redemption window.
• The regulated alternative: Pennsylvania is one of the few states with a full legal online casino market. If you want real-money play with statutory protections, it exists.

Other legal ways to play in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has 17 licensed casinos: six racinos such as Hollywood Casino at Penn National and Parx, five standalone casinos such as Rivers Philadelphia and Live! Casino Philadelphia, two resort casinos and four mini-casinos. Act 42 of 2017 legalised online casinos, online poker, sports betting, iLottery, fantasy sports and video gaming terminals at truck stops. The Pennsylvania Lottery launched iLottery on June 4, 2018; retail sports betting began on November 15, 2018 at Hollywood Casino, with online sportsbooks following in May 2019; and the first regulated online casinos went live in July 2019. Around 20 licensed iGaming brands, including DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM, now operate under PGCB licences, and the market took in more than $2 billion in revenue last year. Charitable small games of chance are licensed locally.

Staying up to date

Stakester follows PGCB hearings and letters, the General Assembly’s gaming bills and every operator’s Pennsylvania policy. The casino list on this page only shows sites that currently state they accept Pennsylvania residents, and it is updated as soon as that changes.