Louisiana and Minnesota Advance Remaining Sweepstakes Casino Bills

Louisiana and Minnesota both made fresh progress this week on bills targeting sweepstakes casinos. In Minnesota, Senate File 4474 passed the Senate on April 30 and was assigned to its first House committee on May 5. In Louisiana, House Bill 883 cleared the Legislative Bureau in the Senate and advanced to third reading, putting it one step away from a full Senate vote.

The developments of both bills go beyond simply naming sweepstakes casinos. Minnesota’s measure would ban online sweepstakes games and reach vendors tied to the sector, while Louisiana’s bill would explicitly define dual-currency online gambling activity in a way that could connect directly to the state’s new racketeering framework.

What the Bills Propose

• Minnesota SF 4474 would prohibit online sweepstakes games and add broad language affecting connected vendors such as payment processors, gaming suppliers, geolocation providers, and affiliates.
• Louisiana HB 883 rewrites state law to treat certain online games using a dual-currency system that simulates gambling as gambling by computer.
• In Louisiana, HB 53 already moved gambling-by-computer offenses into the state’s racketeering framework, which could sharply raise enforcement risk if both measures become law.

In Minnesota, SF 4474 moved quickly after being introduced in March. The bill cleared several Senate committees, survived concerns about deadline timing, and eventually passed the Senate before moving to the House. The Minnesota Revisor’s Office bill text describes it as legislation prohibiting online sweepstakes games.

In Louisiana, HB 883 may be the more consequential bill because of how it interacts with HB 53. On its own, HB 883 targets dual-currency online gambling models. But paired with HB 53, it could supply the statutory definition Louisiana needs to tie sweepstakes-style conduct to racketeering treatment under state law. That is not just a ban path. It is a much tougher enforcement path.

Why This Matters

Minnesota and Louisiana are now among the clearest examples of how states are getting strict on the sweepstakes casino model in different ways. Minnesota is moving to a more direct ban on vendor reach, while Louisiana is taking a more layered route by pairing an illegal online gambling bill with a separate racketeering structure.

The Minnesota bill is especially notable because some of the supporters say it is aimed at casino-style dual-currency products, not ordinary promotional sweepstakes. Lawmakers addressed companies such as McDonald’s and members of the video game industry, and said those groups were not concerned because the proposal was not meant to sweep in mainstream reward systems.

State leaders had already argued that sweepstakes casinos were illegal under existing law, but that view depended on interpretation. HB 883 would make the state’s position much more explicit by writing dual-currency online gambling into statute as gambling by computer. If that happens, it would make Louisiana’s earlier racketeering bill much more potent.

Growing Pressure on Sweepstakes Casinos

These are not the only sweepstakes bills still moving. Washington, D.C., is considering a proposal that would legalize real-money online casinos while banning sweepstakes casinos, and New York is moving a bill focused on advertising restrictions for gambling-related products aimed at minors.

That broader pattern shows the market is still under pressure from several directions at once. Some states are pushing full bans. Others are widening vendor liability, targeting advertising, or building enforcement tools that reach beyond operators themselves. Minnesota and Louisiana matter because both are still active, and both could materially narrow the operating room for dual-currency platforms if they reach the finish line. This last sentence is an inference based on the bill language and current status.

What Happens Next

Minnesota’s next hurdle is the House. SF 4474 must move through committee and then win a full House vote before Minnesota’s legislative session ends on May 18. 

The HB 883 in Louisiana is scheduled for Senate final passage on May 11, 2026. If it clears that vote, the bill would move one step closer to becoming law and could work in tandem with HB 53 to strengthen the state’s anti-sweeps enforcement framework.

References

Minnesota Legislature