Maryland Beats the Clock - Two Sweepstakes Casino Bills Move to Senate

After sitting idle since February 5th, HB295 was cleared by the House Ways and Means Committee on March 19th, then passed the House with a solid 105-24 vote on March 20th. HB1226, the other House-initiated bill, also passed its third and final reading right before the March 23rd deadline- the cutoff by which all bills must pass their originating chamber to be considered.

Both bills are now in the Senate and are awaiting scheduling for the first hearing and committee assignments.

If approved, HB295 will take effect on July 1, 2026, while HB1226 will take effect on October 1, 2026.

What These Bills Aim to Do

Maryland’s House has scored a buzzer-beater this week, moving its two bills targeting sweepstakes casinos to the Senate right before the crossover deadline. Experts and industry observers say that HB295 is the “cleaner” anti-sweepstakes casino legislation, while HB1226 is the enforcement bill that defines sweepstakes games as illegal and empowers state regulators to issue cease-and-desist letters and use payments and IP blocking tools.

Here’s a quick summary of what these two bills will do once they are passed by the Senate and become law:

• HB295. Although this bill doesn’t specifically mention “sweepstakes casino gaming”, it targets Sweeps Coins (SCs), which serve as one of the virtual currencies of these platforms. The bill defines “reward” as any prize or cash that players get from playing the games.

• HB1226. This bill targets “sweepstakes casino games” and assigns them under “illegal online gambling”. In short, it targets games that are built using the dual-currency model, where players can exchange their virtual coins for cash or cash equivalents.

What are the Next Steps for HB295 and HB1226?

Both bills are now in the Senate’s court and awaiting their schedules and committee assignments. However, the schedule is tight, and time is not on the side of the bills’ proponents. 

Maryland’s 2026 legislative session ends April 13th, giving legislators less than three weeks to hear, debate, and vote on these bills. If either bill requires amendments, it moves back to the House for reconciliation, thus complicating the timeline even further.

REFERENCES

• HB295

• HB1226