At the end of every year at SBC Americas, we assess the lay of the land and the likelihood of any new state legalizing online casino in the following 12 months. Our preview of 2025 this time last year wasn’t exactly optimistic, and that proved to be a fair assessment.
If anything, this year proceeded along similar lines as last: An initial flurry of iGaming legislation, met with the familiar revenue generation and consumer protection arguments in favor and the equally familiar cannibalization and problem gambling concerns in opposition.
No state got anything over the line, meaning that Rhode Island’s March 2024 single-operator market launch remains the most recent geographic expansion of typical online casino gaming. But did anywhere actually get close to changing that in 2025?
Exile to Maine street
Of the various states that proposed some form of iGaming legalization this year, Maine came closest to turning suggestion into reality.
LD 1164, a measure that would have authorized online casinos under the exclusivity of the Wabanaki Tribes, eventually got the seal of approval from the state legislature. It traveled a bumpy road, facing opposition from multiple government agencies, FanDuel and in-state commercial casino operators PENN Entertainment and Churchill Downs, but ultimately made it all the way to Gov. Janet Mills’ desk.
Mills’ office held the bill in the summer. When lawmakers reconvene in January, the governor will have three days to either sign or veto the bill or let it become law through inaction. Mills’ office testified against the bill during hearings, so the outlook doesn’t seem great at face value.
Ohio considers, DeWine opposes
In Ohio, there were iCasino pushes in both the Senate and the House, including a measure that would have legalized the vertical but limited the market to companies that already operate bricks-and-mortar casinos and racinos in the state. Rep. Brian Stewart’s bill would have taxed online casino at 28% and also banned dual-currency sweepstakes gaming.
In the Senate, Sen. Nathan Manning lodged his own proposal that suggested taxing existing land-based casino operators 36% and requiring outside operators without a casino presence in the state to pay 40% tax and a higher licensing fee. Those approaches were taken to try to ease concerns over cannibalization, but they still weren’t enough to get the bills serious consideration.
Given that Gov. Mike DeWine said in July that he feels legalizing online casino is a bad idea, the prospects for 2026 seem bleak. Sen. Bill DeMora opined at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) Winter Meeting in December that the idea is likely dead in the water until the state has a new governor in 2027.
Massachusetts discussion pushed until March
iGaming bills were also filed in both chambers of the Massachusetts legislature early in 2025 but momentum was hard to come by and the proposals made scant progress.
Another lawmaker, Rep. David Muradian, subsequently introduced his own measure in August that would both legalize iGaming and ban sweeps, another example of lawmakers trying to do two things in one swoop. His bill would give the three existing casinos eligibility for up to three online casino skins each and would tax iGaming at 15% of adjusted gross revenue.
Both Muradian’s H4431 and a separate bill from Rep. Daniel Cahill have had their reporting dates extended to mid-March 2026, so expect this topic to be discussed again. Wuith online lottery slated to launch in the second half of 2026, whether there is a real appetite to add online casino too remains to be seen.
New York senator keeps banging drum
New York has a longtime legislative advocate for welcoming online casino, but Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr.’s S2614 moved nowhere after being filed in January and was overshadowed by the process of awarding three new land-based casino licenses in New York City.
While other bills filed in New York in 2025 focused on curbing online gaming via measures, such as the ban on sweeps and an effort to stifle prediction markets, the iGaming issue lay largely dormant. But Addabbo told SBC Americas in September that online casino legalization will be one of his top priorities in 2026.
“I want to have this conversation with the governor and I hope she takes the lead on this,” Addabbo said. “They need to do iGaming because they need the revenue. I think we’re standing in a real good spot to have a real conversation about doing this.”
Several other states die quick deaths
Elsewhere, efforts in numerous other states proved short-lived, fizzling out either due to various concerns from lawmakers or perhaps simply a lack of interest. Bills in the likes of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Hampshire and Wyoming barely made a dent in the legislative agenda, although some of them are eligible to carry over to 2026.
Publicly, at least, several gaming operators’ executives remain bullish on the outlook for 2026, with some suggesting that factors such as the need for revenue or prediction markets’ entry into sports offerings could move the needle. We’ll see, but forgive us if we’re not too hopeful.
