An omnibus piece of legislation that aims to ban sweepstakes gaming in Indiana is heading to the Senate after the House voted strongly in favor of passing the law.
Indiana House members voted 87-11 to advance House Bill 1052, a bill sponsored by Rep. Ethan Manning that bans the operation of online sweepstakes games that leverage a dual-currency or multi-currency system of payment. The House’s approval sends the measure to the Senate after some amendments, which included adding the language of “multi-currency.” A previous iteration only included language regarding dual-currency systems of payment.
The bill was also amended to remove a provision that would have criminalized the operation of sweepstakes games. Instead, offenders under the bill would be subject to a civil penalty of $100,000. The penalty can be levied against an individual or an operator. Unlike some bills in other states, HB 1052 does not include penalties for affiliates or suppliers working with sweepstakes sites.
HB 1052 receives support from Indiana senator
HB 1052 will now head to the Senate for consideration, where it has garnered support from Sen. Ron Alting. He was added as a sponsor of the bill before its third reading.
In addition to a sweepstakes game ban, HB 1052 also proposes new conditions for license revocation and prohibited bettors with the Indiana Horse Racing Commission. The piece of legislation also adds new rules for beer and wine sales throughout the Hoosier State.
Sweepstakes regulation vs. ban in Indiana
The Indiana Gaming Commission currently does not consider the offerings illegal despite support of HB 1052. The commission’s failure to explicitly prohibit the operation of online sweepstakes sparked discussions between lawmakers in committee sessions for the bill about whether to ban the offerings or regulate them.
The regulator responded to calls for regulation by claiming that sending cease-and-desist orders to sweepstakes game operators would not be “in good faith, based on current law.”
A lawmaker, Rep. Steve Bartels, suggested an amendment to HB 1052 that would regulate sweepstakes operators. Bartels’ suggestion did not gain support, leading to a full online sweepstakes ban advancing in the House.
Manning’s gaming efforts in Indiana
Manning’s HB 1052 reached the Senate after his iLottery bill hit a dead end in January.
The measure, HB 1078, was sent to the House floor with amendments before it was pulled from the chamber’s agenda for a floor session. Manning later stated that it would not continue this session. HB 1078 proposed online lottery gaming for residents and visitors age 18 and older, with digital couriers prohibited and would have required the establishment of an iLottery voluntary exclusion program.
A previous version of the bill had online casino gaming attached before a series of changes removed that idea.
