Maine has authorized online casino gaming in the state, but lawmakers approved a piece of legislation on Wednesday that would ensure that dual-currency sweepstakes games are illegal.
The Maine Joint Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs held a work session for Legislative Document 2007 and ultimately advanced the bill by an 8-2 vote. The voting process included three absentees, who are expected to submit their votes by the end of the week. But even with three additional votes, the bill will still advance to the next stage.
LD 2007 was proposed by Sen. Craig Hickman in December and immediately referred to the committee, with a discussion subsequently held on the piece of legislation last month. The measure will now head to the full Senate floor, where it originated, for further consideration.
Unlicensed sweeps operators call Maine home
Currently, there are more than 50 unlicensed sweepstakes operators that call the state of Maine home, according to data provided by Maine Gambling Control Unit Executive Director Milton Champion.
Unlike other state regulators who are demanding that sweepstakes operators exit their respective markets, the gaming regulator in Maine is yet to issue any cease-and-desist orders. However, the regulator sent a warning to state residents and visitors in June about engaging with “illegal interactive gaming” websites and apps that “lack regulatory oversight in Maine.”
“If you’re in Maine and you go to DraftKings, immediately it pops up and says authorized by the Maine Gambling Control Unit. And if it doesn’t say that, then at least the consumer knows you haven’t authorized it or we haven’t authorized it, and you’re not regulating it, and therefore you go at your own peril,” Champion told lawmakers during the work session.
Maine is looking to shut out sweeps after it legalized online casino gaming last month, as Gov. Janet Mills allowed a legislature-approved 2025 bill to pass into law.
What’s considered a sweepstakes game in Maine?
LD 2007 provides a framework for prohibiting online sweepstakes games or contests that are available online and utilize a dual-currency payment system to simulate casino-style gaming, lottery, bingo, or sports betting.
The piece of legislation also defines a dual-currency system as a system of payment that “allows a person to play or participate with direct consideration or indirect consideration.”
Also clarified in the legislation is the definition that a dual-currency system also “prevents a person from directly purchasing coins, tokens or other representations of value that are redeemable for any cash prize” or encourages a person to purchase coins or tokens that are not exchangeable for a prize, award or cash.
Sweepstakes have been a hot topic of conversation in the last few months, and this doesn’t look to be changing any time soon. In fact, the sweepstakes model was a focal point for discussions amongst lawmakers and attendees during the work session, with a representative from Virtual Gaming Worlds (VGW) providing context as to how the company’s sweepstakes offerings use dual-currency systems and reward customers.
“In the core game, there’s no prize redemptions,” said VGW Executive Product Advisor Derek Brinkman. “The only prize redemptions come from the marketing promotion that uses the sweepstakes.”
VGW is a member of the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), an advocacy group that also includes Publishers Clearing House owner ARB Interactive.
Maine could add to other sweeps bans in the US
Within the session, Champion drew particular attention to other U.S. markets that are considering legislation to ban sweepstakes.
“We now have active legislation in Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Iowa, Maryland and Florida,” added Champion.
Most recently, a pair of online casino legalization bills passed this week in each of the Senate and House in Virginia includes a provision to make sweeps illegal without an iGaming license, while Indiana moved a big step closer to explicitly banning sweepstakes casinos on Wednesday as the state Senate approved a bill that has already passed the House.
Last year, several states passed and implemented bans on sweepstakes gaming in their respective markets.
Since Montana became the first state to explicitly prohibit online sweepstakes casinos, with the ban being imposed in October 2025, the governors of state sincluding California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York have signed legislation to ban online sweepstakes casinos or dual-currency systems of payment.
