State legislators joined a handful of other jurisdictions in approving a ban on online Tennessee sweepstakes casinos, passing a conference committee agreement Thursday in overwhelming fashion.
Senate Bill 2136/House Bill 1885 carried the final product forward, with the House voting by a 69-17 margin to outlaw dual-currency sweepstakes casinos. The measure now heads to the desk of Gov. Bill Lee, who has 10 days (excluding Sundays) to make a decision on the legislation.
In addition to signing or vetoing the bill, Lee could choose neither and allow it to become law without his approval. If Lee chooses to reject SB 2136, however, the Tennessee sweepstakes measure will perish for 2026 because the state legislature adjourned sine die Thursday.
Six state legislatures opted to ban dual-currency sweepstakes casinos in 2025:
- California
- Connecticut
- Louisiana
- Montana
- New Jersey
- New York
Of those states, only Louisiana’s ban failed to clear the governor’s desk. Gov. Jeff Landry said in his veto that he believed state regulators already possessed the power to shut down online sweeps operators.
What would Tennessee sweepstakes bill do?
As laid out in the conference committee report, Tennessee legislators saw the issue thusly:
“… online sweepstakes casinos generally utilize a system allowing players to play casino-style games with virtual currency and exchange the virtual currency for cash or other real-world prizes … in reality, such online sweepstakes casinos and other online-gambling platforms serve as a façade to hide the fact that players may engage in real-money gambling through the purchase and use of virtual currency.”
The TN sweeps bill outlaws any virtual-currency, dual-currency or multi-currency games that mimic other forms of gambling, including:
- Bingo
- Lottery games
- Slot machines
- Table games
- Unlicensed sports wagering
- Video poker
Legislators also tweaked language via SB 2136 to empower state regulators to investigate and enforce the new law. Under the adjusted statute, lawmakers clarified that violations of the new sweepstakes rules fall under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act of 1977.
Legslators, regulators scramble on emerging forms of gaming
Authorities at the state and federal level continue to whack at moles as rapidly as new forms of previously unregulated gaming pop up. While the burgeoning growth of prediction markets grabs most of the headlines this year, sweepstakes casinos spent most of the previous two year at the forefront of gaming industry discussion.
Prior to sweeps, daily fantasy sports formats closely mirroring sports betting parlay products including Underdog and PrizePicks dominated legislative and regulatory chatter.
The Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), a trade group backed by a number of prominent US-facing sweepstakes operators, estimates that sweeps casinos generated $10 billion in 2024 sales. SGLA commissioned Eilers & Krejcik to perform that study.
