Montana Effectively Bans Sweepstakes Casinos with SB555

On May 12, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed off on SB555, effectively eliminating sweepstakes casinos. 

The bill does not mention sweepstakes casinos by name, but the model will become prohibited and take effect on October 1, 2025. 

This comes after anti-sweepstakes bills in Florida were paused. 

What SB555 Says

The bill, introduced by Republican Senator Vince Ricci, amends various sections of the Montana Code Annotated related to gambling. 

It went through the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the committees with minimal edits. 

In the bill, the definition of “internet gambling” is amended to say the following: 

“The term includes online casinos, by whatever name known, which constitute internet gambling and therefore are prohibited. This includes but is not limited to any platform, website, or application that knowingly transmits or receives gambling information, allows consumers to place a bet or wager using any form of currency, and makes payouts of any form of currency.”

Again, sweepstakes casinos aren’t outright mentioned, but the language of “any form of currency” will restrict that model. 

However, it does add this: “Online casinos that do not allow the use of currency of any kind are not considered a gambling activity and therefore are permitted.”

So, if there’s an online casino that doesn’t operate with any currency, that could work. 

Now, charges could include misdemeanor or felony for “solicitation of illegal gambling,” which could include advertisers, affiliate marketers, and anyone promoting illegal gambling platforms. 

In all, the penalties could be up to $50,000 and 10 years in prison. 

What Players In Montana Can Expect Next

Leading up to this, a number of big-name sweepstakes casino brands left the state, including Chumba, McLuck, and WOW Vegas. However, others like Stake.us, Fortune Coins, and Zula are up as of May 2025. That said, expect them to withdraw before October 1. 

Also, these platforms could turn toward a true social casino model with no currency to adapt. 

Players in the state, though, could turn to offshore casinos which lack regulatory oversight. This is something the Social and Promotional Games Association is afraid of. Thus, they’ve campaigned for Montana to work with sweeps casinos on regulation as opposed to a ban. 

Will More States Do This? 

While the Social and Promotional Games Association prefers legislation to work with the sweeps industry, it’s pretty clear that won’t happen. 

Now, states like Nevada, New Jersey, Connecticut, Louisiana, and New York are working on their own anti-sweepstakes casino legislation.