Reporting Deadline Set For Massachusetts Sweepstakes Casino Ban Bill

The Massachusetts legislature re-opens on Jan. 7, 2026, but the Joint Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee and lawmakers have extended the reporting deadline for House Bill 4431, which would ban sweepstakes casinos, to March 16, 2026. 

This is important as the 2026 legislative session concludes on July 31, leaving the bill with 137 days to resolve. 

More on the Bill

The bill was introduced by Rep. David Muradian in August 2025. The bill made no progress for more than two months, and then the Joint Economic Development and Emerging Technologies Committee held a hearing focused on revenue, responsible gaming, and related issues. 

During the hearing, the managing director of the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance, Sean Ostrow, discussed the benefits of regulating the sweepstakes casino market, including a 6.25% tax. He also shed light on the number of Massachusetts adults who play sweepstakes casino games: Up to 400,000. 

Also during the hearing, Rep. Carole A. Fiola said this was the first of many discussions on the bill. 

If this bill passes, sweepstakes casinos would be banned. The specific language says it would be illegal to “operate, conduct, or promote online sweepstakes games in the commonwealth.”

Additionally, online gambling would become legal. The existing brick-and-mortar casinos, Encore Boston Harbor, Plainridge Park, and MGM Springfield, would be able to offer up to three licenses. 

Encore Boston does oppose iGaming, though. 

What Some Lawmakers Are Saying About the Bill

One notable lawmaker who is not interested in this bill is Massachusetts Treasurer Debora Goldberg. She's also the chair of the Lottery Commission. 

“I don’t want to tell you what iLotteries did during Covid — Michigan, New Hampshire — while we had nobody being able to leave their house. And can you imagine the amount that we would have generated then?” Goldberg said at a Chamber of Commerce meeting, according to WWLP.

She also mentioned that the $1 billion that the Lottery generates for local support could be at risk. 

We'll see what comes of this bill when March 2026 rolls around. In the meantime, California's sweepstakes ban takes effect on Jan. 1; Maine has introduced a sweepstakes casino ban; New York's bill was signed into law; Tennessee has sent about 40 cease-and-desist letters; and other states, including Connecticut, Montana, and New Jersey, banned sweepstakes casinos in 2025.