Indiana’s push to shut down online sweepstakes casino games cleared its first Senate hurdle this week. The measure advanced even after a key lawmaker withdrew a late amendment that would have steered the state toward regulation rather than an outright ban.
On Wednesday, the Senate Public Policy Committee voted 8-0 to advance House Bill 1052, which defines and prohibits sweepstakes-style gaming. Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, the committee chairman and the bill’s sponsor, said he originally intended to offer an amendment to legalize and tax the games.
However, he withheld the proposal after receiving what he described as a "tremendous amount of feedback” and signals from leadership that a regulation model would be "dead on arrival.”
Redefining Indiana’s gaming landscape
Supporters of Indiana’s HB 1052 argue that the state’s current rules do not clearly cover the modern online sweepstakes model, where players often use "sweeps coins” to redeem real cash prizes. Because regulators previously lacked a clear path to issue cease-and-desist orders, the bill establishes a specific definition centered on multi-currency systems.
Once games fall under this definition, the activity becomes prohibited. To narrow the bill’s scope, the committee added an amendment from Sen. Kyle Walker clarifying that peer-to-peer, skill-based poker games are not considered sweepstakes, distinguishing them from chance-based, player-versus-house games.
- https://www.playusa.com/news/senate-passes-indiana-sweepstakes-casino-ban/