Virginia lawmakers have pushed any sweepstakes-casino ban into next year at the earliest, after amending Senate Bill 579 to require a formal study before prohibition can move ahead. Under the revised bill, 2027 is the earliest possible date for a ban.
The Senate Committee for Courts of Justice approved the amended version during the 2026 legislative session. The original bill sought to declare certain sweepstakes operators providers of illegal gambling in Virginia, but the substitute text replaces an immediate ban with a review process.
The legislative record says the Virginia Lottery Board must convene a work group of relevant stakeholders, including representatives from the online sweepstakes and social games industry, to study interactive online sweepstakes games and report findings and recommendations. The study is supposed to examine how sweepstakes are used as a marketing and promotional tool, including for online social games and licensed casino operators, and to determine the differences between online sweepstakes games and real-money gambling or internet gaming. It must also develop a definition for online sweepstakes games.
The work group is required to send its findings and recommendations to specified Senate and House committee chairs by Dec. 1.
The study-first approach came as Virginia’s debate over sweepstakes gaming played out against scrutiny of a local operator. The Better Business Bureau said it had fielded 363 complaints about Crown Coins, which it described as a Fredericksburg-based operator, and gave the business an F rating. Consumers alleged that attempts to redeem winnings were blocked or slowed, while Crown Coins said some requests came from players who had violated its terms and conditions, including by creating multiple accounts to receive more than one sign-up bonus.
The Virginia move also fits a broader state pattern. A May analysis by Venable said regulators and lawmakers in several states have been moving against sweepstakes casinos, with measures enacted in 2025 in Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, California and New York, and additional legislation in Indiana, Maine, Oklahoma and Iowa during the 2026 cycle.
