Maryland sweepstakes casinos remained available to players in September despite a two-year campaign of cease-and-desist letters by the state lottery and gaming regulator and the collapse of successive legislative efforts to define or prohibit the model.
RG’s Sept. 13 market review said Maryland residents could still open accounts, buy coin packages and redeem Sweeps Coins at a range of platforms. It listed Crown Coins, ZumbaCards, Wow Vegas, Zula and Sportzino among operators accepting Maryland players, while TaoFortune and FunzCity offered only non-redeemable Gold Coin play in the state.
The review identified a fundamental legal dispute. No Maryland statute explicitly authorizes or bars dual-currency sweepstakes casinos, leaving the model lawful in the absence of a ban. The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency takes the opposite view, holding that the only lawful forms of online gaming are sports wagering and fantasy contests, and that online casino gaming is unauthorized.
The regulator has sent cease-and-desist letters since 2024. In an early enforcement round, letters went to 11 operators; a March 2025 letter targeted VGW’s Chumba Casino, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker, followed by another notice in November after those brands continued operating. Michael Eaton, the agency’s managing director of gaming, wrote to Chumba that its offerings involved consideration, chance and prize, and that Maryland gaming is illegal unless expressly authorized.
Maryland Reporter said the agency told legislators it had issued dozens of orders but that a large majority of recipients had not complied. Enforcement was directed at operators rather than players, and several large brands nevertheless withdrew voluntarily, including Stake.us, McLuck, High 5, Pulsz, RealPrize and LoneStar.
The legal uncertainty persisted after the General Assembly’s 2026 session. House Bill 295, introduced at the regulator’s request and backed by Governor Wes Moore, passed the House 105-24 on March 20 but did not advance through the Senate before lawmakers adjourned April 20. The bill would have defined certain internet and mobile dual-currency casino-style games as “interactive games” and made their operation a misdemeanor punishable by up to three years in prison and fines of $10,000 to $100,000.
A second proposal, HB 1226, passed the House 135-1 three days later. It would have empowered the attorney general and prosecutors to issue notices and seek relief against illegal online gambling. Both measures reached the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee but stalled there; a 2025 Senate bill, SB 860, had followed a similar course after unanimously clearing the Senate.
Maryland’s unresolved position reflects the structure of the sweepstakes model. Operators use two virtual currencies: a play-money coin for entertainment with no cash value and a promotional coin that can be obtained for free and, in many cases, redeemed for prizes. They argue that a free method of entry removes the consideration element associated with illegal gambling, while regulators and legislators across the country have increasingly questioned whether the structure amounts to unlicensed casino gambling.
The wider legislative trend has moved toward explicit restrictions. Venable noted that Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, California and New York enacted relevant measures in 2025, followed in the 2026 cycle by Indiana, Maine, Oklahoma and Iowa. Maryland, however, ended its most recent session without a statutory answer or a court ruling on the regulator’s position.
