A year is a misleading unit for this market. The statutes that closed California and New York were signed in 2025: California took effect on 1 January 2026, while New York was immediate on 8 December 2025. The 2026 session added Indiana, Maine, Louisiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma. By 3 November 2026 the map had 15 closed jurisdictions, eight restricted and 28 open, and the composition mattered more than the count.
This page records the wave in the order it happened, then separates the three instruments that are often lumped together: a statute that reaches every operator, an enforcement action that reaches the companies named in it, and an operator exit that is a commercial decision with no law behind it. The distinction decides who can be held to what, and whether a list update is a consequence or the whole event.
The short version
- Ten statutes, five in each year. Montana, Connecticut, New Jersey, California and New York signed in 2025; Indiana, Maine, Louisiana, Tennessee and Oklahoma signed in 2026.
- Two enforcement closures. Illinois acted in May 2026; Michigan acted in two waves in 2025. Neither has a sweepstakes statute or an effective date.
- Three operator exits. Idaho, Nevada and Washington are closed by market and list, not by a sweepstakes-specific statute.
- The lists lag the law. An effective date gives operators a calendar; an enforcement letter gives them a headline. The gap is largest where there is no date.
The wave, in order
Signing dates and effective dates are separated because they do different things. A signature starts the operator's list review; an effective date closes the cashier. The timeline keeps both where the record has them, and says “May 2026” where only the month is documented.
Montana signs SB 555, the first any-currency statute
23 May 2025Statute
Montana redefined internet gambling to cover a platform that accepts and pays out in any form of currency. The drafting does not say sweepstakes; it does not need to. A knowing violation is a felony carrying up to ten years.
The state fileConnecticut passes PA 25-112
11 June 2025Statute
Section 14 prohibits a sweepstakes that simulates online casino gaming or sports wagering unless the operator holds a gaming licence. The penalty is a Class A misdemeanour and an unfair trade practice.
The state fileNew Jersey signs A5447
15 August 2025Statute
The state with the largest licensed online casino market closed the promotional one. This is the clearest case of industry protection in the wave: the product competed with nine licensed casinos and paid no tax.
The state fileMontana and Connecticut take effect
1 October 2025Effective date
VGW pulled Chumba, LuckyLand Slots and Global Poker out of Montana before the date, and the rest of the documented lists followed. The effective date, not the signing date, is when the cashier closes.
California signs AB 831
11 October 2025Statute
AB 831 added Penal Code section 337o, with misdemeanour exposure of $1,000 to $25,000 per violation. Its distinctive clause reaches payment processors, geolocation providers, platform providers and media affiliates that knowingly support a game.
The state fileNew York signs S5935A as Chapter 605
8 December 2025Statute
Fines run from $10,000 to $100,000 per violation. The statute formalised a position the Attorney General had already taken: her office had announced actions against 26 platforms before the bill was signed.
The state fileTennessee's Attorney General writes to nearly 40 operators
29 December 2025Enforcement
The letters came before the statute. Recipients indicated they would stop serving Tennessee, which is why the state's market moved months before the law was signed.
California's AB 831 takes effect
1 January 2026Effective date
California has tribal casinos and card rooms but no licensed online casino and no legal sports betting. The closure therefore leaves no regulated online alternative, which is not true in New Jersey or Connecticut.
Indiana signs HB 1052
12 March 2026Statute
The statute defines sweepstakes gaming, bans dual- or multi-currency systems that simulate lottery or casino games, and gives the Gaming Commission civil penalties of up to $100,000 per violation. Criminal penalties were removed before passage.
The state fileMaine signs LD 2007
6 April 2026Statute
A civil violation carries a fine of $10,000 to $100,000, and a licensee has its licence revoked and becomes ineligible for a new one. The effective date was 15 July 2026.
The state fileOklahoma's governor vetoes SB 1589
7 May 2026Statute
Governor Stitt called the bill too broad and objected that it created a new felony. The legislature had passed it 48 to 0 and 65 to 21, so the veto was not the end of the story.
The state fileOklahoma overrides the veto, 34 to 10 and 68 to 19
14 May 2026Statute
SB 1589 adds dual-currency payment systems to the gambling code and reaches operators, geolocation providers, suppliers, platform providers, promoters and media affiliates. A violation is a felony.
Louisiana passes HB 883 and HB 53
May 2026Statute
HB 883 treats dual-currency games as illegal gambling by computer, with fines up to $100,000 and up to five years. HB 53 adds the conduct to the state's racketeering definition, which reaches the companies around the operator.
The state fileTennessee signs HB 1885 / SB 2136
22 May 2026Statute
The law routes illegal gambling through the Consumer Protection Act and expands the Attorney General's authority to investigate and seek penalties. It confirmed a market that the December letters had already moved.
The state fileIllinois sends more than 60 cease-and-desist letters
May 2026Enforcement
The Gaming Board, working with the Attorney General, acted under the existing criminal code. There is no bill number and no effective date, which is why one of the twenty documented lists names Illinois today: an enforcement closure gives lists no date to anticipate.
The state fileKentucky's Attorney General sues VGW
17 June 2026Litigation
Three lawsuits in Franklin Circuit Court argue that the dual-currency product violates state gambling law and the Consumer Protection Act. Kentucky remains restricted, not closed: a filing can move availability without changing the statute book.
The state fileIndiana's ban takes effect
1 July 2026Effective date
B-Two, Blazesoft and a long tail of smaller operators added Indiana in June, before the date. The sequence is the normal one for a statute with a known effective date: the list moves first, the cashier closes second.
Maine's ban takes effect
15 July 2026Effective date
Yellow Social's Pulsz brands, Blazesoft, Modo, B-Two and others added Maine in June and July. Eight of the twenty documented lists name the state, a lower share than the 2025 statutes drew.
Louisiana's two acts take effect
1 August 2026Effective date
The brands began leaving during the legislative window. The racketeering route is the part operators noticed, because it reaches platform providers, suppliers, geolocation providers, promoters and media affiliates.
VGW agrees an $8 million settlement with New York
10 September 2026Settlement
The settlement was reached without an admission of liability, and VGW continues gold-coins-only social games in the state. A settlement binds the operator, not the market; New York's statute is what keeps dual-currency products closed.
The state fileLuckyLand Slots closes
14 September 2026Operator exit
Slots games ended on 24 August and the redemption cut-off was 14 September. The parent kept Chumba, Global Poker and LuckyLand Casino, which is the distinction between a brand ending and an operator leaving.
Oklahoma's ban takes effect
1 November 2026Effective date
Six of the twenty documented lists name Oklahoma today; the earliest was dated 30 October, before the effective date. The gap is the clearest recent example of a list lagging a statute rather than describing the market.