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Louisiana Senate advances legislation to codify sweepstakes casinos as illegal gambling and racketeering

Derek Helling

Legal Writer

Publish Date: Apr 29, 2026

Fact checked by: Matt Moreno

Key Points

The Louisiana Senate has approved HB53 as a Senate committee reported HB883 out favorably.
HB53 elevates select gambling-related crimes to become violations of the state’s racketeering statute.
HB883 would complement HB53 by explicitly defining sweepstakes casinos as gambling in Louisiana.

The Louisiana Senate has given its approval to a bill that would make certain online gambling activity tantamount to violations of the state’s racketeering law the day before the Senate’s Committee on Judiciary B reported out favorably another piece of legislation that classifies the operation of sweepstakes casinos within the parameters of that gambling activity. With these actions, Louisiana is closer to joining the states with laws on the books explicitly banning sweepstakes casino play.

Both bills have already received approval in the Louisiana House of Representatives, meaning that the legislation is close to the finish line. The only remaining wild card in the situation is whether Gov. Jeff Landry will veto the bills.

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Louisiana Senate moves on legislative package affecting sweepstakes casinos

On Monday, the Louisiana Senate acted on the favorable report of HB53 from the Legislative Bureau, voting 29-7 to approve the bill. HB53 is now ready for transmission to Landry, as the House passed the measure in March.

The bill modifies the state code to add numerous gambling-related offenses to the list of violations of Louisiana’s racketeering statute. Among them is “gambling by computer.”

Tuesday’s events in the Louisiana Senate saw the Committee on Judiciary B report out favorably HB883, which would make HB53 of particular interest to sweepstakes casino operators. HB883 could move to a third reading and a potential vote of the full Senate soon.

That piece of legislation includes text that explicitly characterizes the operation of a sweepstakes casino as “gambling by computer” in Louisiana. The proposed text defines such gaming.

“Any game, contest, or promotion that is available on the internet or accessible on a mobile phone, computer terminal, or similar access device that utilizes a dual-currency system of payment allowing the player to exchange the currency for any prize or award, cash, or cash equivalents, or any chance to win any prize or award, cash, or cash equivalents, and simulates any form of gambling constitutes gambling by computer.”

Sweepstakes casinos use the implicated dual-currency system to award prizes to players. As a result, their platforms would be vulnerable to criminal prosecution under Louisiana’s racketeering law if both HB53 and HB883 become law.

This isn’t the first time that Louisiana lawmakers have tried to enact explicit bans of sweepstakes casinos, though. Landry stood in the way of that effort in the past.

Landry’s veto powers could become an issue again

In 2025, Landry vetoed a bill that would have encoded the operation of a sweepstakes casino in Louisiana as a violation of the state’s gambling laws. In his comments on the veto, Landry stated his opinion that it was unnecessary as the games already violated existing statutes.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill supported that stance with her opinion that sweepstakes casinos indeed represent illegal gambling according to the state’s thresholds. Around the same time, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board sent cease-and-desist demands to over 40 app and website operators that the Board believed to be offering gaming to people in the state out of compliance with Louisiana statutes.

Many of the recipients of those orders are sweepstakes casino operators. As a result, several of the recipients have already altered their offerings to people in Louisiana or stopped doing business in the state entirely.

While Louisiana could become the 10th U.S. state with explicit prohibitions against sweepstakes casinos on the books, that assumes Landry doesn’t veto HB53 or HB883. The legislature did not attempt to override Landry’s veto of the 2025 bill, although the package of HB53 and HB883 takes a different approach, which may warrant reconsideration of that option if Landry vetoes either proposal.

That different approach may also sway Landry to either sign the bills or allow them to pass into law by taking no action. If he does so, Louisiana would be the first U.S. state to make the operation of a sweepstakes casino vulnerable to racketeering charges.

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