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Tennessee Sweepstakes Ban Bill Sees Major Revisions in State House of Representatives

Legal Writer

Publish Date: Apr 23, 2026

Fact checked by: Matt Moreno

Key Points

The Tennessee House of Representatives approved a substitute for SB2136 that removes all references to sweepstakes casinos.
Tennessee’s Senate unanimously approved a different version of SB2136.
Tennessee Senators can consent to House’s changes, refuse to do so, or request a conference to reconcile differences.

Proponents of banning sweepstakes casinos in Tennessee have hit a snag, as the bill explicitly outlawing online casino-style games with a dual-currency sweepstakes model of paying out prizes that the state Senate passed overwhelmingly has seen substantial revisions in the Tennessee House of Representatives. The version as passed by the House takes out all mentions of dual-currency systems and sweepstakes games.

The Tennessee Senate could consider the changes the House made as soon as April 23, with the language of the House-approved version resembling the Senate bill in nearly every other way. A conference committee remains an option, in which some of the language taking aim at sweepstakes casinos may be restored.

tennessee state capitol building

House version of SB2136 omits key sweepstakes casino provisions

Technically, SB2136 is near submission for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s consideration. The issue that could undo that progress is that the versions the House and Senate approved differ from each other.

In March, the Senate voted 32-0 to pass SB2136 with tenets that would make operating a sweepstakes casino illegal in the state. The language of that version directly calls out dual-currency models and casino-style sweepstakes online, classifying them as illegal gambling.

On Tuesday, the House took up the bill and approved an amendment with significant revisions. All mentions of dual-currency, sweepstakes, and the like are absent from the amended version that the House approved 67-20 on April 21.

However, the House and Senate versions align on other text in the bill giving gaming regulators and law enforcement in Tennessee expanded powers to investigate and prosecute suspected illegal gambling. The question for Tennessee’s Senate is whether that will be enough to give its assent to the House version.

Conference committee could be ahead for SB2136

If the Tennessee Senate doesn’t reapprove SB2136 as amended by the House, there are two possible fates for the bill. It could either join the heap of proposals to fail during the 2026 session or the measure could go to a conference committee.

In a conference, members of the House and Senate meet to try to iron out a unified version of a bill that could gain approval in identical form in both chambers. These conferences usually include the sponsors of the bills from both bodies if they exist.

Should SB2136 go to committee, it’s possible that Senate representatives will insist that language restricting sweepstakes casinos be part of the unified bill. At the same time, House members might equally insist that such tenets be absent.

The conference could fail to produce a single version that satisfies all parties, and in that event, SB2136 would meet its end. The Tennessee House has been a far more friendly venue for sweepstakes casinos in 2026 than the Senate.

Earlier House amendment signaled positive result for sweepstakes casinos

As House members processed SB2136’s House companion bill, one amendment that was approved in committee would have represented a national first in terms of sweepstakes casinos. The amendment would have tasked the state’s legislative services agency with studying the potential impact of legalizing and regulating sweepstakes casino games in the state.

In other states, sweepstakes casino operators have pushed for such regulation, arguing that states would be better off taxing them than banning the games. However, no state legislative body has voted on such a measure yet.

Given the proposal of such an amendment and the House’s removal of language explicitly banning sweepstakes casinos in Tennessee, the obstacle to Tennessee becoming the first state to make the games explicitly legal is clearly the Senate. Even within the confines of the legal status quo, there are opponents of sweepstakes gaming in Tennessee.

Tennessee attorney general has already weighed in on sweepstakes casinos

In December 2025, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced that he had sent cease-and-desist demands to the operators of nearly 40 apps and websites that he considered in violation of the state’s gambling laws. Many of those entities operate sweepstakes casinos.

While some of the recipients of the demands have already restricted their operations in Tennessee, the Senate version of SB2136 would make Skrmetti’s authority to affect similar actions on outstanding platforms clearer. The House version also builds on the attorney general’s investigative powers but lacks the clear sweepstakes provisions.

SB2136 could be going nowhere, to a conference committee, or to Lee’s desk. At this time, the determination of those destinations is up to the members of the Tennessee Senate.

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