Maryland Refiles Sweepstakes Ban After VGW Ignores Two Cease-and-Desists

Maryland legislators have refiled twin bills to ban sweepstakes casinos as the 2026 session opens today—and this time they have ammunition: VGW, the operator behind Chumba Casino and LuckyLand Slots, has ignored not one but two cease-and-desist orders from state regulators, continuing to operate in defiance of explicit shutdown demands.

VGW’s Defiance Becomes Legislative Fuel

The Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency sent its first cease-and-desist to VGW on March 12, 2025, demanding the operator confirm whether it was conducting online gaming in the state and provide a breakdown of its offerings. VGW never responded.

Eight months later, on November 18, 2025, regulators sent a second order—this time with sharper language. The letter explicitly warned that continued non-compliance “may jeopardize the qualifications of Chumba Casino for any future Commission-issued license, registration, or certification.”

VGW called that bluff. As gaming attorney Daniel Wallach noted when sharing the letters, the company’s refusal to respond “could help support the revival of prohibition efforts in 2026.” Now legislators have their villain—an operator openly defying state regulators.

“We have reviewed your site(s) and see that [Lucky Land Slots and Chumba Casino’s] offerings contain the elements of gaming. Under Maryland law, gaming is illegal unless it is expressly authorized. The gaming that is being offered through your site is not legally authorized in Maryland.”
— Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency, November 2025

What the Bills Prohibit

The legislation targets the core mechanic that makes sweepstakes casinos legally ambiguous: the dual-currency model. SB112 and HB295 explicitly prohibit operating platforms that utilize “multiple currency systems of payment allowing the player to exchange the currency for any prize or award or cash or cash equivalents.”

This is the Gold Coin / Sweeps Coin model exactly. Players purchase Gold Coins (not gambling), receive free Sweeps Coins as a “bonus,” then redeem Sweeps Coins for cash prizes (allegedly not gambling because they were free). The bill closes this loophole by targeting the structural mechanism, not individual operators.

What Failed in 2025—And Why It Might Pass Now

Last year’s attempt, SB860, passed the Maryland Senate with a unanimous 47-0 vote in early March. The bill would have criminalized not just operators but their suppliers, payment processors, geolocation partners, and affiliated parties—with penalties up to 3 years imprisonment and fines ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.

But SB860 stalled in the House Ways and Means Committee. It had a hearing but never received a vote before the session ended on April 7, 2025. VGW was among the parties that testified in opposition.

The 2026 version benefits from changed circumstances:

The 2026 National Wave

Maryland joins a coordinated national push against sweepstakes casinos. According to Indiana Gaming Commission testimony, nine states are currently working on prohibition legislation: Maine, Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Indiana itself.

States That Banned Sweepstakes in 2025

The 2026 legislative push follows a 2025 that saw sweepstakes casinos banned or effectively shut down in multiple states:

VGW has already shut down sweeps play in more than a dozen states, including Connecticut, Montana, New Jersey, and New York. The company exited California ahead of the January 1 deadline. But in Maryland, despite two regulatory orders, VGW continues operating—a posture that now serves as Exhibit A for legislators pushing prohibition.

The Casino Industry Push

Both bills were “introduced at the request of the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency.” Translation: incumbent gaming interests want sweepstakes competitors eliminated.

Maryland’s six licensed casinos generated nearly $2 billion in gaming revenue in 2025. They have substantial resources to lobby—and a clear financial interest in eliminating unregulated competitors that pay no state taxes and face no licensing requirements.

The regulator’s cease-and-desist letters make the economic argument explicit: sweepstakes casinos are “revenue from illegal markets” that undercuts the state’s regulated gaming industry.

Timeline: What Happens Next