A new bill introduced in the Mississippi state legislature seeks to expand current gambling prohibitions to include online sweepstakes casinos.
The proposed amendment, Senate Bill 2510, “appears to be the first bill filed at the state level to expressly prohibit sweepstakes platforms offering casino games,” as first reported via LinkedIn by Steven DiMasi, Senior VP of Global Government Affairs and Business Development at Light & Wonder.
Sponsored by Republican Senator Joey Fillingane, the amendment would also raise the criminal penalty for operating illegal gaming operations from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Mississippi joins New York and New Jersey as the other two states attempting to take a legislative approach to explicitly dealing with online sweepstakes operators during this legislative cycle. It’s possible other states will follow their lead.
Expanded definitions of unlawful gambling to encompass sweeps gaming
While Mississippi state law already prohibits electronic sweepstakes devices and establishments, the new bill would expressly include the online versions and raise the potential punishment on any convicted operator.
One provision in the bill states that it intends “to clarify that the operation of ‘internet sweepstakes cafes’ and ‘online sweepstakes casinos’ are illegal gambling activities under state law.”
Other proposed wording adjustments like adding “or online or mobile platform” all work to expand current Mississippi state law to include internet sweepstakes operators and online casino game providers.
It also raises the stakes for violators. As stated in the bill, upon conviction, any person or entity promoting or operating an internet sweepstakes cafe or casino would be subject to:
- A felony conviction
- A fine up to $100,000 or up to 10 years in prison, or both
- Forfeiture of assets, rights, and privileges used in connection with violations of the provision
Why it’s important to know where sweeps sites are legal
For the thousands of players who participate in social and sweepstakes gaming in the U.S., it’s becoming increasingly important to pay attention to state regulations around these sites.
Most if not all sweeps casinos already explicitly restrict players from Idaho, Washington, and Michigan. Many also include Nevada, Wyoming, and/or Connecticut on that list. Sweeps operators have also received cease-and-desist letters in states such as Delaware and Maryland — and it sounds like West Virginia will soon join that list.
Based on recent anti-sweeps sentiments and actions, we can also expect Massachusetts, New York, and now Mississippi (and more, eventually) to join at least some of those restricted states lists.
For sweeps players, this is important because a number of social and sweeps sites include some language in their terms and conditions declaring that it is the player’s responsibility to abide by such restrictions.
Hence, if a player were to violate the policy and play from, say, Michigan, that player’s funds (or prizes) could be confiscated and their account would be subject to closure. It would then be highly unlikely for them to be able to recover funds, especially with no sweeps gaming regulator in the state to appeal to.