Louisiana Sweepstakes Casinos

Online sweepstakes casinos are illegal in Louisiana. Unlike most states, there are no fuzzy areas in Louisiana’s laws for sweepstakes casinos to use as legal cover. Louisiana law directly addresses sweepstakes casinos and leaves no uncertainty as to their legal status.

Louisiana has long been home to strong anti-online gambling laws, but legislation passed in 2026 has made Louisiana the single riskiest state in the country for real-money online casinos, sweepstakes sites, and anyone who assists them.

As a result, every major sweepstakes casino brand has exited the Louisiana market. Established brands like WOW Vegas Online, Stake.us Casino, and Ace Casino have all stopped accepting players from Louisiana.

Given the current legal climate, we strongly recommend anyone located in Louisiana to avoid all online casinos and sweepstakes sites, regardless of any claims about legality.

How Louisiana Banned Sweepstakes Casinos (Twice)

Louisiana took an unusual and winding path to enacting a total ban on sweepstakes casinos.

The governor vetoed the first ban bill on the grounds that sweepstakes sites were already illegal, then approved legislation the following session to enact the nation’s harshest anti-sweeps laws.

During the 2025 session, lawmakers passed SB 181 to classify dual-currency, casino-style games as “illegal gambling by computer.” Although the bill passed both chambers without a single no vote, Governor Landry vetoed it.

In his veto message, Governor Landry explained that some of the language in the law was overly broad and could “harm or impede” enforcement actions against operators. He also called the bill “a solution in search of a problem” while contending that state law already prohibited sweepstakes casinos.

Additionally, Governor Landry stated that the Louisiana Gaming Control Board (LGCB), the state police, and the attorney general’s office were already moving against illegal online gambling in Louisiana. Louisiana’s gaming regulators and enforcement authorities proved his point within weeks.

First, the LGCB issued more than 40 cease-and-desist orders to sweepstakes casinos and offshore gambling sites. The letters accused operators of offering illegal gambling and threatened additional enforcement actions against any that refused to exit the Louisiana market.

Two weeks later, Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a formal opinion concluding that apps and websites offering casino-style games while “purporting to be sweepstakes or social gaming platforms” constitute illegal gambling by computer.

All major sweepstakes casinos still active in Louisiana at the time promptly stopped serving residents in response to the deteriorating legal climate. The legislature returned in 2026 and passed two additional bills to definitively remove any remaining ambiguity:

• HB 53: Added illegal gambling offenses to the crimes that can support charges under the Louisiana Racketeering Act. Violations are punishable by 5 to 50 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million.
• HB 883: Explicitly added sweepstakes casinos to Louisiana’s definition of illegal gambling.

Why Louisiana’s Laws Are So Effective

Numerous states have targeted sweepstakes casinos for online gambling violations, but Louisiana has been particularly effective at pushing them out.

One reason is that state law now lumps sweepstakes casinos into the same category as offshore casinos. It doesn’t matter that offshore gambling sites blatantly violate state law, while sweepstakes casinos operate under a legal theory that still holds in most states. In Louisiana’s eyes, they’re all the same: illegal gambling by computer.

A second reason is that Louisiana’s gambling laws don’t just target operators. They also extend liability to platform providers, content suppliers, technology providers, payment processors, media affiliates, and any other person who “knowingly supports or facilitates” online sweepstakes casinos in Louisiana.

Combine the severe penalties for “illegal gambling by computer” with the potential racketeering enhancement, and the risk-reward ratio overwhelmingly favors avoiding the trouble altogether by staying out of Louisiana.

In such a harsh legal climate, even the most risk-tolerant sweepstakes casinos have limited ability (at best) to serve the market without reliable payment processing, tech suppliers, advertisers, and affiliates.

Laws Targeting Online Casinos in Louisiana

Louisiana is one of the few states that criminalizes online gambling specifically rather than relying on decades-old general gambling statutes.

Under LA Rev Stat § 14:90.3, “gambling by computer” is a crime that covers both sides of the transaction:

• Individuals who gamble online in Louisiana face fines of up to $500 and up to six months in jail.
• Anyone who conducts online gambling as a business faces fines of up to $100,000, up to five years in prison, and potential racketeering charges that come with penalties of up to 50 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million.

If those penalties weren’t harsh enough, the law also treats every accepted wager as a separate violation. That means online casinos that accept Louisiana players do not accumulate a singular criminal charge. They accumulate one charge per spin, and so does everyone in the supply chain that supports online casinos in Louisiana.

Louisiana’s enforcement record resembles that of other states that prohibit online casinos: authorities pursue operators rather than players. To date, we have never found an instance in which the state prosecuted a person for playing casino games at home.

Still, it’s worth keeping in mind that Louisiana is one of the only states that clearly criminalizes participation in unauthorized online gambling as a player.

 Will Louisiana Legalize Online Casinos?

Louisiana is unlikely to legalize online gambling in the near term.

The state hasn’t even seen a bill filed to legalize online casinos since 2018, and a 2024 committee hearing showed just how divided the industry’s incumbents are on the idea.

Unlike some states, the Louisiana Constitution does not prohibit gambling outright, but it does pose a unique hurdle that will complicate any future legalization efforts.

Every Parish Would Decide Separately

Article XII, Section 6(C) of the Louisiana Constitution states that no law authorizing a new form of gambling “shall be effective” and that no gambling may be conducted in a parish unless the voters in that parish approve it in a referendum election.

In short, even if the legislature passed a bill authorizing online gambling, it would not automatically authorize casino apps statewide. Each of Louisiana’s 64 parishes would vote on whether they wish to participate.

Louisiana’s constitution is the reason why online sports betting went on the ballot in all 64 parishes in November 2020. Voters in 55 parishes approved online sports betting, nine parishes rejected it, and licensed online sportsbooks in Louisiana geofence those parishes to this day.

The law that legalized DFS apps in Louisiana underwent the same process in 2018, with voters approving it in 47 of 64 parishes.

Any effort to legalize online casinos in Louisiana would begin with the standard legislative fight and then face up to 64 local campaigns afterward. Louisiana’s sports betting and DFS experiences proved that legalization is achievable, but they also demonstrated it’s neither simple nor easy.

Past Louisiana Online Gambling Efforts

Louisiana has flirted with online gambling three times, but every effort has been limited in scope, and just one resulted in the introduction of an actual legalization bill.

2013: The Huval Study Resolution

In 2013, Rep. Mike Huval filed HCR3 to request that two committees meet jointly to study the potential impact of legalizing and regulating online casinos in Louisiana.

The resolution’s premise still describes Louisiana’s situation today. Huval acknowledged that Louisianans were already gambling at offshore casinos without safeguards while the state collected nothing.

The joint committee sought input from the governor’s office, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, the state police gaming division, the attorney general’s gaming division, and Louisiana’s land-based gambling industry.

When the joint committee met in early 2014, Caesars executives walked legislators through New Jersey’s then-new online casino market and explained how operators verify customer’s age, identity, and physical location. Lawmakers listened, asked skeptical questions about gambling addiction and security, and adjourned. No legislation followed.

2018: The Martiny Referendum Bill

Louisiana’s only true online casino bill arrived in 2018, when Sen. Danny Martiny introduced SB 322 to legalize online gambling at the parish level. The bill would have had every parish in Louisiana hold a public referendum asking voters whether they approve of legalizing online casinos.

SB 322 was more of a placeholder than anything else, as it was short on details.

In addition to calling for a parish-by-parish referendum, the bill sought to establish a minimum age of 21 to play, allow casinos to apply for online gambling licenses, and place the LGCB in charge of regulating the industry.

Senate Judiciary B considered the bill in April 2018, but it never advanced out of committee.

The 2024 Study That Went Nowhere

The Louisiana Senate took a serious look at online casinos in 2024, when it adopted a study resolution (SR 149) that directed a committee to study legalization and report its findings.

The December 2024 committee hearing previewed how a real legalization fight would go:

Proponents included Caesars Entertainment, Boyd Gaming, and the Sports Betting Alliance, who presented the standard economic case: legal online casinos in Louisiana would bring the state new revenue, reduce the black market, and protect consumers.

Opponents included The Cordish Companies, the Louisiana Video Gaming Association, the state’s largest charity bingo association, and the Louisiana Family Forum. Their concerns ranged from reduced foot traffic to land-based properties and revenue cannibalization to increased problem gambling.

A comment from Louisiana’s video poker industry representative left nothing to interpretation: “Let me be very clear. This is the video poker’s Rubicon. We will die on this hill. Video poker adamantly opposes any type or form of online gaming.”

No online casino bill followed in 2025. None followed in 2026 either, a session in which the legislature found the time to ban sweepstakes casinos and enhance the penalties for illegal online gambling offenses.

Market Potential of Louisiana Online Casinos

Louisiana is one of the few states without legal online gambling where the market potential has been formally forecasted three times by three different research firms.

Every published Louisiana projection was commissioned by a party with a position on legalization, meaning none of these forecasts come from neutral observers.

The studies disagree about nearly everything except the final number: at market maturity, Louisiana online casinos could generate roughly $750 million to $900 million per year.

Analysis Group (March 2024)

The most detailed forecast to date comes from a 167-page economic study commissioned by the Sports Betting Alliance, which represents commercial gambling brands like BetMGM Casino and FanDuel Casino.

The study projected that Louisiana online casinos would generate $545 million in revenue in the first full year, growing to $957 million by Year 5. Analysis Group based its projections on Louisiana’s sports betting revenue per adult, results from existing online casino states, and observed market growth rates.

Vixio (2024)

Online gambling supplier Light & Wonder commissioned Vixio’s 2024 forecast and presented it at the Senate study committee’s December 2024 hearing.

The Vixio study estimated that a mature Louisiana online casino market would generate roughly $763 million in annual revenue, generating about $133 million in annual tax revenue at a 19.75% rate.

The Innovation Group (2025)

The Innovation Group’s study (commissioned by the National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG) projects that licensed Louisiana online casinos would produce annual revenue of $876.3 million by 2029 but still result in lost tax revenue to the state.

The Innovation Group’s model shows online casinos in Louisiana pulling enough revenue from land-based properties and video poker to produce a net annual tax loss of $34 million after offsets, along with 2,642 lost jobs, $163.6 million in lost labor income, and $410.5 million in reduced economic output.

Louisiana Online Casinos FAQ