Recently, the regulatory storm over "dual currency" lottery games in the United States has intensified. Following the official signing of the ban by Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, legislators from Florida, Indiana, and Maine quickly followed suit, submitting new prohibition bills. These series of actions target a huge market with annual sales of up to $10 billion, as regulatory bodies attempt to curb what they see as unregulated gambling activities spreading.
New York's ban takes effect, followed by three states including Florida
Last week, the bill signed by the Governor of New York marked the end of this summer's legislative actions. According to industry research, the lottery game market in New York alone contributed approximately $762 million in sales in 2024. However, this is not the end. Subsequently, Florida legislators submitted an 86-page HB 591 bill aimed at strengthening the Seminole Tribe's gambling monopoly and classifying the operation of such online games as a third-degree felony—note that Florida's market share accounts for about 8.5% of the entire industry, valued at over $1 billion. At the same time, Maine and Indiana also proposed their respective prohibition bills, with Maine imposing fines of up to $100,000 on operators violating regulations.
The $10 billion market and the regulatory struggle
According to research by Eilers & Krejcik for the Social Gaming Leadership Alliance (SGLA), the total sales of sweepstakes games across the US reached an astonishing $10 billion in 2024. This figure is indeed frightening and explains why state regulatory bodies are on high alert. In addition to legislative bans, many states have opted for administrative measures. For example, the Louisiana Gaming Control Board issued 40 "cease and desist" letters after the governor decided not to sign the ban bill. Regulatory bodies in Mississippi and Maryland also took similar actions. Regulatory agencies in more than ten states, including Arizona, Delaware, and Michigan, have also issued warnings or stop orders to relevant operators.
Industry response and future direction
Facing nationwide regulatory pressure, industry giants are also adjusting their strategies. This year, global sweepstakes game giant VGW withdrew from the Canadian market, focusing on its domestic business in the United States. A company spokesperson candidly stated that the scale of operations in Canada was relatively small, and the majority of players are located in the larger US market. Although they claim that this move is unrelated to Canadian regulatory pressure, the intent to scale back is quite apparent. The industry organization SGLA strongly opposes the bills in states like Florida, arguing that legitimate promotional sweepstakes games are fundamentally different from offshore illegal gambling, and the bills "mistakenly harm" compliant operations. According to observations from PASA's official website, this regulatory wave ignited by New York and followed by multiple states is reshaping the landscape of the US social gaming and online gambling fringe market, and the "cat and mouse game" between operators and legislators may continue.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leader" gambling news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
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