Indiana Passes Anti-Sweeps Casino Legislation HB 1052

On Thursday, March 12, 2026, Indiana Governor Mike Braun (R) signed legislation that will ban online sweepstakes casinos from the state. The anti-sweepstakes provisions of HB 1052, which was passed by the legislature in late February, will take effect July 1.

What Does HB1052 Do?

The title of HB1052 is “Various administrative law matters,” and as can be expected, this bill deals with a variety of distinct topics. This document contains provisions related to horse racing licensure, rules for beer wholesalers, wine permits, tobacco sellers, and antique firearms. The section dealing with sweepstakes casinos is only a small portion of the 42-page text.

The portion concerned with sweepstakes is found in Section 15 of the bill. HB1052 defines a “sweepstakes game” as one that has these four attributes:

(a) As used in this section, "sweepstakes game" means a game, contest, or promotion that:
  (1) is available on the Internet;
  (2) is accessible on a mobile phone, computer terminal, or similar access device;
  (3) utilizes a dual-currency or multi-currency system of payment allowing a player to exchange currency for:
     (A) a cash prize, a cash award, or cash equivalents; or
     (B) a chance to win a cash prize, a cash award, or cash equivalents; and
  (4) simulates:
     (A) lottery games; or
     (B) casino-style gaming, including slot machines, video poker, table games, bingo, or sports wagering.

This definition appears broad enough to target the companies, like Chumba Casino and Stake.us, that offer sweepstakes casino games over the internet. Notice the mention of dual-currency and multi-currency systems, which are key to the way modern online sweeps casinos operate with one currency for play money only and another that can be exchanged (after jumping through a few hoops) for real money.

Enforcement is delegated to the Indiana Gaming Commission. It will have the power to levy civil fines of $100,000 for individuals and corporations that knowingly offer sweepstakes games over the internet. This fine can be applied whenever an entity offers such games in Indiana or to a person located within Indiana.

The Indiana Gaming Commission has previously expressed interest in joining the wave of states that have sent cease-and-desist letters to sweepstakes casino operators. However, its hand was stayed by the opinion that such sweepstakes operations were not in contravention of Indiana law. Presumably, the passage of HB 1052 has removed this obstacle to enforcement.

Indiana Governor Mike Braun

Loophole for Poker

Perhaps surprisingly, HB 1052 contains a loophole for poker. From the text of the bill:

However, the term [sweepstakes game] does not include a game, contest, or promotion offered by the state lottery commission or peer to peer skill-based poker games.

So does this mean that we'll see sweepstakes poker continue to flourish in The Hoosier State? Well, maybe.

While it is true that the letter of the law implies that sweepstakes poker games are fine and won't be targeted by state authorities, the truth is that almost all sites that offer sweepstakes poker, like Global Poker and Clubs Poker, also provide sweepstakes casino gaming at the same time.

If these operators want to be able to continue to serve Indianans with sweepstakes poker products, then they would have to remove all casino games from their offerings. Bear in mind too that casino games tend to represent a higher-margin vertical than peer-to-peer poker.

It's likely that many sweeps operators will decide that creating a bespoke software client for Indiana to serve up only low-profit poker games will not be in their financial best interests. Some of them, at least, will probably take the decision to stop serving the state altogether.

Continuation of a Trend

Indiana is the first state to pass anti-sweepstakes legislation in the year 2026. However, there are six states that enacted similar measures in previous years:

• California
• Connecticut
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New York

First deployed by Chumba Casino in 2012, the online sweepstakes model of gaming was touted as a way of circumventing anti-gambling laws in all 50 states. However, this loophole is slowly closing as one state after another drafts laws that specifically target this business model. In a few other states, courts have ruled that sweepstakes gaming runs afoul of existing state laws even without legislation specifically addressing it.

Legislative History of HB 1052

HB 1052 was introduced into the Indiana House by State Representative Ethan Manning (R) on Dec. 12, 2025. After going through a committee hearing and a couple of amendments, it was ready for third reading on Feb. 2, which it passed with a vote of 86 - 12.

Indiana State Representative Ethan Manning

The bill then went over to the Senate where it similarly went to committee and was amended. Importantly, the Senate added the carveout for peer to peer poker, which was not present in the original wording of the bill. The Senate version of the bill passed its third reading by 37 - 8 on Feb. 17.

Because there were differences between the House and Senate versions of the legislation, it had to proceed to a conference committee. Both chambers approved on the reconciled bill (Senate: 46 – 4, House: 68 – 21) on Feb. 26.

After a couple of procedural steps, the finalized bill was sent onward to Governor Braun. He affixed his signature to it on Thursday, March 12, 2026.

Bill Not Without Controversy

While the final vote margins in the legislature might give the impression that passage of HB 1052 was but a foregone conclusion, this wasn't actually the case. The fact that the bill succeeded in being passed is a testament to flexibility and willingness to compromise on the part of lawmakers.

Earlier drafts of the bill had encountered significant opposition. State Representative Steve Bartels (R), for instance, introduced an amendment to regulate sweepstakes casinos rather than ban them. He commented:

Ultimately what this does is say we’re not going to ban it. We’re going to start regulating it. It still can stay in the sweepstakes statute. We can start making money off it. We can start protecting citizens. We can do the age verification. We can make sure they’re not advertising incorrectly or trying to target kids or people under 21.

Rep. Manning, however, felt that it would be inappropriate to regulate online sweepstakes gaming:

In light of the fact that this body has not regulated iGaming for our already regulated casinos, I think this would be out of order to regulate this type of conduct when we’ve not legalized iGaming for our already regulated casinos.

Whatever the stories were behind the scenes, when it came to final votes, bill HB 1052 had significant support and passed easily.

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March 15, 2026 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief