‘Social Plus’ Gaming Sites Face July Shutdown in Maine as Gov. Mills Signs Prohibition Bill
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Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a bill on Monday that formally bans dual-currency, ‘sweeps’ model gambling sites in the state.
Senator Craig Hickman pre-filed Legislative Document 2007, titled “An Act Regarding the Prohibition of Online Sweepstakes Games”, in December. The sites in question now prefer to style themselves as “social plus” gaming, but still use the now-familiar dual-currency system rooted in federal sweepstakes law.
House lawmakers passed the bill by a margin of 87-55 before the Senate cleared it last month. The law defines online sweepstakes as any internet-accessible platform that uses a dual-currency system to simulate casino-style games, including slots, poker, table games, sports betting, and bingo.
The new law makes it a civil violation to operate or promote a sweepstakes platform. The fines range from $10,000 per infraction to $100,000. The state will direct any money resulting from fines into Maine’s Gambling Addiction Prevention and Treatment Fund.
Regulators will strip any licensed gambling operator found violating the new law of their license and will make them permanently ineligible for future licenses. In the most serious cases, authorities could pursue criminal prosecution against operators.
Maine is the second state so far this year to introduce a formal ban on sweepstakes gambling. Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a similar measure in March. Over a dozen states introduced legislation targeting these platforms during their 2026 legislative sessions. Maryland’s effort passed in the House and now rests with a Senate committee, while Florida, Louisiana, and Tennessee are also inching closer.
The impetus, in Maine’s case, may be its recently enacted authorization for real-money iGaming, although this is currently facing a legal challenge of its own.
Closing the Dual Currency Loophole
Sweepstakes casinos have grown popular in the US by exploiting a legal grey area. They don’t require players to deposit and bet real money, so they fall under sweepstakes laws rather than online casino legislation.
They operate using two in-game currencies, typically called Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. The latter allows users to exchange winnings for cash prizes, although these platforms try to bypass gambling laws by offering ways for customers to get free Sweeps Coins. The sites make money by charging for coin packages, which usually include a combination of Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins. Players often find it difficult to redeem cash prizes due to playthrough requirements and minimum redemption sizes that often sit around $100.
Maine’s Gambling Control Unit grew frustrated with this approach, as about 60 sweepstakes platforms were accessible to state residents. The state warned consumers in June 2025 that these platforms aren’t licensed or regulated in Maine. LD 2007 now adds a ban on sweepstakes sites to Maine’s criminal code and gives regulators the authority to enforce it.
Gov. Mills’s Changing Views
Gov. Mills has long had a skeptical stance on gambling expansions. She vetoed legislation in 2021 that would have let Maine tribal nations open land-based casinos. Then lawmakers introduced a bill last year that would have given exclusive rights to the Wabanaki Nations to operate online casinos. Her administration openly opposed it, citing concerns about the impact on jobs at the state’s two commercial casinos.
However, in a surprising reversal, she announced in January that she would sign the tribal iGaming bill into law. This decision made Maine just the eighth US state to legalize online casinos. Critics pushed back after she went against recommendations from Maine’s gambling regulator and reversed her stance.
The sweepstakes ban helps ensure that the newly regulated market has clear boundaries and that regulators will squeeze out grey market operators in favour of licensed alternatives. It also targets platforms that don’t pay taxes, don’t provide any economic benefit for local communities, or fail to comply with responsible gambling standards.
Just three days before signing LD 2007, Mills also signed LD 2080, which prevents licensed gambling operators from accepting credit card deposits, aiming to prevent people from accumulating debt through wagering.
A Nationwide Trend
State regulators across the country have woken up to the dangers that sweepstakes casinos pose. Six states passed prohibitions on these platforms last year and the pace is accelerating in 2026. Indiana introduced a ban last month, while Maryland and Tennessee advanced bills through their chambers. Louisiana lawmakers are looking to classify sweepstakes gaming as racketeering. Other states are actively exploring the best way to act.
In Maine, the state’s Gambling Control Unit will start enforcing the prohibition once the bill takes effect about 90 days after the 132nd Legislative adjournment, which places enforcement around mid-July. Authorities will fine any operator still accessible in Maine after that date, may pursue criminal liability, and will permanently exclude them from future licensing in the state.
Legal Online Casinos on the Horizon
The sweepstakes ban comes at a time when regulators are still developing the framework for a legal iGaming sector in Maine. The Wabanaki Nations, including the Penobscot, Maliseet, Mi’kmaq, and Passamaquoddy tribes, hold exclusive rights. The Maine Gambling Control Board is responsible for creating the regulatory framework. Officials expect these platforms to launch next year.
While not everyone agrees with the iGaming expansion, most people in Maine support banning sweepstakes casinos and restricting credit card use on regulated gambling platforms. Gov. Mills acted decisively despite taking a very careful approach to gambling expansion over the years.
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